Stability returns as SUST expands research facilities
Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) in Sylhet has undertaken a series of reforms over the past one and a half years aimed at strengthening research, improving infrastructure and restoring stability on campus. Alongside a range of development initiatives, the university authorities say implementation has continued steadily.
The university currently operates six residential halls, three for male students and three for female students.
Before 5 August 2024, student accommodation was widely alleged to have been controlled by the Chhatra League, with little transparency in seat allocation. The current administration has introduced a departmental quota-based allocation system managed through academic departments. University sources say this has reduced opportunities for irregular practices and ended political dominance in the halls.
Significant changes have also been introduced in research funding. Instead of relying solely on research proposals, teachers and researchers are now required to submit updated online profiles, including details of previous publications and student supervision at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Professor Md Abul Kalam Azad, Director of the Research Centre, said: “Various initiatives have been taken to make the research sector more dynamic and up-to-date. The goal is to inspire everyone to do research.”
For the first time, postgraduate thesis students have been brought under a research grant scheme. In the current fiscal year, 184 students are receiving grants amounting to Tk 4.6 million. Naimur Rahman, a student of the Department of Oceanography, said the initiative would encourage young researchers. Several previously inactive scholarship funds have also been reactivated.
The university has introduced a “Smart Recruitment System” through the online platform “Career SUST”, allowing applicants to complete recruitment, promotion and upgradation procedures digitally rather than through manual submissions.
At the central library, an “Institutional Repository” system has been launched to preserve university publications and provide online access to books, journals and periodicals.
Large-scale infrastructure work is also under way under a development project worth approximately Tk 1,000 crore. The project includes construction of a 10-storey male student hall, a 10-storey female hall, a seven-storey hostel for graduate and international students, four 10-storey academic buildings, a central workshop, a four-storey mosque, a six-storey school and college building, residential facilities for teachers and officials, road bridges, electrical substations, a club complex and a third administrative building. University authorities say around 35 per cent of the work has already been completed.
The administration has also intervened in recruitment practices. According to university sources, plans for additional teacher recruitment in five departments were reviewed, with only one appointment ultimately approved following intervention by Vice-Chancellor Professor A M Sarwaruddin Chowdhury.
Students had faced nearly two years of session backlog because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2022 anti-vice-chancellor movement, floods in Sylhet and other disruptions. Students say efforts to complete six-month semesters within four months over the past year have helped reduce the backlog.
Campus stability has also improved. During the previous administration, more than 300 clashes linked to student politics reportedly took place on campus, at times forcing lengthy closures. University members say incidents of political violence and confrontations have significantly declined over the past year and a half.
The university has also addressed long-standing waterlogging problems caused by the 2022 floods through drainage and ditch excavation work.
A campus lake has been named after Rudra Sen, described as the university’s only martyr of the July Uprising. The lake was inaugurated by Vice-Chancellor Sarwaruddin Chowdhury last year.
To ease transport difficulties, the administration introduced two double-decker buses, one 60-seater bus and a shuttle car service. Students can now also manage semester registration, fee payments and results online through a university app.
SUST has recently signed agreements with three universities in China and Malaysia to expand research collaboration and academic exchange programmes. The university has also invited international students from Europe, Canada and the United States to participate in academic activities.
Vice-Chancellor Professor A M Sarwaruddin Chowdhury said: “We have had to work to restore stability at the university during my tenure. At the same time, we have taken initiatives to reduce discrimination, particularly in research and infrastructural development.”
