Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) conferred degrees on 2,067 undergraduate and postgraduate students at its 27th convocation, held at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre in Purbachal on Tuesday, 10 November, 2026.

President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, chancellor of IUB, presided over the ceremony and called for a more integrated national education system and university curricula that better reflect labour market needs, according to the press release.

The president said Bangladesh’s education system had long been divided into several streams, leading to disparities in access, quality and the skills students acquire. He urged the country to bring the streams together and raise educational standards to remain globally competitive while staying connected to its history, language, literature, culture and heritage.

He called on universities to give greater weight to practical and technical education, workplace experience and technology skills. He said higher education should prepare young people to become skilled professionals, entrepreneurs and job creators.

University Grants Commission Chairman Prof Dr Mamun Ahmed, who attended as a special guest, described Bangladesh’s young people as its greatest strength. He encouraged graduates to apply their academic knowledge and practical skills to entrepreneurship and innovation. He said their talent, integrity and hard work would be central to the country’s ambitions of building a $1 trillion economy and creating 10 million high-value jobs.

Convocation speaker Prof Ainun Nishat congratulated the graduates and urged them to keep updating their knowledge and skills. He said new technologies, products and ways of analysing and solving problems were emerging rapidly.

IUB Board of Trustees Chairman Didar A Husain pointed to investment in education in China and Vietnam and said Bangladesh had room to increase its spending. He thanked the government and expressed hope that Bangladesh would soon allocate 5% of its gross domestic product to education.

IUB Vice-Chancellor Prof M Tamim urged graduates to use their knowledge for the benefit of others. He said humanity and compassion were essential to education and encouraged graduates to think rationally, respect differing views, stand against injustice and contribute to society through their work.

Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Daniel W Lund presented the graduates to the president for the conferment of degrees. Registrar Asif Parvez conducted the ceremony.

Graduates recognised for academic, extracurricular achievements

Marjan Ferdous Tasbih of the Department of Finance was named valedictorian and received the Chancellor’s Gold Medal. The medal was also awarded to Nahian Islam Asif of the Department of Finance and Shadman Saqeeb Hasan of the Department of Marketing. Ikram Hossain Akif of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering received the All-Rounder Award.

Aysha Shamim, Samim Rahman Bhuiyan, Tasnuba Tasnim Anita, Hemal Sharma and Yazdi Zaman received awards for outstanding undergraduate academic performance. The postgraduate awards went to Tahsina Mahtab Ananna, Zaima Zohra, Rabiah Binthe Hossain and Fahmida Chowdhury.

Jannatul Ferdous Mohona received the Community Service Award. Abul Kasem (Ashikur Rahman) and Farhana Azizah Arif were recognised for their contributions to cultural activities. Sports Activities Awards went to Noor Zarin Tasnim for badminton, Ridoy Dev for cricket, Amit Bikram Roy for chess and Tiva Tasha for basketball.

The programme concluded with performances by the metal band Warfaze, IUB Music Club, IUB Dance Club and Abbrittilok.