A team of students from Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) secured second place at Idea Competition 2026, organised under the “Capacity Building of Universities in Bangladesh to Promote Youth Entrepreneurship” project.

The BAU team, comprising Esrat Jahan, Md Bashirul Islam and Md Sabidur Rahman Sejan from the Department of Farm Power and Machinery, earned the recognition by presenting an innovative business idea in the final round of the competition. They received prize money of USD700 and certificates for their achievement.

The two-day grand finale was held on 22-23 July at the Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship (ICE) Center in the Centre for Advanced Research in Arts and Social Sciences (CARASS) Building at the University of Dhaka. The event was supported by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the KPC Consortium.

The competition attracted participants from seven universities across the country. A total of 577 ideas were submitted, with 492 teams initially shortlisted. After several rounds of evaluation, 50 teams advanced to the final round, where the top three teams were selected based on the originality, feasibility and potential impact of their business ideas.

Speaking after the competition, team member Esrat Jahan said presenting before a panel of national and international judges was both exciting and inspiring.

“I don’t see this as the finish line. It’s another step in our journey. We worked hard as a team, and now we want to transform our idea into something that can create a real impact,” she said.

The achievement reflects the growing involvement of BAU students in innovation and entrepreneurship and highlights the university’s contribution to developing practical, research-based solutions to real-world challenges through young innovators.