A delegation from the Department of Journalism, Media and Communication (JMC) of Daffodil International University held a separate meeting with representatives of Google and YouTube at the Google Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore on Thursday (9 October) to build an institutional partnership.

The first meeting was held with the Google News Initiative team. Adil Farhan, representative of the Google News Partnership Project; Aftab Hossain, head of the Department of Journalism, Media and Communication at Daffodil International University, and Abdul Kabil Khan, associate professor, were present at the event.

The two sides discussed in detail the possible cooperation in organising seminars, internships and masterclasses with the partnership project of Google News.

The JMC delegation pointed out that their department has already added Google’s specific AI tools and resources related to digital journalism to the curriculum, so that students can use modern technology for fast-changing media.

Aftab Hossain said: “At this juncture of media and technology, our collaboration with Google News Initiative will open new horizons for students. The integration of AI tools into our course curriculum is proof that we are determined to prepare our students for the future. ‘

The delegation then held another meeting with YouTube. The meeting was attended by Abu Saleh, a representative of YouTube Strategic Partnerships at Google’s Asia Pacific Headquarters. The two sides agreed to work on a joint collaborative initiative to provide on-ground access to incubation projects, community guidelines and digital protection resources for young content creators.

“Commenting on the partnership with Google, Adeel Farhan said, “It is very important for us to work in partnership with the journalism department of any university in Bangladesh.” We hope that Google’s joint venture with Daffodil International University will have a positive impact on raising awareness on topics such as data verification and AI tools in modern journalism.