Going Global 2014, the British Council’s annual conference for leaders of International Higher Education took place from 29 April to 1 May 2014 at the Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC), Miami, USA. The theme for this high-level conference was ‘Inclusion, Innovation and Impact’. A seven delegation team from Bangladesh led by Mr Nurul Islam Nahid, Hon'ble Minister for Education, were in attendance.
The British Council arranged a post-conference media briefing session for wider stakeholders in Bangladesh on Thursday 12 June 2014. The main purpose of this media briefing session was to enable senior delegates to share their experiences and knowledge gained, and forecast the benefits Bangladesh will gain. Alongside Mr Nurul Islam Nahid, Prof Abul Kalam Azad Chowdhury, Chairman (State Minister), University Grants Commission of Bangladesh, Dr A A M S Arefin Siddique, Vice-Chancellor, University of Dhaka, and Mr Robin Davies, Director, Programmes and Partnerships, British Council, Bangladesh were among the distinguished guests.
Reflecting on the Conference the Minister commented, 'It was indeed a great opportunity for us to attend such an international forum. We had productive meetings with international experts in higher and further education, including British Council policy experts, which helped us to establish and strengthen networks, partnerships and collaborations between the Higher Education sectors of Bangladesh and the UK, and other participating countries. All of this will help us to respond better to the changing needs of a changing world.'
The Hon’ble Minister also talked about his speech at the Going Global 2014 Conference and shared Bangladesh’s current education policy and other Government initiatives to develop the Secondary and Higher Secondary education system.
The other Bangladesh delegates who participated in the conference were Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, Founder and Chairperson, BRAC and Board of Trustees, BRAC University, Ms Rokia Afzal Rahman, President, Dhaka Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry; President, Bangladesh Federation of Women Entrepreneurs, Prof S M Nazrul Islam Vice-Chancellor, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology, and Prof Atful Hye Shibly, Member, University Grants Commission of Bangladesh.
The common most important theme was the need to concentrate on improving the quality of teaching and learning of Bangladesh Higher Education Institutions and the need to establish a quality assurance regime to monitor and ensure progress. The British Council is committed to working with the Ministry of Education and University Grants Commission (UGC) to facilitate this.