Nurturing scientific minds

Scientific advancements are taking place all over the world at breakneck speed, and technology is changing the way things are done everywhere, from business, to education, to banking. There is no reason for Bangladesh to get left behind in this hi-tech world.

The country’s youth population is brimming with talent, and there are plenty of scientifically minded young people who can take Bangladesh to the next level in cutting edge fields like IT or robotics. All we need to do is set up the right infrastructure to support them, and recognize their efforts.

A few students of Brahmanbaria Polytechnic Institute have earned first prize at a district level science fair for a robotics project. In just 15 days, this small group of students built a robot that can perform certain medical functions like measure a patient’s temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure.

Of course, this robot is quite rudimentary, but what is impressive is just how cheaply it was done. Clearly, the ingenuity and ambition is there among our students to use technology for creative solutions.

Earlier this year, students from Leading University in Sylhet were working on developing a robot that could detect fires and take measures to put them out. These fire-fighting robots would be equiped with obstacle-avoiding sensors and cameras, and would be able to operate through debris.

It is not too bold to imagine a future where robot doctors and robot fire-fighters carry out tasks that are too hazardous or beyond the capacity of humans. While it is the developed countries of the world that usually lead the tech frontier, there is plenty of raw talent in Bangladesh that can be utilized to help build this future.

Let us give them the platform to reach this potential.