7th Convocation

In the name of the Almighty, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful.

Honorable Minister, Ministry of Education, the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Mr. Nurul Islam Nahid MP;
Distinguished Chairman, University Grants Commission of Bangladesh, Professor Abdul Mannan;
Esteemed Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Daffodil International University and Daffodil Family, Mr. Md. Sabur Khan;
Respected Vice Chancellor of Daffodil International University, Professor Dr. Yousuf Mahbubul Islam;
Respected Pro-Vice Chancellor, Daffodil International University, Professor Dr. S. M. Mahbubul Haque Majumder;
Distinguished academicians, learned faculty members of DIU, parents and guardians, ladies and gentlemen, and
the chief attraction of today's celebration, the graduating students.

My best compliments and a very Good morning to all of you.

I am greatly honored to be invited to this very important occasion for the graduating students and speak before the illustrious congregation of Daffodil International University which has all potential to be one of the most pursued institutions of higher education in Asia.

Revered Guests and Dignitaries,
It gives me immense pleasure to be present in such a gathering of so many young men and women and you all in the green campus of Daffodil International University. Heartiest congratulations to all the graduates for their academic performance through four years of hard work and acknowledgement of their achievement through this convocation. Many congratulations to all the faculty members and staff for their hard work in shaping these young minds. Sincere congratulations to all the parents and guardians for their sacrifices they made for their children.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
The very name Daffodil reminds me of the immortal verses of William Wordsworth in which he saw "ten thousand daffodils at a glance" as the stars that shine and twinkle on the Milky Way and the way they were tossing their heads in sprightly dance in the breeze. And I can see here thousands of young stars as shiny and lively as the sparkling daffodils waiting for their degrees to be awarded.

The future growth of the world lies in creation of human wealth and to create this wealth, we need quality driven institutions like Daffodil International University. All we need is to make our human resources more and more skilled and competent. I believe that the graduates of DIU are competent enough to serve their nation by upholding its prestige and stature with the knowledge, skills and aptitude which have been entrenched during their time at DIU.

My Dear Graduates,

The world today needs you more than ever before to relieve its teeming millions from hunger, ignorance and poverty. Once out in the world beyond the classroom, serve the humankind to the best of your ability. Join the movement of liberation from the manacles of illiteracy, superstition, dogma and the darkness of poverty.

Hold high vision for yourself, your University, your community and your country. Sky is the limit. Go out to conquer the world; think of your fellow people and be the best in whatever you choose to do. I know you know the "Art of Living" but follow the art of giving in helping out those in need. Remember, your country is rapidly developing and so after graduation you have a lot to contribute towards this nation and the world. Please think of what you can do for yourself, your families, your communities and your nation. As DIU alumni, you can become models for your juniors and promote your Alma Mater all over the world. Your supreme responsibility is to transform Bangladesh into a developed nation.

In the changed global order, we are considered the most powerful if we have enough human resource potential. Indeed the vision to transform the society and the vision to bring a paradigm shift in education sector through investing for the development of the human resources of the country need vision and courage to translate that vision into reality. And the courage Mr. Md. Sabur Khan, the esteemed Chairman of Board of Trustees of DIU, a great visionary in the field of higher education, shows in doing that has made DIU what it is today. A humble note of personal acknowledgement from the President of IAUP to you, Chairman Sabur Khan, go ahead with your head high. We'll always be with you in your arduous journey of noble ventures.

My Dear Young Friends,

While entering into the life with a mission, you need unique traits for achieving success. First of all, you have to have an aim in life, a well-thought out one. Secondly, you have to acquire knowledge continuously as a life-long autonomous learner. Thirdly, you have to put in your honest hard work and fourthly, you have to have perseverance to meet your goals in life. Another important quality is the ability to work with knowledge acquisition constantly for an aim and convert it into expected outcomes. To achieve this, you will need to constantly practice and evaluate your own actions and ideas at all times.

Don't forget the world in the 21st century is already a knowledge based society with multiple opportunities and innumerable hurdles to face. Yesterday natural resources were defined as power but today knowledge is power. So, tomorrow, educational institutions will be the powerhouses. Yesterday leaders commanded and controlled but today leaders empower and coach. Education with values is the need of the hour. I am sure that the curricula and the method of teaching at Daffodil International University has been designed to cater for the needs of the knowledge based society of the 21st century.

While going forward, never ever forget the millions looking to you. Spare a moment to think for those- not as privileged as you are. You must be grateful to your parents whose untiring support and sacrifice helped you become what you are today. You must be thankful to the Almighty for giving you the opportunity to be in a better place. Think about the children of poor parents. It is your responsibility to ensure that the world is as much theirs as yours. You must bring the full power of your intelligence, knowledge and wisdom to improve the life of everyone on this earth. It is not impossible. Carry your dream like a fire in your heart and go out to the real world to ignite your dreams.

Last but not the least, you will always be remembered for sharing your good work to empower your fellow workers, caring for others; for making someone feel special and I have no doubt that you will do your very best in life.

I wish you, the graduating students a future with glorious success and thank you for listening to me with patience.

May God bless you.

BismillahirRahmanir Rahim, In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

প্রথমেই বিনম্র শ্রদ্ধায় স্মরণ করছি মহান ভাষা আন্দোলন এবং মুক্তিযুদ্ধে শহীদদের প্রতি যাঁদের আত্মত্যাগের বিনিময়ে আজ আমরা অর্জন করেছি বাংলায় কথা বলার স্বাধীনতা, পেয়েছি স্বার্বভৌমত্ব ও স্বাধীন বাংলাদেশ।

Mr. Nurul Islam Nahid, MP, Honorable Minister, Ministry of Education, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh;
Professor Abdul Mannan, Honorable Chairman, University Grants Commission of Bangladesh;
Dr. Kakha Shengelia, Honorable President, International Association of University Presidents, the President of Caucasus University, Georgia and the Speaker of this Convocation;

Dr. Achyuta Samanta, Founder of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), Bhubaneswar, India.

Professor Dr. Yousuf Mahbubul Islam, Honorable Vice Chancellor, DIU;
eminent academicians; esteemed parents; distinguished guests; dear graduates and respected ladies and gentlemen.

As-Salamu-Alaiqum and a very 'Good morning'to you all. I welcome you to our exclusive permanent campus and express my gratitude to all of you for being with us here today. It is indeed a memorable day because, on this auspicious day, students are picking the fruits of their hard-work for years. On behalf of the University community and on my own behalf, I congratulate our proud graduates.

Distinguished Guests, Students, Ladies and Gentlemen,
From a humble beginning with only 66 students in 2002, we at present, have an enrolment of over 20,000 students. The number of students who have passed out successfully in the past years is now more than 15000. We not only have grown in terms of number of students but also have opened new departments and specialized courses considering need of the present world. We are in touch with our dear students and it is our commitment that not a single graduate will be jobless. I'm sure our students will succeed in networking, as entrepreneurs and as a job provider.

The university is focused on holistic development of the students to make them worthy citizens of the country and of the world. With our movement "Change Together", DIU aims for drastic positive changes in our society through creating a generation of entrepreneurs and leaders. We believe, not a single of our students will get involved in unethical practice as they have gone through our unique course, "Art of Living", which has been designed to shape the moral, ethical, emotional and social values. We have implemented policies on anti-ragging, anti-smoking, anti-eve-teasing, neutral gender equilibrium environment for education at DIU. A triangular relationship has already been nurtured among and between Students, Teachers and Guardians through well-planned and effective get-togethers and Parents' Days.

My Dear Graduates,
I congratulate you on the success you have achieved by dint of your hard labor. The Convocation ceremony will remain as an unforgettable memory in your life. You are going to enter a new phase of life from here. You have fought for education for so many years; now it's time to fight for your career selection. Certificates you have achieved today will be valuable only when you will be able to capitalize on it and be successful in life. As young graduates, you are about to embark on your own extraordinary journey and enter into a new life full of adventures. I am hopeful that you will be able to face reality of life with courage and credibility. Your parents and guardians have invested time, money and expectations on you. They wish to see you come out with success with glory, prospect with pride and progress ensuring peace for yourself, for your family and for the society that helped raise you. It is your turn to give them back what they need and deserve.

I am proud of all of you but I want to make a mention that I am happy to see so many of our graduates have taken up covetable positions at home and abroad. Congratulations to those who have already proved to be successful. I recommend fresh graduates to spend time into the 'hidden' job market and yet to be explored entrepreneurial fields.Those who still have no job need to do career-mapping properly. Don't forget, we are there for you with you all possible support. Don't forget, we are there to work on your short comings and find opportunities for you. Don't forget, job market is very simple if you start looking for your job with a little preparation. You need to read the company's background, job scopes and their requirements, website, existing HR and their demands? Don't forget, career is a challenge. For a right choice of career, select your goal, define your path and start your journey from tomorrow.

Focus on your dream company, do your case study where you desire to work. Why will a company recruit you? You must add some value to their company. It depends on how you can create value – you need to do your home-work before addressing the company or attending an interview. You must acquire proper knowledge about that company; you must work out what scopes they have and you must be sure of what additional value you are able to bring for them – they must call you.

Be organized, build your network, attend speaker events, follow tips and technique of job-finding, and apply for job wisely. Don't think, after submission of a CV, that you will always be called. Take mental preparation and proper precaution before facing an interview. It's your responsibility to uplift yourself through different events, programs and networking. Jobsbd.com and Career Development Center can be reliable friends in your job hunting and career development. Never lag behind and be prepared in such a way that you become lucrative in the job market. The university has equipped and supported you in such a way that we believe you cannot let yourself down.

At DIU, we arranged a series of mega events: career related programs, workshops, seminars, lecture series, etc. We set up Industry-Academia linkages; we collaborated with 300+ foreign universities, facilitated laptops, labs, e-Learning and Google classroom; we ensured continuous curricular development; we established Daffodil Innovation Hub', Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) and 'Innovation and Incubation Center (IIC); we strengthened students exchange, research collaboration, membership and affiliations; we incorporated foreign faculty members; developed state of the art facilities and infrastructures; sponsored projects like - helicam, robots and solar car; we nurtured entrepreneurship - all for the sake of our students, graduates and alumni!

Dear Future Leaders,
We are now concentrating on developing DIU as the only Entrepreneurial University in the country, a University of Doers. We promote our students to emerge as entrepreneurs. DIU has produced more than 1000 entrepreneurs who have created over 5000 jobs so far.We have established Business Incubator, Entrepreneurs Club, Venture Capital Ltd., Startup Bangladesh, Bachelor of Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship Guidance Program (EGP), Industrial and Innovation Park, Enterprise Competitiveness Institute (ECI), Startup Market & Lab, Startup Restaurant and Café, Young Women Entrepreneurs Forum, Are you the next Startup, social business club, School of Entrepreneurship, etc. for you to benefit from?

International job market always creates new eras and new scope which you must explore carefully and follow the trend. You should not only depend on so-called common jobs which calls for too much competition. As you know, DIU provided you with free laptops only to enable you to cope with the demands of technology and drive your career with technology.

My suggestion is: use your strength through technology to set up your career; or become an entrepreneur and create job opportunities for others.

Promising Graduates,
You are our ambassadors. We can assure you that DIU will always be with you throughout your life. Keep in touch with DIU. It is our moral duty to settle you in your career. Come any time; come to DIU for counseling, cooperation and guidance. We'll welcome you with your innovative ideas. You can trust on our promised support.

As alumni, we welcome you to our alumni networking. DIU was, is and will always remain your university. It makes us proud when we see our successful alumni flying DIU flag with their successful career at home and abroad.

Please don't forget to take away these tips: You will be remembered for commitment for caring and sharing, for helping someone, for making someone feel special. You'll feel good for a little act of kindness, you'll be remembered for a genuine gesture friendship and support to your fellow human beings. You'll reach a height if your target is the sky. I have no doubt that you will get the very best in life. May Allah help you in all your endeavors. Hope you can start to use your potential. Keep trust on Almighty and don't waste any opportunity that comes your way. Make your parents happy and proud for their sacrifice; fulfill their expectation of you; but keep DIU in mind whatever you do and where ever you are.

Dear Daffodilians,
My new book in Bengali is given to you as a token of my affection because I love to see you either as a successful entrepreneur or as an Intrapreneur wherever you work or will be working in future.
We tried our level best to guide you to take note and respect your parents; to be innovative, creative, and focused. We also nurtured you to utilize your time because the clock always reminds you that time is being deducted from your life! Hope you will keep in mind that, life is under your control; please respect, cultivate and enjoy it. Contribute to the society and be a proud Daffodilian. It is your obligation to yourself, to your parents and to DIU to utilise your skills and you need to present yourself properly.

DIU, CDC and jobsbd.com will always be with you in your journey. You must be prepared in such a way that jobs will come to you, or you will create demand for the job market so that employers can evaluate you and award you with a lucrative job.

May Allah always bless you!

Thank you all.

In the name of the Almighty, the Most Merciful and Beneficent, I begin!

Mr. Nurul Islam Nahid, MP, Honorable Minister, Ministry of Education, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, the Chairperson of the 7th Convocation Ceremony of DIU; Professor Abdul Mannan, Honorable Chairman, University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGCB); Honorable Chairman, Board of Trustees, DIU, Mr. Md. Sabur Khan; Honorable Convocation Speaker, Dr. Kakha Shengelia, President, International Association of University Presidents & President of Caucasus University, Georgia; Professor Dr. Achyuta Samanta, Honorable Founder, KIIT & KISS, India; distinguished guests from India, Georgia and Taiwan; Honorable Members of Parliament; Honorable members of UGC; Heads and representatives of Diplomatic Missions; Emeritus Professor & immediate past Vice Chancellor, Prof Dr. M. Lutfar Rahman; Members of the Board of Trustees; Members of the Syndicate; Members of the Academic Council; Deans of the Faculties; Heads of the Departments; Directors; Faculty members; administrative members; members of the press; Alumni; Guardians of the graduates; organizers; volunteers; graduating students: Assalamualaikum, may the Almighty grant you all peace and blessings always!

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, management, teachers and students of Daffodil International University (DIU), I welcome you all to the 7th Convocation ceremony of DIU in our lush green Permanent Campus. Thank you for making the effort and taking the pains to grace us with your presence at this auspicious occasion to encourage the graduates. I thank the Almighty for creating this opportunity for us to get together on this special occasion.

At the outset, I want to congratulate each of the 3132 students graduating in the 7th Convocation Ceremony of DIU. You are the stars today; we all are here to celebrate your academic achievements. I pray that the Almighty grant you courage, strength and wisdom as you enter into next exciting stage of your life.

Over the course of your study here in DIU, you have developed lifelong friendships and networks. Today, you have also become a valued member of our vibrant DIU Alumni Association. I wish you every success, and very much hope that you stay connected with DIU and your peers in the years to come. While congratulating the graduating students, I would also like to congratulate the teachers and administration of DIU for supporting each graduate on the way to achieving their degree.

Respected audience,
DIU started its academic offerings on March 2002. At present, the university conducts thirty four academic programs under five faculties. Over 20,000 students are enrolled at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in the university with over 750 full time teachers and about 650 administrative officials supporting the academic activities. In line with Vision 2021 of Digital Bangladesh, almost all the academic and administrative services of the University have been digitalized and the University has emerged as one of the prominent ICT oriented universities of the country. The main objective of the university is to turn out technologically oriented graduates capable of pursuing a meaningful career and ultimately making a positive contribution to the development of the nation as entrepreneurs.

To develop ourself as an international university, we have collaborations with over two hundred renowned universities and institutes in fifty countries around the world. We have regular students and teachers exchange programs, we conduct joint research programs leading to PhD degrees for young teachers, employees, and students with a number of foreign universities. We have over 500 international students from different countries of the world.

The Permanent Campus of the university has been established here in Ashulia and it would ultimately accommodate over twenty five thousand students as well as teachers, officials and supporting staff. We are working towards a world class, state-of-the-earth Campus, with all the facilities that a modern university should have. Now the facilities at the permanent campus include modern classrooms, 24/7 WiFi, academic buildings, male and female hostels, guest houses, cafeterias, playgrounds, and many more.

Dear Graduates – a few words for you:
Today, as you officially move into the real world to stand on your own feet, you are like a newborn just released from the mother's womb. To the baby it is an unfamiliar environment. Rather than being afraid, on the contrary, the baby takes a keen interest and wants to know more and more about the real world. Regardless of the number of times the baby falls, the baby continues till he/she successfully learns how to walk. So, as you walk into the real world, I would like you to consider taking on the challenges faced just as a baby does, with a keen interest in facing problems that arise and, never stop trying to solve these problems.

In addition to the spirit of a baby, you now have the skills of a graduate. Become a motivated problem solver. Use the subject skills you have as a resource. You also have another advantage that many previous generations of graduates did not have – you are socially networked. Make best use of these networks to connect with similar minded peers and help each other to succeed. Work together and, collectively, solve problems to help each other for progress of Bangladesh and the world. Turn each problem into a research question and do not rest till it is solved.

On the path to success, you will face many setbacks. As you keep chasing your target, each setback will make you stronger and better at facing subsequent challenges. You are the citizens of a modern world. Become an entrepreneur and contribute to build a better Bangladesh. If you get a job, do so only temporarily to learn how to set up a business. Ultimately become a job giver rather than a job seeker. We are fortunate to have one of the best role models among us, as one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our country, our Founder and Chairman, BoT, Mr. Md. Sabur Khan. Read the books he has written, attend the programs where he gives guidelines to young entrepreneurs.

Keep in mind that you are the ambassadors of your Alma Mater – Daffodil International University (DIU). The world will recognize DIU through your achievements.

Finally, just as we trust a brand manufacturer, trust the Almighty who has created the human brand and has taken the trouble to create you individually – the best of creations, a unique human being. Be grateful to Him for giving you the opportunity to experience an intelligent life, derive satisfaction and make full use of the potential He has given you so generously. The more you use your potential, the more you will realize His Greatness in creating you.

At the end, again, I express our gratitude to Honorable Minister and Honorable Convocation Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Nurul Islam Nahid, MP, Honorable Minister and the Chairperson of Convocation Ceremony. Thank you, Honorable Convocation Speaker, Dr. Kakha Shengelia, for your time and encouraging words for the graduates. Thank you, Professor Abdul Mannan, Chairman, UGC. Thank you, Professor Dr. Achyuta Samanta, Honorable Founder, KIIT & KISS, India.Thank you, distinguished guests from India, Georgia and Taiwan and other local and international guests. We will gratefully remember you and your presence in the Convocation on this green ground in the years to come. Finally, thank you, Honorable Founder and Chairman, BoT, DIU, Mr. Md. Sabur Khan for your vision and continuous efforts & guidance to make DIU a top class university.

Dear Graduates, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
May the Almighty bless you all with peace and happiness. May He bless DIU on its road to development. Thank you all.