by Friendship News Desk,
4 May, 2025
Friendship Academy and the University of Dhaka inaugurated the latest cohort of the ‘Development in Practice’ course on 3 May 2025, to learn and share relevant development narratives of today.
The inaugural session brought together 40 students, scholars, and professionals for a 5-week intensive course on locally led, globally informed development, jointly organised by Friendship Academy and the Department of Development Studies at the University of Dhaka.
The opening ceremony was held at the Department’s Seminar Library, where participants received a warm welcome from Brig Gen. (retired) Ilyas Iftekhar Rasul, Senior Director and Head of Education at Friendship. Dr. Kazi Maruful Islam, Professor of Governance and Politics at the Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka, gave a short debriefing of the course. Friendship International co-chair Marc Elvinger joined virtually, welcoming students and sharing insights on the links between NGOs and academia as well as the course’s global context.
Dr. Taiabur Rahman, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Dhaka, was the special guest and also spoke at the event. Dr. Nayeem Sultana, Chair of the Department of Development Studies at the University of Dhaka, shared the concluding remarks of the ceremony and ushered in the way for the course lectures to begin.
Dr. Niaz Ahmed Khan, Vice Chancellor of the University of Dhaka, began the first formal session of the course after the launch with a 1.5-hour-long introductory lesson on ‘GO-NGO Collaboration – A Primer’. This was followed by two lessons on managing development projects from theoretical and practical perspectives, led by Dr. Taiabur Rahman and Dr. Shahed Rahman, Chief of Party of the Suchana Programme, respectively.
Apart from development leaders from Friendship and the University of Dhaka, experts from CARE Bangladesh, Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), the Bangladesh Government, Comilla University, Visual Communication Ltd., UCSI University Malaysia, UNDP, Danish Refugee Council, Learning Planet Institute, and the Embassy of France in Bangladesh will lead the sessions in the upcoming weeks.
The Summer School includes a field visit to the northern chars of Bangladesh, where participants will explore ways and tools of community engagement and observe Friendship’s activities firsthand. The graduation ceremony is expected to be held on 31 May 2025 after completion of the course.
