State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak today (September 11, 2022) requested Russia to open offshore campuses of its technical universities in Bangladesh – to develop the IT sector here and upskills youths. He made the call at a meeting with Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh, Alexander Mantytskiy, at the former’s office at ICT Tower in Dhaka’s Agargaon area. During the meeting, they discussed various issues, including cooperation in cyber security capacity building and introduction of inter-operable digital transaction (IDTP) system between Russia and Bangladesh Also read: 80% of travel market remains unexplored: Palak Besides, business and investment by Russian technology companies in robotics, machine learning, AI, AR and VR, land allocations for Russian companies in hi-tech parks here, arrangement of Bangladesh-Russia investment summit, participation of Russian IT companies in Digital World Summit here in December, and start-up exchange programs came up for discussion in the meeting. The Russian ambassador assured full cooperation in these sectors, expressing hope that the bilateral relations between the two countries in various fields including ICT will be strengthened in the near future. ICT Senior Secretary NM Zeaul Alam, Managing Director of Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority Bikarna Kumar Ghosh and Director General of Digital Security Agency Khairul Amin were present, said a PID handout. Read: Nagad becomes world's fastest-growing fintech company after conquering local market: Palak

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak on Tuesday urged the youths to create self-employment scopes in their respective areas as the government is setting up Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Centre in the 64 districts of the country. “Millions of youths enter the job market every year. Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Centers are being set up to facilitate their employment,” he said. Also read: Bangladesh will have to embrace rapid changes in next 20 years: Palak The state minister was talking to reporters after laying the foundation stone of Dinajpur Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Center at Dinajpur Government College campus, said a PID handout here. After passing the SSC and the HSC exams, anyone can be self-employed by becoming an IT freelancer or entrepreneur on the successful completion of a 6-month course or 12-month diploma course in an IT training and incubation center, he said. Palak said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reduced the disparity between the urban and rural areas as well as the rich and the poor by transforming the country into Digital Bangladesh in the last 13 years. Also read: Palak visits Microsoft firm in USA He said the government reached its digital services to the doorsteps of people through the establishment of Union Digital Center as per the plan of Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the architect of Digital Bangladesh. About the Dinajpur IT training centre, the state minister hoped that some 1,000 youths could manage their self-employment by getting training from the centre every year. But more than 3,000 youths will be able to take training from it, he added. A six-storey structure for the IT Training and Incubation Center will be constructed on a two-acre land at the cost of some 85 crore. Parliament’s whip Iqbalur Rahim and Managing Director of Bangladesh Hi-tech Park Authority Bikarna Kumar Ghosh were, among others, present.

The government is going to provide training to 10,000 top executives, including Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) known as CXOs, and mid-level managers of IT companies under Advanced Certification for Management Professionals (ACMP) 4.0 training programme within next five years, officials said. “Backed by the success of the similar ACMP 4.0 training programme held previously the government is going to organize training for the CXOs and mid-level managers of IT companies to build their capacity to flourish their respective companies,” said senior secretary of ICT Division N M Zeaul Alam. Read: Women’s participation in ICT sector to be raised substantially: Hasina He said the government will continue to provide support to such training to boost the country’s IT sector and help achieve its $5 billion target of ICT export by 2025. The experts of Institute of Business Administration (IBA) will provide 120 hours of training to the CEOs and managers who played a vital role in making healthy growth of IT companies, he added. The ACMP 4.0 programme was introduced at Institute of Business Administration (IBA) of Dhaka University in 2017 in collaboration with LICT Project to boost the country’s IT sector. A total of 950 CXOs and managers have so far been given training under the ACMP 4.0 training programme. LICT Project Director Tarique M Barkatullah said keeping the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution in mind, the government has been providing support to IBA to continue ACMP 4.O course for enhancing efficiency of the CXOs and managers for increasing business and earning of their companies.  He said the training programme will provide a pragmatic approach towards transformational leadership in a dynamic, rapidly changing, interconnected and complex business environment influenced by digital disruptions and opportunities. Read: AL wants increased allocation to ICT sector IT-ITES Policy Adviser of LICT Project Sami Ahmed said upon completion of the programme, the participants are expected to be better equipped to lead crafting and implementing strategies for growth acceleration of their businesses in the age of digital transformation. “Without enhancing managerial skills, a company could not flourish,” he added. This extensive training programme consists of exclusive modules including communication 4.0, technology 4.0, supply chain 4.0, business analytics, marketing 4.0, Human Resource Management 4.0. The trainees will also get training on crafting and executing strategies, innovation, business model and entrepreneurial journey, scale up and growth acceleration strategy for IT/ITeS SMEs, strategy masterclass.

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak on Thursday urged the Japanese investors to capitalise on the benefits and invest in the IT sector of Bangladesh and to recruit Skilled Bangladeshi IT professionals. 

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak has invited the entrepreneurs of the United Kingdom to take advantage of Bangladesh's thriving IT sector, which has become the most attractive destination for investment.

China's software and information technology (IT) sector is increasingly driven by technology innovation, an industrial survey showed.