Building Scientists for Bangladesh - গড়বো বিজ্ঞানী, সাজাবো বাংলাদেশ

We envision a Bangladesh where there are zero deaths and disabilities in children due to preventable diseases. To achieve this, we must build a generation of young individuals who aspire to be scientists and leaders in their local communities to bring positive changes. With the aspirations of working in Bangladesh, with Bangladesh and for Bangladesh, earlier in 2022, we launched our program, “Building Scientists for Bangladesh.”

Most high school students, especially girls, in Bangladesh have never met a scientist or been introduced to the inventive and collaborative nature of scientific research. At CHRF, we wish want to change this. Through the three streams of our program, we take science to people by arranging science camps and/or opportunities for conversations with scientists, bring people to science and research labs, as well as provide hands-on laboratory and analysis skills to aspiring scientists.

If you wish to sponsor this program or any of its specific streams, get in touch with our team!

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Stream 1: Bringing Science to People

The first stream of Building Scientists for Bangladesh is targeted towards high school students enrolled in grades 7-12, who are still deciding their future career trajectories. CHRF takes science to them by either setting up science camps in schools, or arranging interactive discussions with the students aiming to make science relatable to students’ everyday lives and not just limited to theories read in textbooks. All equipment in the science camp is provided by CHRF and our local scientists engage in interactive lecture sessions and perform easy-to-do science experiments with the participants. Each experiment is designed to answer a relatable question, such as, ‘what causes diseases’, ‘are you getting the nutrition you need from what you eat’? and more!

Our hope is that all participants will leave the camp or the discussion sessions with new-found knowledge on how to ask questions, question things and think like a scientist, be critical, gather data from around us, along with souvenirs to share with their friends and family.

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Stream 2: Bringing People to Science

This stream is also targeted towards high school students enrolled in grades 7-12, who are still deciding their future career trajectories. CHRF brings them to science by providing opportunities for students to come to our state-of-the-art research laboratory in Dhaka. To ensure that girls are prioritized, the in-person session at the CHRF research center is planned with the mothers of interested participants living outside Dhaka.

Students from Dhaka can also apply for after-school science camps or weekend/summer vacation science camps.

All participants get to spend time with local scientists working on local problems and diseases, visit a hospital and diagnostic lab, and safely conduct some applied hands-on experiments. All participants return home with a certificate, science souvenirs and experimental kits to share with friends and family. With this stream, we aspire to spark an interest in scientific research and culture among young individuals, and bring them closer to becoming infectious disease detectives of the future.

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Stream 3: Developing Skills

We believe that empowering, engaging, and educating the next generation of scientists is imperative to building a healthy and sustainable community. This means that the next generation of scientists must be provided with the necessary skills. Skills are required for employment opportunities, but also for sustaining interest in science, designing experiments and conducting research. In Bangladesh, while students are provided with the theoretical knowledge on important scientific techniques, not all universities have the capacity to provide hands-on training. With our third stream, we want to close that gap.

This stream is targeted towards undergraduate and postgraduate students of life sciences, who wish to receive training in hands-on laboratory and data analysis skills. We are leveraging our expertise in clinical research, diagnostics and genomics to build intellectual capacity within Bangladesh and create a model for capacity building and decentralization of research worldwide. We are partnering with both public and private universities to not only provide intensive training, but also build infrastructure for genomic research in Bangladesh. Our training programs range from 2-3 weeks in duration, where interested participants can choose to specialize in genomics, microbiology, or biochemistry. All participants are provided with a certificate upon successful completion.

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