September 01, 2014 – Global Communication Center (GCC) has successfully completed the second International Research Opportunity Program (IROP) for Institute of Decision Science for a Sustainable Society (IDS3), Kyushu University, Japan. A total of 6 students and 9 professionals from various organizations have participated in the program held through August 24 – 31, 2014.
On the opening day, the team attended an Orientation Ceremony at Grameen Bank Auditorium with the participation of the officials of Grameen Communications and GCC. On the other part of the day, they took part in a workshop organized by the Institute of Nutrition and Food Science of University of Dhaka. There, the team learnt about the activities of INFS and shared their own research objectives in order to find out the opportunities of collaborative initiatives. Later, they met the Vice Chancellor of University of Dhaka, AAMS Arefin Siddique and shared the academic practices of Japan and Bangladesh to look for areas of improvement at both sides.
On the second day, the team closely observed the activities of Portable Health Clinic (PHC) Call Center and had one-on-one discussions with the PHC staffs to improve the management and operational process of the Call Center. In the evening, the members had a meeting with World Health Organization (WHO) Dhaka Office on Non Communicable Diseases (NCD).
The team met officials from BRAC Healthcare on the following day. They learnt about their activities in the area of healthcare. Later on, they had a meeting with the Ambassador of Japan in Bangladesh, Mr. Shiro Sadoshima. On the fourth day, the members moved to Kalihati, Tangail, the rural project site of GramCar: Social Services on Wheels. There they observed the Service Point activities, talked with the local staff and villagers (service receivers/ potential ones) and studied the routes of the village car in order to improve the productivity and efficiency of people, the system and the car which will eventually contribute to the development of a sustainable business model. The team spent 4 days in the village and carried out various activities relating to their research interest.
A Village Festival, GramDibosh Utsob was held in respect to the villagers, local government representatives and the visiting team on August 29, 2014 (Friday). This was an opportunity for cultural exchange between Japan and Bangladesh. The event included sports competition with local sports of Bangladesh, cultural performance of the young folks of Japan and Bangladesh and prize giving ceremony. About 3,000 villagers were present in the ceremony and the event was widely covered by all local newspapers.
On the final day, the team had a brief presentation on the activities and outline research outcomes they obtained throughout the trip. One of the participants, Ms. Eiko Kai (Masters Student, Kyushu University) also participated in a live interview with a national television channel, Ekushey Television to share her experiences in Bangladesh.