By Office of Public Affairs
March 17, 2023 – AIT alumna Ms. Samina Alam from Bangladesh, a recipient of the ADB-JSP scholarship, who has graduated from the Master’s of Engineering in Energy currently known as Sustainable Energy Transition Program of the School of Environment Resources and Development, won the Daily Star – UNDP “Nirbhaya” award on 5th March 2023.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Six Women, including Ms. Samina, have been recognized as “Nirbhaya (fearless)” by The Daily Star and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bangladesh. The Australian High Commission supported the program in Bangladesh.
Ms. Samina recently won an idea competition that was launched in Bangladesh to find a new and innovative improved cookstove for rural women of Chittagong hill tracts. The competition was organized by the Ministry of Chittagong hill tracts affairs and UNDP and funded by Global Affairs Canada. Within one week of starting classes at AIT in 2018, Ms. Samina learned she was pregnant. Caught in a dilemma that most South Asian women face, many of her nearby people advised her to drop out of AIT and return home so that she could focus on becoming a mother. However, she chose to continue her master’s studies despite societal obstacles, and completed her study.
She returned to Bangladesh in 2021 with a new dream to better her hometown of Chattogram and won an Improved Cooking Stoves (ICS) designing competition organized by Strengthening Inclusive Development in Chittagong Hill Tracts (SID-CHT) with technical assistance from a2i’s iLab and financial support from Global Affairs Canada. Samina’s ICS will help reduce smoke from straw stoves and improve the lives of those living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. She was recognized for fighting against all odds and becoming a role model using digital platforms to serve society.
AIT congratulates Ms. Samina for her outstanding achievement and extends best wishes for future endeavors.
