#002 Tanbir Ahmed

Tanbir Ahmed is the former Chairman of the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at Southeast University, a university that gained recognition in a short period of time. I visited his office around mid-2005 to learn more about him. The complete transcript of our conversation is presented below.

-What year were you born?
Tanbir Ahmed: 1977, Sylhet
-Where did you graduate in CSE from?
Tanbir Ahmed: From BUET.
-Tell us about your interests.
Tanbir Ahmed:
I used to enjoy programming contests. I participated in online programming competitions. Seeing my name with the Bangladeshi flag ranked among the top programmers in the world felt great. These days, I enjoy my daily interactions with students the most.
-First success in a contest
Tanbir Ahmed: In 1998, I came 4th in the ICPC.
-Your first PC
Tanbir Ahmed: The first PC I bought in 1995 was an Epson Endeavor 486DX2. It worked wonderfully.
-Tell us something about your university (Southeast University):
Tanbir Ahmed:
As a new university, its future is extremely promising. The standard of education is good, and the teachers are very friendly. In fact, if there isn’t a friendly relationship between students and teachers, a natural gap forms, which negatively affects the quality of education.
-Recently, the UGC has taken strict action against various universities, which has created different kinds of problems in many cases. Please comment on this.
Tanbir Ahmed: Any private or public university is established with the approval of the University Grants Commission. In such situations, before shutting down a university due to the weaknesses of its administration or directors, I believe one should consider the future of the thousands of helpless students. For those institutions that have been closed, there are many existing restrictions for senior students to complete their degrees elsewhere. If these are not relaxed, they will face serious difficulties.
-Sir, thank you very much.
Tanbir Ahmed: Thank you as well.
Email: [email protected]