Islamic University is one of the top public universities in Bangladesh as well as the largest seat of higher education in the south-western part of the country.It is also known as Kushtia University as it is situated 24 kilometres south of Kushtia and 22 kilometres north of Jhenaidah district-town.The university is by-passed by Khulna-Kushtia National Highway which provides its lifeline of connectivity with the rest of the country. It is the seventh oldest university in the country and the first university in Bangladesh established after the independence war of Bangladesh.

 

Speciality of IU

 

Islamic University is a major public research and PhD granting university in Bangladesh.Islamic university has been exceptionally renowned as the major international center for theological, general, applied science, technology and engineering studies.It is the only university in Bangladesh where a specialized stream of Theology and Islamic Studies and seven others of Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Business Administration and Law are running parallel.The university addresses the needs of both the local and foreign students, facilitating them with a broad spectrum of undergraduate studies and postgraduate research and teaching. 

History of establishment of Islamic University

 

On 1 December 1976 then government announced the establishment of the Islamic University to promote a coordinated approach to Islamic education and general education in the country.Initially,it was funded by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and now it is financed by the Government of Bangladesh through University Grants Commission, Bangladesh.

 Islamic University, Kushtia was founded on 22 November 1979 at Shantidanga-Dulalpur (Kushtia-Jhenaidah) by then President of Bangladesh General Ziaur Rahman, based on the recommendation of ‘Islamic University Planning Committee’ on 7 January 1977 headed by M. A. Bari including seven other members.

The Islamic University Act was passed in the National Assembly of Bangladesh on 27 December 1980.On 1 January 1981 the government of Bangladesh appointed A. N. M. Mamtaz Uddin Choudhury as the first vice-chancellor and the university became operational that year.

As construction of several important buildings began, a presidential decree was issued on 15 May 1982 to shift the university from Shantidanga-Dulalpur (Kushtia-Jhenaidah) to Boardbazar, Gazipur on an area of 50 acres. The construction of an academic building, two residential halls and other necessary infrastructures were completed. Initially two faculties (Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences) with four departments (Al-Quran, Dawah, Accounting, Management) were established.

In 1987, two more departments, Sharia and Economics were established.

On 28 December 1988, while the infrastructure development and academic activities were in full swing, the university was again shifted to Shantidanga-Dulalpur (Kushtia-Jhenaidah).

In 1991 five more departments — Bengali, English, Arabic, Islamic History, and Public Administration were established.

In 1995 three other departments — of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, and Computer Science and Engineering were established.

In 1998 three other departments — Information and Communication Technology, Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, and Nutrition and Food Technology were established.

In 2007 two more departments, Mathematics, and Al-Fiqh and Legal Studies were established.

In 2009 two more departments Finance and Banking, and Statistics were established.

In 2015 three more departments — Folklore Studies, Political Science, and Marketing were opened.

On 25 September 2017, 8 more departments— Law and Land Management, Development Studies, Social Welfare, Biomedical Engineering, Pharmacy, Environmental Science & Geography, Human Resources Management, Tourism and Hospitality Management were established.In 2019 the Department of Fine Arts was added to the Faculty of Arts. Currently there are 34 departments under 8 faculties. 

On 23 June 2009, an Act of the Parliament assigned the President as chancellor, replacing the Prime Minister.

The 'Bangabandhu Chair' was established at IU under Bangla department on 20 July 2017 to carry out extensive research on the life, political activities and ideology of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Father of the Nation. Shamsuzzaman Khan, former director general of Bangla Academy, was appointed as 'Bangabandhu Chair' Professor at Islamic University (IU) in Kushtia on 1 October 2018. 

 

Islamic  University at a glace

 

Motto: Enhance quality of higher education and research

Type: Public University, Co-educational

Established in : 22 November 1979

Location: Kushtia,Bangladesh

Campus: Urban,175 acres

Chancellor: President Md. Abdul Hamid

Vice-Chancellor: Shaikh Abdus Salam

Teachers: 412

Academic staff: 412+

Administrative staff: 400+

Students: 16000+ (Undergrad, postgrad)

Postgraduates: M.Phil Students 666 (degree awarded), 505 (ongoing)

Doctoral students 473 (degree awarded),438 (ongoing)

Language: English, Bengali, Arabic

Academic Departments: 34

Halls: 8

Nickname: ইবি ; IU

Institutes: Institute of Islamic Education and Research (IIER)

 

Degrees Offered: 

 

Bachelor with Honours:

BA,BTIS,BBA,BSS,LL.B,B.Sc,B.Pharm,B.Engg

Master's:

MA, MTIS, MBA, MSS, LL.M,  M.Sc, M.Pharm,M. Engg. 

Higher Degrees:

M.Phil, Ph.D

Affiliations: 

ACU 

UK

IAU

France

FUIW

AUN

UGC, Bangladesh

Sports: Football, cricket, basketball, volleyball, athletics.

Website: iu.ac.bd

 

Chancellor of Islamic University

 

The Chancellor position is held by the incumbent President of Bangladesh,the Head of State of Bangladesh. President Md. Abdul Hamid, President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh is the Chancellor of Islamic University.   

 

Administration:

 

The Chancellor is the ceremonial head of the university who appoints the Vice-chancellor.

The Vice-chancellor is the executive head of the university. Present and the 13th Vice-Chancellor is Shaikh Abdus Salam, who was appointed on 29 September 2020.

M.Shahinoor Rahman has been the pro vice-chancellor since 20 February 2013.The treasurer is Selim Toha.

 

List of Vice-Chancellors of IU: 

 

1. Professor A.N.M Mamotaz Uddin (from 9 February 1979 to 27 December 1988)

2. Professor Muhammad Sirazul Islam (from 28 December 1988 to 17 June 1991)

3.  Professor Muhammad Abdul Hamid (from 18 June 1991 to 21 March 1995)

4. Professor Muhammad Enam-Ul-Haque (from 9 May 1995 to 2 September 1997)

5. Professor Kayes Uddin (from 3 September 1997 to 19 October 2000)

6. Professor Muhammad Lutfar Rahman (from 20 October 2000 to 3 November 2001)

7. Professor Muhammad Mustafizur Rahman (from 10 December 2001 to 2 April 2004)

8. Professor M. Rafiqul Islam (from 3 April 2004 to 10 July 2006)

9. Professor Foyez Muhammad Sirazul Haque (from 10 August 2006 to 8 March 2009)

10. Professor M. Alauddin (from 9 March 2009 to 27 December 2012)

11. Professor Abdul Hakim Sarkar (from 28 December 2012 to 30 June 2016)

12. Professor Md. Harun-Ur-Rashid Askari (from 21 August 2016 to 20 August 2020)

13. Professor Shaikh Abdus Salam (from 30 September 2020 to till date)

 

Faculties and Departments  

 

1. Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies:

• Department of Al-Quran and Islamic Studies

• Department of Al-Hadith and Islamic Studies

• Department of Dawah and Islamic Studies

2. Faculty of Arts:

• Department of Arabic Language and Literature

• Department of Bengali

• Department of English

• Department of Islamic History and Culture

• Department of Fine Arts

3. Faculty of Social Sciences:

• Department of Economics

• Department of Political Science

• Department of Public Administration

• Department of Folklore Studies

• Department of Development Studies

• Department of Social Welfare

4. Faculty of Law:

• Department of Law

• Department of Al Fiqh & Legal Studies

• Department of Law and Land Management

5. Faculty of Business Administration:

• Department of Accounting and Information Systems

• Department of Management

• Department of Finance and Banking

• Department of Marketing

• Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management

• Department of Human Resource Management

 

 

6. Faculty of Sciences:

• Department of Mathematics

• Department of Statistics

• Department of Environmental Science and Geography

7. Faculty of Engineering and Technology:

• Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

• Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

• Department of Computer Science and Engineering

• Department of Information and Communication Technology

• Department of Biomedical Engineering

 

 

8. Faculty of Biological Sciences:

• Department of Applied Nutrition and Food Technology 

• Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering

• Department of Pharmacy      

 

Facilities of IU

Residential Halls

The university has 8 halls of residence, four for male students and three for female students.

For male students:

1.Saddam Hossain Hall

2.Shahid Ziaur Rahman Hall

3. Jatir Pita Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall

4.Lalon Shah Hall

5.Sheikh Russel Hall

For female students:

1.Begum Khaleda Zia Hall

2.Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall

3.Deshratna Sheikh Hasina Hall

 

Central Library of Islamic Univesrsity

 

The central library, King Fahad-bin- Abdul Aziz Library, housed in a three-storey building, is one of the largest libraries in the country. The library holds a collection of more than 103408 books, including bound volumes of periodicals. In addition, it has a collection of over 30,000 manuscripts in various languages and a large number of microfilms, microfiche and CDs. It subscribes to over 19,029 current foreign journals. The library is a member of Bangladesh University Grants Commission Digital Library and of many other international consortiums.It has an advanced level E-Library.Teachers, students and researchers are able to read all journals, books research papers and articles, by using the E-Library facilities.Through UDL it has been linked with 13 E-Publishers-ACM, Emerald, JSTOR, IEEE, Wiley, Cambridge University Press, McGraw-Hill, Oxford University Press, Pearson Education, SAGE, Springer, T&F and World Scientific.Besides, there is the opportunity of remote access to EBSCO Discovery Service and RemoteXs and Digital Library.

 

Medical Centre: 

Established in 1995 on 29th August, the medical centre has been rendering manifold medical services to the teachers, students and employees. A team of 15 expert doctors and 27 office support staff offers 24/7 service which includes emergency service, outdoor and indoor (observation only) service, ambulance service, medicine, pathology, sonography, modern eye equipment, ENT treatment, minor surgeries, dentistry, antivenin, counseling and motivation. It also offers preliminary treatment of gynecology and obstetrics. Students suffering from contagious diseases like chickenpox, mumps, etc. are treated in isolation. 

 

Cafeteria: 

There is a central cafeteria, situated within the central auditorium's south side. Moreover, every faculty building, library, residential halls have cafeterias on the campus. 

 

Theatre: 

Islamic University Theatre (IUT) was established in 1991 by students.Every now and then drama is staged at the Student Teacher Cultural Centre.

 

Student organisations for extracurricular activities: 

• EEE University Student Branch (IEEE IU SB)

• Teacher-Student Cultural Centre (TSCC)

• Roktima (Voluntary blood donation organisation)

• Islamic University Theatre (IUT)

• Islamic University Film Society (IUFS)

• Islamic University Debating Society (IUDS)

• Islamic University Photographic Society (IUPS)

• Islamic University Rover Scout Group (IURSG)

• Islamic University Rotaract Club (IURC)

• Islamic University Reporters Unity (IURU)

• Islamic University Press Club

• Islamic University Journalist Association (IUJA)

• Islamic University Computer Association (IUCA)

• Bisshbidyaloy Theatre (Bithi)

• TARUNNO (A voluntary, non-political, and social welfare organization of Islamic University, Kushtia)

• Bangladesh National Cadet Corps Wing Islamic University (BNCCIU)

• Students Association of Information and Communication Technology (SAICT)

• Career Club of Information and Communication Engineering (CCICE)

• Programming Club of Information and Communication Technology (PCICT)

• ‘Abritti, Abrtti’, an IU campus-based organisation of recitation.

• Islamic University Nutrition Club (IUNC)

• Islamic University GRE Club

• Islamic University IELTS Club

• Swapno Sahitya Parishad, a campus-based literary organization

• Consumer Youth-Islamic University, Kushtia

 

• Cancer Awareness Programme for women (CAP).

 

 

Physical  Education

 

Islamic University organizes sports and other extracurricular and recreational activities. The Physical Education department offers three programmes:

1.Compulsory Physical Education

2.Certificate Course in coaching major games and sports

3.Intramural and Extramural programmes

 

ICT Cell

 

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) CELL offers innovative technology services and solutions to support the teaching, learning, research and administrative goals of the university. The Cell provides a wide range of IT services to facilitate the works of teachers, students and the non-teaching staff. It also provides assistance and partnership to promote effective use and development of ICT facilities across the university.

 

Institute of Islamic Education & Research (IIER)

 

The Institute of Islamic Education and Research (IIER) promotes research, publishes journals and offers numerous short certificate courses/programmes/ diplomas on education, library science, English, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese language for students, teachers and other professionals.A Confucius Classroom has been established under the institute.

 

Transportation

 

Islamic University offers transport services for students, teachers and other employees. A fleet of busses carrying students, teachers and other staff ply between Kushtia and Jhenaidah. The service is available even on holidays to help those students who come to university for using the library or getting teachers’ counseling service. 

 

International  Student Affairs Cell (ISAC)

 

 

The ISAC provides quality services to the foreign students enrolled in different undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at the university.  The foreign students help accelerate the teaching-learning atmosphere of the university by way of exchanging ideas, views, manners and practices of multicultural students. Its competent teaching staff, multimedia and virtual classrooms, resourceful libraries, high-tech research laboratories,  deluxe  hostels ensure an excellent environment for generating the potential of the students. ISAAC has been working as a gate-way to secure one-stop services for the international students like admission, visa-support, tuition fee waiver, managing hostels, medical assistants, scholarships etc. The foreign students are provided with furnished accommodation, healthcare, transportation, gymnasium, tuition fees waiver’s scholarship for meritorious students, internet facilities.

 

Computer Centre

Islamic University has a computer lab also.It was established in order to accelerate research facilities for faculty, staff and students.

 

Conference and Workshops

 

Islamic University regularly organizes national and international seminars, conferences and workshops in its campus. Among them the following are notable:

• National Workshop on Networking and ISP set up (System Administration) using LINUX.

• International seminar on ‘Role of Microbial Proteases in their own metabolism and host Infection’

• 'MOOC-GERMANPROBASHE SEMINAR'

• A programme on "Ethics of Teaching: Duties and Responsibilities of a University Teacher".

• An international seminar on 'Natural products for drug discovery and development' was held on 26 June 2019, organized by Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Department of IU.

• An international seminar on ‘Contemporary challenges for international humanitarian law’ was held on 8 July 2019, jointly organized by IU Law Faculty and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

 

Innovation and Achievements 

 

• The Intelligent Smart and Versatile Home Security System was designed by Niaz Mustakim, an M.Sc student of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) Department. It can be used for everyday tasks like opening and closing doors, switching lights and air-conditioning on and off, as well as warning of dangers such as gas leaks and fire.[35]

• A robot was invented by ASM Shamim Hasan, an M.Sc student of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) Department. The device is capable of collecting information from spaces which are usually out of the reach of humans.[36]

• IU is four times champions in football, two times in basketball and fourteen times in volleyball at the Bangladesh inter-universities sports competition. Moreover, some IU students played in the Asian games and Olympic games for the Bangladesh National Team and acquired prizes at that competition.

 

 Collaboration and MoU with foreign universities and institutes

 

Islamic University has academic collaboration and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with following institutes:

United States Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, United States (MoU)

Japan Nagasaki University, Japan (Academic Cooperation)

South Korea Kangwon National University, South Korea (International collaboration of Biological Research)

South Korea Chonbuk National University, South Korea ( Research Cooperation)

China Confucius Institute, China (Establishment of the Confucius Institute Chinese Teaching Site)

Brunei Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University, Brunei Darussalam (MoU)

China Yunnan University, China

Japan Okayama University, Japan

Japan Okayama University of Science, Japan

India Visva-Bharati University, India

Turkey Kafkas University, Turkey

Turkey Cankiri Karatekin University, Turkey

Turkey Yıldız Technical University, Turkey(MoU)

 

 Convocation

The first convocation of Islamic University was held on 27 April 1993.Since then,a second convocation was held on 5 December 1999 and the third on 28 March 2002.The 4th convocation of Islamic University (IU),Kushtia,was held on 7 January 2018.

 

Notable   Alumni

 

Abul Ahsan Chowdhury, writer, researcher and former professor, Department of Bengali, IU

Harun-Ur-Rashid Askari, writer, fictionist, columnist, academic, media personality and Ex-Vice Chancellor, IU

M Shahinoor Rahman, researcher, writer, academic, media personality, folklorist, singer and present Pro-Vice Chancellor, IU

Shamsuzzaman Khan, ex-director general of Bangla Academy and Bangabandhu Chair Professor, IU

Shaikh Abdus Salam, academician, writer, sports organizer, professor and present Vice Chancellor, IU

A B M Shawkat Ali, writer, physicist and ex-assistant professor of the Department of Computer Science & Engineering (CSE), IU

Fahima Khatun, national cricketer and student of Law, IU