North South University Exchange Program with Yunnan University
North South University (NSU) hosted the Bangladesh Anthropology Symposium 2026 on 7 October at Audi 801, bringing together university leaders, faculty members, scholars and students for a day of academic discussion, recognition and cultural celebration.
Organized by NSU’s Anthropology Program under the Department of Political Science and Sociology, the symposium reflected on the development of anthropology education in Bangladesh while highlighting the discipline’s relevance to contemporary society.
Professor Rizwan Khair, chair of the Department of Political Science and Sociology, delivered the welcome address. He traced the department’s evolution from offering general education courses to establishing full-fledged undergraduate degree programmes, beginning with the Bachelor of Social Science (BSS) in Anthropology.
Professor Rizwanul Islam, dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, emphasised the importance of critical thinking in understanding social transformation and shaping the future of humanity.
Addressing students, NSU Treasurer Professor Abdur Rob Khan encouraged them to look beyond formal academic coursework and engage more deeply with society. Such engagement, he said, would help students develop a broader understanding of human experiences and social realities.
Professor Bulbul Siddiqi, director of the Confucius Institute and a faculty member of the Anthropology Programme, introduced the keynote speaker, Professor SM Nurul Alam. In his introduction, Siddiqi reflected on Alam’s academic career and his contributions to the development of anthropology education in Bangladesh.
In his keynote address, Professor SM Nurul Alam, former professor of anthropology at Jahangirnagar University, shared reflections from his academic career and recalled the early development of anthropology as an academic discipline in Bangladesh.
He urged students not to measure their university experience solely through CGPA, but to view anthropology as a means of understanding life, society and human relationships. He also called on NSU’s anthropology faculty to maintain a strong balance between theoretical and practical learning in the curriculum.
According to Alam, many contemporary social challenges cannot be fully understood or addressed through theoretical knowledge alone. Anthropology education, he stressed, should therefore connect academic concepts with lived experiences and realities.
The symposium was chaired by NSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Abdul Hannan Chowdhury, who announced plans for an academic exchange initiative between NSU’s Anthropology Program and the Department of Ethnology at Yunnan University in China.
Under the proposed initiative, NSU anthropology students would have the opportunity to spend a full academic year at Yunnan University, providing them with greater international exposure and opportunities for academic and cultural exchange.
A major highlight of the symposium was the formal reception of the second batch of students admitted to NSU’s Anthropology Program in the Fall 2026 semester.
The academic programme was followed by a cultural event organised and performed by NSU anthropology students. Songs, poetry, dance and other performances added a festive dimension to the symposium, celebrating cultural diversity, creativity and student participation.
The programme concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Mohammed Hossen. Dr Mohammed Abdul Baten, coordinator of the Anthropology Programme, was also present.
Students from the first batch of NSU’s Anthropology Program, Rahma Raisa and Nazhat Nahian Taimur, served as hosts for the event.
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