BRAC University
BRAC University is a private University in Bangladesh. It was founded as a branch of the BRAC organization by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed in 2001 under the Private University Act.
History
, a Bangladeshi social worker is the founder of BRAC University.Campus
The campus of BRACU is located at Mohakhali, Dhaka. BRAC University New Campus is located in the centre of communication at KHA 224, Progati Sarani, Merul Badda, Dhaka 1212. It is close to Hatirjhil, Rampura, Aftabnagar, Banasree, Niketon, Mohakhali, Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara Residential Areas. Total land area of the project is 5 acres and building will have a total of 17,00,000 square feet. It is a 13-storey building with 3 basements.It has facilities to accommodate around 12,000-15,000 students. It is a green conceptual building where natural light and air can easily flow into the building. Almost 50% of the land is used for building and the rest for water body, lake, plantation and other purposes aimed at providing biodiversity. The advanced, eco-friendly and attractive campus will enhance the University spirit, thereby creating a healthy and positive environment for the students. WOHA, Singapore based world-renowned architectural firm has designed this project. The university is supposed to shift to its permanent campus by August 2021. The mission of BRAC University is to foster the national development process through the creation of a center of excellence in higher education that is responsive to society's needs, and able to develop creative leaders. It actively contributes to learning and the creation of knowledge. In 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, BRACU launched a digital website "bux" for their students as an online campus.
Academic features
Schools
- BRAC Business School
- James P Grant School of Public Health
- School of Architecture and Design
- School of Engineering and Computer Science
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences
- School of Law
Institutes
- BRAC Institute of Governance And Development
- BRAC Institute of Languages
- BRAC Institute of Educational Development
- BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health
Centres
- Centre for Peace and Justice
- Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research
- Centre for Entrepreneurship Development
- Control and Applications Research Centre
- Professional Development Centre
- Centre for Emotional Intelligence & Innovation
Departments
- Department of Architecture
- Department of Economics and Social Sciences
- Department of English and Humanities
- Department Mathematics and Natural Sciences
- Department of Pharmacy
- Department of Electrical and electronic engineering
- Department of Computer science and engineering
Resources and facilities
- Ayesha Abed Library
- GDLN Center
- Counselling Unit
- Writing Center
- Cafeteria
- Clubs
Tuition and Fees
Financial support
BRAC University provides financial support to the students starting from full funding to partial tuition waivers.Scholarships
- Performance Based Scholarships
- Merit Based Scholarships
- Free Scholarships
Financial waiver
- Siblings
- BRAC Scholarship
- Need based Scholarship
- Physically Challenged Students
- BRACU Employee Child Scholarship
- Children of Freedom Fighters
- Spouse, Father - Son/Daughter, Mother - Son/Daughter
- Children of BRAC Employees
- Debater's Blue
Vice-chancellors
| Year of Joining | Expiration of Tenure of Office | Name |
| 2001 | 2010 | Jamilur Reza Choudhury |
| 2010 | 2014 | Ainun Nishat |
| 2014 | 2018 | Syed Saad Andaleeb |
| 2019 | Present | Vincent Chang |
Residential campus
BRAC University's residential semester is mandatory for every undergraduate students to attend and usually the duration is around 3 months. The residential semester is situated in Savar, Dhaka District. A number of separate dormitories for male and female students, teacher's quarter, computer lab, class rooms, seminar hall Sulla, common places, four dining, library, medical center and psychological consultation center exist in the campus.Convocations
BRACU celebrated its first convocation on 28 January 2006.| No. | Year | Convocational Speaker | Acquaintance |
| 1st Convocation | 28 January 2006 | Allan Rosenfield | Dean Mailman, School of Public Health, Columbia University, USA |
| 2nd Convocation | 8 February 2007 | Professor Gowher Rizvi | Director, Ash Institute Kennedy School of Government Harvard University |
| 3rd Convocation | 30 December 2008 | Professor Rehman Sobhan | Chairman, Centre for Policy Dialogue |
| 4th Convocation | 5 February 2009 | Rajat Gupta | McKinsey & Company, Inc. United States |
| 5th Convocation | 7 February 2010 | Professor Martha Chen | Harvard Kennedy School |
| 6th Convocation | 7 February 2011 | Mary Robinson | Former President of Ireland |
| 7th Convocation | 19 February 2012 | Muhammad Habibur Rahman | Justice, Supreme Court of Bangladesh |
| 8th Convocation | 17 February 2013 | Rahul Bose | Philanthropist and Bollywood Actor |
| 9th Convocation | 20 November 2014 | Professor Emeritus Anisuzzaman | University of Dhaka |
| 10th Convocation | 5 November 2015 | Matiur Rahman | Daily Prothom Alo |
| 11th Convocation | 5 December 2016 | Shabana Azmi | Philanthropist and Bollywood Actress |
| 12th Convocation | 13 December 2017 | Dr. Shahidul Alam, MD | Activist and Social Reformer |
| 13th Convocation | 23 November 2019 | Ban Ki-moon | Former United Nations Secretary-General |
Launching of nano-satellite BRAC Onnesha
Initial steps
On 15 June 2016, Syed Saad Andaleeb, Vice Chancellor at BRAC University, signed a contract with the Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan, on behalf of BRAC University. This led to the collaborative building of the first experimental university-made nano-satellite of Bangladesh, designed, developed and assembled by three students from the EEE Department of BRAC University. On 8 February 2017, Andaleeb received BRAC Onnesha from Kyutech's President Yuji Oie and Mengu Cho, Kyutech's Director of the Laboratory of Spacecraft Environment Interaction Engineering.BRAC Onnesha
BRAC Onnesha is a nano-satellite shaped as a cube capable of completing one orbit above the ground in 90 minutes and passing over Bangladesh four to six times a day. BRACU took up an initiative to start space and remote sensing research in collaboration with Kyutech and the Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization. BRACU built a ground station at its Mohakhali campus to analyze data and photographs sent from space for further research purposes.Ground station inauguration
The ground station built for BRAC Onnesha was set up on the rooftop of the university's Building #4. Fazle Hasan Abed, Chairperson for the BRACU Board of Trustees, inaugurated the ground station on 25 May 2017. The ground station is capable of receiving topographical data gathered by BRAC Onnesha when deployed into low Earth orbit. The BRACU researchers will analyse and interpret data, taken in the form of high quality photographs, on space environment, which is expected to serve the academic and research goals of the university and the nation as a whole.Launch to space
BRAC Onnesha was launched on 3 June 2017 at 21:07 UTC aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of the CRS-11 mission to the International Space Station. The launch took place from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.Research and innovations
BRACU Chondrobot-2
BRAC University had sent a robot named Chondrobot-2 to NASA for competing NASA Lunabotics Mining Competition in May 2012. "ChondroBot-2" a robotics team from the School of Engineering and Computer Science of BRAC University received the Asia's Best title in the recently held NASA's third "Annual Lunabotics Mining Competition " in USA.Chondrobot-2 team from Brac University was the only university from Bangladesh which was successful to collect samples by their lunar excavation device in mining stage and also discharge those in the designated place. The team also received best position in "Joe Kosmo Award of Excellence" segment which eventually helped Chondrobot -2 to secure 12th among all the teams around the world. Mobile Phone operator Robi Axiata Limited was the co-sponsor of Chondrobot lunar excavation device of this tour to NASA Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA.
BRACU Duburi
BRACU Duburi is the first autonomous underwater vehicle to have participated in an international competition abroad. It is a wireless robot which performs anonymously under the water and is capable of sending signals underwater. By using image processing and reversed engineered sensors it stabilizes itself underwater. Duburi secured 7th position in the Singapore Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Competition 2018.Solar ambulance for rural areas
The Control & Applications Research Centre of BRACU has redesigned and developed an ambulance van with required modifications based on valuable feedbacks obtained from drivers, patients and BRAC Health Nutrition and Population Program personnel during the field test conducted at Genda, Savar. The upgraded and modified version of the electrically assisted ambulance van has thicker and smaller wheels to ensure the vehicle can be driven smoothly on all types of road conditions, stronger chassis for better stability, two motors and increased battery power to increase the speed and mileage.On 26 May 2016, the modified ambulance van was delivered to the CARC research facility located at Genda, Savar to conduct the performance test of this vehicle on the roads. The field test has been conducted and the performance of this vehicle has improved remarkably. Patients were carried from their houses to nearby hospitals using this modified ambulance vans. Local people and patients expressed their gratitude and satisfaction with this innovation and they felt that this vehicle can provide better health services to rural people in rural community.