Founded in 1993, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) is one of the oldest and leading private universities in Bangladesh where academic excellence is a tradition, teaching a passion and lifelong learning a habit. IUB currently has more than 9,800 undergraduate and graduate students and over 13,700 alumni. The students of IUB experience an exciting academic life with copious opportunities to explore and nurture their innate talent.
Live in Field Experience (LFE) is a signature course of IUB. It allows IUB students, most of whom come from urban settings, to have an immersive experience of everyday life in rural Bangladesh. Unique in Bangladesh, the overarching idea, which owes its roots to some of the leading social thinkers of this region, is to bridge the gap in knowledge that an urban student has about their rural counterparts. As part of the LFE, which is a mandatory course, small groups of students (usually 5-10, mix of male and female, and English and Bangla medium backgrounds) spend a certain amount of time at different locations in Bangladesh and experience life in the fields.
Dr. A Majeed Khan, Founder President of Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), died on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, while undergoing treatment at the Evercare Hospital in Dhaka. Inna Lillahe Wa Inna Ilaihe Rajeun.
A former cabinet minister of Bangladesh, Dr. Khan also served as the Ambassador of Bangladesh to France, Spain and Morocco. Born in Faridpur in 1929 and educated in Kolkata, London, and Minnesota, he was the first PhD recipient in sociology and anthropology from Bangladesh.
He was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society in the USA and received the prestigious Doctor of Humane Letters from Hamline University, St Paul Minnesota, USA. He held various positions at Hamline University, Minnesota, USA; University of Wisconsin, USA; and taught at universities in the Netherlands, Sweden and Jordan. Dr. Khan was a member of the Executive Board and Permanent Representative to UNESCO and was honoured with the Officier of the L’Ordre des Palmes Académiques in France.
In 2013, IUB named him President Emeritus to recognize his role in higher education development and pioneering the idea of private sector tertiary education in Bangladesh.
Apart from IUB, he played pivotal roles in establishing a number of other organizations including the Education, Science, Technology and Cultural Development Trust (ESTCDT); Chittagong Independent University (CIU); Academy for Rural Development, Comilla; College of Social Work at Rajshahi University; and the University of Information Technology and Sciences (UITS).
His first Namaz-E-Janaza was held at the IUB campus at 3:00 pm on Thursday, April 27, 2023. IUB trustees, Vice Chancellor, Registrar, Deans, staff, faculty members, current and former students attended the Janaza prayers. The second Janaza was held at the Baridhara Jame Mosque and Islamic Center on Friday (April 28, 2023) after Jumma Prayers. He was buried at Boalmari upazila of Faridpur District.