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.
Prof. Raju Speaks on Radio and Political Identity in Barcelona
13/05/2024
Prof. Zakir Hossain Raju, Head of the Department of Media and Communication at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), delivered a presentation at the recent European Communication Research Conference (ECREA) held in Barcelona Autonomous University in Spain from September 6-8, 2023.
The conference, themed "Radio and Sound Ecosystems in the Platform Age", attracted international scholars keen on exploring the evolving world of communication. A key segment of the event, titled 'Radio, History, and Political Identity', saw Prof. Raju share the stage with notable scholars such as Katy McDonald (UK), Ololade Afolabi (USA), and Deborah Wilson (UK). Prof. Raju's research presentation focused on the significant role of "Swadhin Bangla Betar", a subject he has been dedicated to since his student days at the University of Dhaka.
Swadin Bangla Betar Kendra – roughly translated as the "National Radio of Independent Bangladesh" – was the war-time radio station that played a key role in spreading the spirit of patriotism and keeping the Freedom Fighters' morale high during Bangladesh's War of Liberation in 1971 through various content including music and commentary.