Daffodil Deepens Ties with Google and YouTube
The Department of Journalism, Media, and Communication (JMC) at Daffodil International University (DIU) is set to collaborate with two major initiatives of global tech giants Google and YouTube to foster institutional partnerships. The announcement came following two separate meetings held on Thursday, October 2, at Google Asia Pacific Headquarters in Singapore, the university delegation confirmed.
According to sources, the first meeting was conducted with the Google News Initiative (GNI) team. During this meeting, Dr. Aftab Hossain, Head of the JMC Department, and Associate Professor Dr. Abdul Kabil Khan discussed potential areas of collaboration with Adil Farhan, representative of the Google News Partnership Project. The discussions centered on possible cooperation regarding seminars, internships, and masterclasses under the Google News Partnership framework.
Subsequently, the JMC delegation met with YouTube representatives for another session, where Abu Saleh, from YouTube Strategic Partnerships at Google Asia Pacific Headquarters, was present. Both parties agreed to work together on a joint collaborative initiative focusing on incubation programs for young content creators, dissemination of community guidelines, and expanding access to digital safety resources at the grassroots level.
Commenting on the development, Dr. Aftab Hossain stated, “At this intersection of media and technology, our collaboration with the Google News Initiative will open new horizons for our students. The integration of AI tools into our course curriculum demonstrates our commitment to preparing students for the future.”
Speaking about the partnership, Adil Farhan said, “This kind of collaboration with a university journalism department in Bangladesh is highly significant for us. We believe that the joint initiative between Google and DIU’s JMC will have a positive impact in raising awareness about fact-checking and the use of AI tools in modern journalism.”
The JMC delegation further informed that the department has already incorporated specific Google AI tools and various Google resources related to digital journalism into its curriculum to ensure that students can effectively utilize modern technology in the rapidly evolving media landscape.
It is worth mentioning that Daffodil International University is serving as a strategic partner in the ‘Information Credibility and AI Literacy Training’ program—an initiative launched in Bangladesh by Google and managed by Prothom Alo.
