Youths Drive Tech Innovations: Top 13 Awarded

'Twimvel Youth Connect Summit 2026' and the first 'Junior Startup Challenge – Season 1' gala day and awards ceremony were held at the 71 Auditorium in the capital, embodying a commitment to safe and responsible technology use and fostering youth entrepreneurship. Twimvel, Youth Hub Foundation Malaysia, Youth Connect Foundation, and Teens Saver Bangladesh jointly organized the event.

According to organizers, the competition, aimed at transforming the innovative ideas of young people aged 10 to 19 into tangible ventures, took place in phases from May to July. Thirteen top technology initiatives, categorized by area, were recognized.

On Saturday, September 3rd, Manzur Mohammad Shahriar, Project Director of the 'Digital Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ecosystem Development' project under the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority, was the chief guest at the awards ceremony. In his speech, he emphasized mentoring, investor connections, and capacity building.

Special guests at the event included Mohammad Shah Alam, Executive Director of ACI PLC's Adomya Medhabi Program; Kazi Nasrin Siddika, Executive Director of ECS – Education and Cultural Society; Md. Dewan Adnan, Assistant Vice President of Impact & Ecosystem Department at SBL; and Dr. K. M. Hasan Ripon, Executive Director of Skills & Employment Ecosystem at Daffodil Group.

M. Nurul Alam, an independent director of The Premier Bank PLC, was the keynote speaker at the summit. Special guests included Muhammad Yasir, Founder and CEO of Tesol Bangladesh, and Israq Mujbin Prithil, Lecturer at Daffodil Health Institute.

During the panel discussion, topics such as the development of technology and artificial intelligence, alongside children's online safety, were addressed by Mohammad Kawsar Uddin, President of Technology Media Guild Bangladesh; Kazi Nasrin Siddika, Executive Director of ECS Bangladesh; Ariful Hasan Apu, President of Space Innovation Camp and Advisor to NASA Space Apps Challenge Bangladesh; and ACI's Mohammad Shah Alam.

The competition's mentor panel included Abdur Rashid Sohag, Lead Mentor of University Innovation Hub; Humayun Rashid, HR Head of Confidence Group; Sajib Ashraful Islam, Managing Director of Greentech Solar; and S. M. Belal Uddin, CEO of Texort. Rudra Chowdhury Turjo moderated the mentor panel. The jury panel comprised Md. Altamis Nabil from Youth Upskill Network, Farhana Khan from Farhana's Brainstation, Abdullah Hasan from Happy Venture, and Arefin Mizan from STS. The entire event was managed by Shamim Ashraf, Rudra Chowdhury Turjo, and Tashdid Hossain Chowdhury from Twimble.

According to relevant sources, this event, sponsored by Kidloan and MD Global Resource, will transform young people from technology consumers into responsible technology engineers.
//DBtech/PSP/SME/MIS//