Smart District Innovation Challenge 2023 ended
The 3-day long Smart District Innovation Challenge 2023 bootcamp ended with the grooming of 52 innovative ideas proposed by the district administration to build a smart district for the implementation of Smart Bangladesh. These innovative ideas will then be presented for technical evaluation. Mentoring was provided to the officers participating in the bootcamp in 10 sessions including Feasibility, Idea Concept, Business Strategy, Technology and Team Management. A total of 156 representatives from each district including one Additional District Commissioner, one Assistant Commissioner, and one technical person participated in this bootcamp. District Administrators participating in the bootcamp will participate in the final round of the Smart District Innovation Challenge 2023. From this final round, the finalists of the competition will be selected by a selection panel consisting of experienced judges.
Secretary of Information and Communication Technology Division Md. Samsul Arefin inaugurated the bootcamp held at Gangchil Auditorium of National Museum of Science and Technology at Agargaon in the capital. The project director (Additional Secretary) of a2i Dr. Dewan Muhammad Humayun Kabir was present at the time.
NPF Specialist (Deputy Secretary) Mohammad Shamsuzzaman of a2i moderated the bootcamp.
The secretary of information and communication technology division said that the work of building smart Bangladesh will be accelerated through the formation of smart districts. Samsul Arefin said, 'Smart District Innovation Challenge 2023 organized by a2i is a timely initiative to accelerate the work of building a Smart Bangladesh and I applaud a2i for taking such an initiative. 64 districts are taken under this challenge fund with the aim of building Smart Bangladesh. Great ideas have been received from the district administration to form smart districts. If the ideas can be worked properly I believe the districts will be transformed into smart districts. At the same time efficient administration will be created.'
Smart Bangladesh: Encouraging the civil service to acquire various skills for knowledge-based decision-making to lead Vision 2041, a2i Project Director (Additional Secretary) Dr. Dewan Muhammad Humayun Kabir said, 'The whole development of Bangladesh depends a lot on those who are in the administration. Future smart Bangladesh also depends on it. Such arrangement will give motivation to the district administration. Carrying this motivation, we should be engaged in building the government's vision 2041: Smart Bangladesh.
At the event Mr. Naeem Ashrafi, Head of a2i Innovation Fund, presented the process of Innovation Challenge and the rules of pitch deck presentation. He said, 'Deputy Commissioners submitted various innovative ideas to build smart Bangladesh by implementing citizen-friendly services including education, health care, social security, agriculture, manufacturing, service sector, administration, utilities using state-of-the-art technology including artificial intelligence, big data analytics. From here, one or more district administrators will get a seed fund of up to 1 crore for planning and implementation of smart districts.
Mohammad Khorshed Alam Khan, Deputy Secretary of Field Administration Coordination Division of Cabinet Division, Iqbal Ahmed Fakhrul Hasan, Founder and Managing Director of Divine IT Limited (Russel), Mohammad Shamsuzzaman, NPF Specialist (Deputy Secretary) of a2i were present as mentors in the bootcamp. Also, related people including a2i were present at the event.
The a2i Innovation Fund started the 'Smart District Innovation Challenge 2023' competition to build a smart district through the district administration to implement Smart Bangladesh. 75 ideas that can be implemented in the short term are submitted by the district administration across the country. This bootcamp was conducted from July 17 to 19 with initially selected 52 district administration-related officials.
