4 students bag Honda Young Engineer & Scientist award

Japan's Honda Foundation organised Honda Young Engineer & Scientist's (Y-E-S) Award in 2021 in Bangladesh. An award-giving ceremony was held on August 31, 2022 to present the award to four winners. The award was given to four students from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET), Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) and Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET).

The ceremony was graced by Mr. Shigeru Matsuzaki, Managing Director and CEO, Bangladesh Honda Private Limited; Professor Dr. Ainun Nishat, Former Vice-Chancellor, BRAC University; Professor Tateo Arimoto, Executive Director, Honda Foundation; Mr. Yuho Hayakawa, Chief Representative, Bangladesh Office of JICA; Mr. Shah Muhammad Ashequr Rahman, FCA, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) & Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of Bangladesh Honda Private Limited and representative of respective universities.  

The objective of this award is to "foster future leaders of science and technology fields to spearhead the growth of Asian countries in the future". The Y-E-S Award program aims to discover and encourage students who would become future leaders to develop and implement innovative technologies that help to realize a truly humane civilization. The program initially kicked off in Vietnam in 2006 and it has been also implemented in India 2007, Laos and Cambodia in 2008, and Myanmar in 2014, it was introduced in Bangladesh in 2019 to support the development and promotion of young leaders to spearhead the growth of these countries in the future. Specifications of the program vary country by country to attain optimal results.

The program is annually selecting up to four undergraduate students from its designated universities in Bangladesh to award a USD 3,000 to each student. Furthermore, the awardees can receive an additional award or grant up to USD 10,000 under Honda Y-E-S Award Plus program, if they continue their study and training within 4 years after receiving the Honda Y-E-S Award in Japanese universities at Japan, or via internship programs in Japanese research organisations or private companies in Japan as approved by the Honda Foundation.

The program hopes to promote the dissemination of eco-technology among the young generations and at the same time strengthen interaction and exchange between Japanese youths and young people expected to lead science, technology and industry in their respective countries. We aim to use the results to promote human welfare and happiness and "to contribute towards the creation of a truly humane civilization" based on the recognition of the need to strive to create a higher level of the humane society to make people happy with technology.