Islam delivers keynote lecture at the Center of Excellence in Engineering Diplomacy launch in Bangladesh

Drawing on his expertise in engineering diplomacy, Professor Shafiqul Islam of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering delivered the keynote lecture at a recent workshop in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) hosted the day-long engineering diplomacy workshop in collaboration with Tufts University. The event brought together experts across academia, industry, and government to explore the intersection of engineering and policy with a focus on applying engineering diplomacy to national challenges in Bangladesh.

In his keynote lecture, Islam emphasized the importance of engineering diplomacy in issues such as climate change, water security, energy transition, and infrastructure resilience. Islam has been a leading voice in the field for several years and his work at Tufts investigates water diplomacy, climate challenges, data-driven decision making, and principled pragmatism. In addition to Islam’s keynote, the workshop featured panel discussions, small breakout groups, networking opportunities, and more.

Insights from the event will be used to establish a Center of Excellence in Engineering Diplomacy (CEED) at BUET. According to a press release covering the event, the group formulated an actionable definition of engineering diplomacy, conceptualized the research and structure of CEED, and brainstormed potential engineering diplomacy use cases for the government of Bangladesh. Key attendees included Islam, Professor and BUET Vice-Chancellor Abu Borhan Mohammad Badruzzaman, Professor Mashfiqus Salehin of BUET, and guest of honor Secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources in Bangladesh Nazmul Ahsan.

Moving forward, the group will host a five-day international Engineering Diplomacy Workshop to build on the insights from the foundational workshop. They will continue to develop the ideas set forth in the recent workshop for CEED and create a roadmap for the official launch.