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Two OWSD Alumni from Bangladesh win Ekushey Padak 2022!

February 24, 2022

Bangladesh NC is proudly announcing OWSD alumnae Dr. Shahanaz Sultana and Dr. Jannatul Ferdous ((1st row right in picture) - 'Ekushey Padak ' winners for 2022!

Ekushey Padak (Bengali: একুশে পদক; lit. "Twentyfirst Award") is the second-highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of the martyrs of the Bengali Language Movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contributions in a number of fields, including research, culture, education, and economics. This year, 24 individuals have been selected for the Ekushey Padak 2022 for their contribution to various fields.

In research, three rice scientists from Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) - Md Enamul Haque, Shahnaz Sultana and Jannatul Ferdous won this award for their contributions in developing high-yielding rice varieties such as BRRI dhan89.

Applying wide-cross genetic improvement technology, these scientists developed and released BRRI dhan89. The average yield of the BRRI dhan89 is within eight ton per hectare, a half ton to one ton more than BRRI dhan29’s average yield. It matures nearly a week earlier than the BRRI dhan29. The cooked rice out of this variety is non-sticky and delicious. Therefore, this new variety BRRI dhan89 expects to be one of the country’s most productive rice varieties.

Dr Shahanaz Sultana, Principal Scientific Officer and Dr Jannatul Ferdous, Senior Scientific Officer works at Biotechnology Division of BRRI. Both of them received their PhD from Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia under OWSD fellowship in 2010 and 2012, respectively. Dr Shahnaz and Dr Jannatul received the award from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 20 February, 2022.

The winners of the Ekushey Padak award will get a gold medal which is 35 grams weight and Tk 400,000 (ca. 5000 USD) and a certificate.

On this very proud moment, a few OWSD alumnae  gathered virtually on 11 February at 7:00-8:00 pm, local time to celebrate the UN day by honoring the winners.

Topic: International Day of Women and Girls in Science: OWSD BD Alumnae- Honoring Ekushey Padak Winners

OWSD board member Prof Dr. Hasin Anupama Azhari coordinated the meeting. Dr. Salina Parvin moderated the session. Dr Jannatul Ferdous briefed all about their  research and how the collaborative effort from all wings of the institute have paved the way to their success.

 

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