The NASA Space Apps Challenge-2018 winning team from Bangladesh has been denied US visa to attend several programmes there.
However, the representatives from the ICT ministry and a representative of local organisers have managed to confirm their US visa to attend the programmes.
Olik, a four-member winning team and their mentor of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), won the NASA Space Apps Challenge-2018 last year. They were supposed to visit NASA Kennedy Space Center on July 21-23 in Florida.
Their project "Lunar VR" won in the Best Use of Data category and got confirmation from NASA on February 16. And later in May, they received invitation to visit the Kennedy Space Center at individual cost.
Finally, the ICT ministry decided to cover all the costs of the 16-member visiting team including six from the ministry. Now the team is ready to fly without the winners.
NASA Space Apps Challenge-2018 Bangladesh convener Didarul Alam told the FE that winning team participants have done excellent in international phase. "But due to visa complication, the main team cannot participate in the final event."
They have already bought air tickets and booked hotel in the USA, he mentioned.
Mr Alam said, "BASIS will try to present the project of the winning team through a videoconferencing at the final event. And we are taking necessary preparations in this regard," he added.
Senior vice president of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) Farhana A Rahman told the FE that the ministry officials applied for visa individually and they availed it.
"But the winning team was denied visa after due procedure. We had nothing to do with the US visa process," she added.
Olik team mentor Biswapriyo Chakrabarty, assistant professor of CSE Department at SUST, said they were denied US visa after facing interview on July 11.
"But we were denied visa under INA Section 214 (b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act," he added.
They also tried later for further interview at the US visa centre office in Dhaka, but could not manage the date before July 22, he said.
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