US-based leading search engine Google is now in Bangladesh with a comprehensive work plan under which half a million undergraduate students will be armed with ICT knowledge to act in the fastest-growing economic turf of the present-day world.
The know-all facilitator of the wonder work of the Internet launched in Dhaka Wednesday 'Google Bus Bangladesh' project for the youths to board on the superhighway of knowledge and its economic practice.
Under the project, Google will educate higher secondary-and university-level students on ICT (information communication technology) skills over the period.
The Google Bus will make its way to academic institutions across the major cities like Chittagong, Khulna, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Rangpur and Barisal for dissemination of the ICT knowledge.
State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak formally inaugurated the project at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the capital.
James McClure, Country Manager, Emerging Markets, Google Asia-Pacific, was among others present at the launching event.
The American giant will work to empower Bangladeshi undergraduates with the tools to start, improve and grow their own businesses and projects by visiting 500 campuses in 35 locations across the country and by conducting Internet workshops over the course of a year in all these locations.
The Google Bus itself has been retrofitted with stowaway seats, 3G Internet connectivity and an array of monitors and sound systems where training audio-video material can be cast to all the screens.
College and university students are leading Bangladesh's Internet charge today -- they make up the majority of new Internet users in the country. The student population uses it primarily as an academic aid and social sharing platform.
Through the Google Bus Bangladesh-run workshops, these students can connect online with their peers and learn about the power and utility of the Internet as well as expose themselves to Google tools that can help them think and operate on a completely new level.
"Bangladesh is a country on the move with an immense pool of youthful citizens to help it progress and prosper," Mr McClure said.
"Equipped with the right training, we think this young, energetic and highly motivated section of society would be able to maximize the endless possibilities of the Internet and create a connected, digital Bangladesh for the global village," he further told the audience.
The campus-workshop experience involves an instructor-led training session and peer collaboration to familiarise students with the many different Google tools that they can use to make the most of their online experience.
These include Google Search, Chrome, Docs, Maps, YouTube, Google+ and others. Each student will also have the opportunity to practice what they have learnt on an Internet-enabled Android device.
The student participants are encouraged to stay in touch via the Google+ Google Bus Bangladesh Community where they can stay updated on the latest happenings related to the project and encourage each other to make the most of what they have learnt.
khairulisalmdu@gmail.com
