Dhaka: The government is planning to establish a specialised public university in Cox's Bazar dedicated to the blue economy, following a directive from Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to the Education Ministry.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Home Minister and Cox's Bazar-1 lawmaker Salahuddin Ahmed stated that the prime minister issued the directive after receiving a semi-official letter from him. Salahuddin Ahmed shared this information on his verified Facebook page on Monday afternoon, along with the letter he had sent to the prime minister.
The proposed institution, named University of Blue Economy Sciences and Technology, aims to focus on higher education, research, practical training, and the cultivation of skilled human resources to effectively utilise the marine resources of the Bay of Bengal.
In the letter sent to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on September 13, it was stated that to fully leverage the marine resources with significant potential in Bangladesh's Bay of Bengal and coastal areas, there is a pressing need for specialized higher education, research, practical training, and skilled human resources-domains where a considerable gap still exists.
The letter further elaborated on the importance of establishing the University of Blue Economy Science and Technology (UBEST) in Cox's Bazar as a crucial initiative in the national interest. The creation of a fully operational new university from the ground up requires significant time, financial resources, and dedicated infrastructure. However, the initial academic and practical activities of the new university could be swiftly initiated by leveraging the existing infrastructure, laboratories, research facilities, scientific personnel, training environment, and coastal research framework of the Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute (BORI) situated in Cox's Bazar.
This strategy aims to facilitate the swift establishment of a research-focused, practical, and realistic university without the need to wait for the development of long-term infrastructure. If executed, it will guarantee the optimal utilisation of the existing national research infrastructure related to the blue economy while concurrently creating an effective institution to nurture skilled human resources for the sector.
Prof Dr Md Shahadat Hossain, Dean of the Faculty of Marine Sciences and Fisheries at the University of Chattogram, commented that the Bay of Bengal is vital to Bangladesh's economy, biodiversity, and livelihoods, making technology-driven institutional capacity essential for research and innovation. He highlighted that the proposed university in Cox's Bazar would promote research, innovation, and skilled human resources for the blue economy, while supporting the government in marine resource management, coastal development, fisheries, marine spatial planning, pollution control, and climate resilience.