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16

Software Engineering / Private University Boom, Doom and Bust in Bangladesh

« on: May 14, 2017, 12:57:55 PM »

Private Tertiary Education or the so called Private University industry in Bangladesh started in 1990 with a hope to stop quality and rich kids from going abroad for higher education from Bangladesh. I must admire the concept, as it was timely and catered for deprived young generation from public tertiary education system. However, it was not well accepted by society initially but by the year 2000, the idea picked up. Due to the heavy politicization of public universities during the 90's disruptions, the private tertiary education system was resultant. Hence, the idea of a disruptive innovation was conceived and the government of Bangladesh started to support the concept without any proper policy or policing. I returned to Bangladesh from New Zealand in 1998 and realized that this was an industry where I could contribute a lot, hence, I began teaching at North South University from 2000.

Reasons for Boom

The private university started with North American University curriculum and the traditional trimester model to finish in 4 years. It should be noted here that the medium of instruction was in English and there was a standard entry test with a 25% success rate and maintained as such for long time.
It was easy to transfer credits to North American, Canadian, British and Australian universities till 2010. This was vital for the private university education concept. Also, they could easily get themselves admitted into quality Post Graduate courses overseas. It blended easily.
It was lucrative for foreign PhD and Masters Degree holders to join private universities in the teaching profession with high salaries, low teaching hour involvement as only 9 credits mandatory per semester with 9 hours teaching per week. Even quality public university faculties started joining as the environment was cordial and rewarding.
Location was another interesting factor as most of them were in Banani or Dhanmondi centric to target the rich kids and quality English medium students. Parents found the idea comfortable as it did not require extensive travel nor travelling outside Dhaka.
Most importantly student politics were strictly banned and it is still remained so.
Finally, this concept became a "cool" option to English medium students as they found a cultural proximity and it became a trend followed by Bengali medium students as they started to think this option as an alternative.
Looking at the above, today we have over 100 private universities with inadequate teaching faculties, facilities, play ground, Gymnasium and an appropriate cut-copy-paste curriculum. Interestingly around 500,000 students are enrolled currently with 40% business focus. Also, this is important to mention that the industry is worth more than a couple of billions(local currency).

The bubble busted

It seems that the bubble is slowly busting due to following reasons:

Poor quality students with the concept of easy entry and easy exit. Most of the private universities are crying for numbers hence, they are allowing anybody and everybody to this system even though they shouldn't be there in a first place.
The country is not producing so many required quality faculties. Only, few universities have a handful of foreign qualified faculties including and some of them hire expensive VCs and Deans with little academic and operational power to exercise. Their pay system is also very poor to attract quality foreign qualified faculties.
Lack of control mechanism from the government. Sometimes Universities Grant Commission come strongly on them but then again education ministry slowed down the process for implementation. Lack of co-ordination found between the two bodies. Also, our legal system has a part to play here. University authorities can go to the court to stay any order from UGC/Ministry of Education. Therefore, it is rather difficult to take any action against them from the government. Private university association is also very strong and work as CBA(collective bargaining agent) against any new regulation imposed on them.
They are heavily business driven. It is a good business model. A student is a client and they get them for 4-5 years for an undergraduate degree followed by a very common and low quality MBA regular/ Evening MBA/Executive MBA as most of the job requires an MBA. A business driven education system with no or little quality control can not give any positive output which is a simple equation. It became a good business without any sustainable model.
Hence, the result is 50% graduate unemployment or underemployment as graduates have obtained certificates with poor communication skills, poor presentation skills and poor knowledge about real the world.
One more very important result is that most of the private universities are facing low new enrollment compare to to previous year. Now a days VCs are appointed with a sales target.
Re-location of campuses caused low enrollment as well. Most of the universities are using rented property in commercial building. therefore, government has given them notice to build a permanent campus outside Dhaka.
Finally a very disappointing news for private university authorities as figure shows that around 60,000 students are enrolled overseas yearly and 50% of that went to Asia and EU due to low fee and low English language requirements. Our private universities missed the boat. Malaysia has 70,000 international students now, China is hosting over 300,000 international students, Japan is hosting around 2,80,000 and South Korea is coming up to. Theses Asian countries have invested a lot to develop their tertiary education system with strong international university presence from USA/UK/Australia. Moreover, 2+1 or 1+2 twinning programs are available too. All these countries are offering STEM related courses upto PhD. Our people are price conscious yet value driven hence Asian universities are attracting huge numbers from Bangladesh.
Point to be noted here that Australia/NZ/UK/Canada is not allowing credit transfer from any private universities and most of the private university 4 years degree is equivalent to associate degree hence, private university students need to spend one more year in these countries to comply with their degree requirement. Not only that, private university graduates can't apply for migration directly due to this problem.
How to salvage a sinking boat?

All private universities should go under public university administration hence control the entry, exit and other academic matters. This way the system will be standardized and faculty recruitment and training will be streamlined as well.
Standard English Language testing should be introduced for faculties and students along with national exit exam.
Alternatively, British Council/ IBA of Dhaka University/ Cambridge, UK can organize entry and exit exams including marking.
Allow universities from Australia/UK/USA/NZ/USA to come to the market to improve the level of our tertiary education.
Introduce main-stream Masters degree.
Pay rise is necessary to attract foreign qualified teachers with research. Also, industry experts to be involved in curriculum development and teaching.
Internship program should have financial incentive for companies and industries to make it a legitimate experience. Also, companies should be able to hire best interns.
Teacher student ratio should be improved and monitored.
In the conclusion, I must say that private university business success is not working and will not work in the future failure to make themselves more accountable to the society. As a result, private university enrollment will go down locally but international enrollment will be up and we will loose our young workforce.

Ameer Y Khan

Former Faculty, School of Business

North South University

Chairman & Mananging Director

FutureEd Corporation Ltd

FutureEd English Language institute

Reference:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/private-universities-boom-doom-bust-bangladesh-ameer-yousuf-khan?trk=v-feed&lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_feed%3BlWes45W4NvpTbRL2p1W%2FDw%3D%3D

17

Software Engineering / How America’s two tech hubs are converging

« on: May 14, 2017, 12:55:38 PM »

WOULD your region care to be the next Silicon Valley? In most of the world’s technology hubs, local leaders scramble to say “yes”. But ask the question in and around Seattle, the other big tech cluster on America’s west coast, and more often than not the answer is “no”—followed by explanations of why the city and its surrounds are different from the San Francisco Bay Area. The truth may be more complex: in recent years the Seattle area has become a complement to the valley. Some even argue that the two regions, though 800 miles (1,300km) apart, are becoming one.

They have similar roots, notes Margaret O’Mara, a historian at the University of Washington (UW). Each grew rapidly during a gold rush in the 19th century. Later both benefited from military spending. Silicon Valley ultimately focused on producing small things, including microprocessors, and Seattle on bigger ones, such as aeroplanes (Boeing was for decades the city’s economic anchor). This difference in dimension persists. The valley has plenty of giant firms, but its focus is mainly on startups and smartphones. In contrast, Seattle is still more of a company town, with Amazon and Microsoft, both builders of big data centres, looming large.

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That, and the fact that Seattle and its suburbs are less than a fifth the size of Silicon Valley, has created a different business culture. In Seattle, for example, job-hopping is less common, as is swapping full-time employment for the uncertain life of an entrepreneur. Seattle has spawned firms such as Avvo, an online marketplace for legal services, and Zillow, a real-estate site, but the startup scene is underdeveloped. UW is a good gauge: it now has one of America’s best computer-science departments but produces nowhere near as many new firms as Stanford University.

Local politics differ, too. Seattleites don’t want their city to become like San Francisco, which is dominated by affluent, techie types. Their city council has just approved a new programme requiring property developers to include cheap units in their projects or to pay a fee. The aim is to ensure that Seattle remains America’s second-most economically integrated city (as defined by RedFin, a data provider). San Francisco ranks 14th. “In the playground parents don’t just talk about the next big thing,” says Ed Lazowska, a professor of computer science at UW.

That is one reason, besides nature’s attractions, cheaper housing and no state income tax, why exhausted Valleyites flock north. “You get better quality of life for half the cost,” says Simon Crosby, co-founder of Bromium, a computer-security firm, who has made the move from California. Bromium is based in Cupertino, also the home of Apple, and he regularly takes the “nerd bird”, as flights between the two tech clusters are called (they are full of geeks who live in Seattle and work in the valley). Venture capitalists often make the two-hour commute, too. Most money invested in Seattle startups comes from California; the north-western city only has a handful of VC firms, such as Ignition Partners and the Madrona Venture Group.

Another link between the two cities is cloud computing. Most startups in and around San Francisco run their business on Amazon Web Services, the e-commerce giant’s cloud-computing platform. Its momentum is such that some in Silicon Valley have started to fret that it will one day become as dominant as Windows, the operating system made by Microsoft, once was.

For now it is Seattle that is more worried about being dominated by its neighbour to the south. The city hosts nearly 90 engineering offices that firms have opened to find new talent to hire. A third have a Californian parent. John Cook, who co-founded GeekWire, which covers the local tech industry, argued recently that, although the new offices add to Seattle’s tech scene, they had taken “a lot of oxygen” out of the startup ecosystem by hoovering up highly qualified staff. That triggered a debate about the disadvantages of outside investment. Other effects of tech migration are equally contentious: home values have increased by a tenth in the past 12 months, according to Zillow.

Complaints about being overrun by Californians have a long tradition in Seattle, but the risk that the area becomes a Silicon Valley overflow zone preoccupies many. “We have to choose to remain different,” says Tren Griffin, a Microsoft veteran. Chris DeVore, an angel investor who runs the Seattle branch of Techstars, a chain of accelerators, says more needs to be done to grow local startups. “Microsoft and Amazon were a bit of an accident,” he says.

Regardless, Seattle and Silicon Valley are now joined at the hip. The best approach is to make that connection as efficient as possible, says Rich Barton, a serial entrepreneur. He not only started Zillow and Expedia, a giant online travel site, among other Seattle firms, but is a partner at Benchmark, a leading VC firm in the valley. Rather than relying on flights, which are often delayed or cancelled due to bad weather, he says, someone should build a high-speed rail line. Together, he quips, that old west-coast dream, popular again after the election of Donald Trump, would be within reach: “We could form our own country and secede.”

Reference:
http://www.economist.com/news/business/21721950-more-ever-seattle-and-silicon-valley-are-joined-hip-how-americas-two-tech-hubs-are

18

Software Engineering / Re: UBER =টাকার গাছ. But reality is?

« on: May 14, 2017, 12:54:56 PM »

Thanks

19

Software Engineering / পৃথিবীর সেরা ১০টি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়

« on: May 13, 2017, 11:49:56 PM »

পৃথিবীর সেরা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়গুলোতে লেখাপড়া করার স্বপ্ন বুকে লালন করে শত শত মেধাবী তরুণ। অনেকে হয়তো তাদের স্বপ্ন বাস্তবায়ন করতে পারে,অনেকে আবার পারে না। তবে প্রত্যেকের মধ্যেই পৃথিবীর সেরা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়গুলো সম্পর্কে জানার আকাঙ্ক্ষা তৈরি হয়। একটি দেশের জ্ঞানভিত্তিক অর্থনীতি তৈরির অন্যতম মূল বুনিয়াদ হিসেবে কাজ করে ঐ দেশের উচ্চশিক্ষার প্রতিষ্ঠানগুলো। অক্সফোর্ড বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের ভাইস-চ্যান্সেলর বলেন,

একমাত্র প্রতিভা নিয়োগের মাধ্যমেই একটি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় সেরা অবস্থানে যেতে পারে। যা সত্যিই খুব সহজ!

নিজের দেশের সেরা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় সম্পর্কে আমাদের সবারই কম-বেশি ধারণা আছে। কিন্তু বিশ্বের সেরা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়গুলো সম্পর্কে জানার কৌতূহল আমাদের থেকেই যায়। কৌতূহলী সেসব মানুষের জন্যই আজকের এই লেখাটি! ‘হায়ার এডুকেশন কোয়ালিটি’ -এর গুরুত্ব অনুসারে ক্রমান্বয়ে বিশ্বসেরা ১০টি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের নাম ও খুঁটিনাটি জেনে নাও লেখাটি পড়ে।

১। ইউনিভার্সিটি অব অক্সফোর্ড
যুক্তরাজ্যের অক্সফোর্ডে অবস্থিত ইউনিভার্সিটি অব অক্সফোর্ড পৃথিবীর একটি প্রাচীন ও বিখ্যাত বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়। যদিও এই বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি প্রতিষ্ঠার সঠিক তারিখ সম্পর্কে জানা যায় না, তবে ধারণা করা হয় ১০৯৬ সালে এ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয়েছে। ইংরেজি ভাষাভাষী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়গুলোর মধ্যে ইউনিভার্সিটি অব অক্সফোর্ড পৃথিবীর সবচেয়ে প্রাচীন বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়। পৃথিবীর সব বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের মধ্যে এটি পৃথিবীর দ্বিতীয় প্রাচীন বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়। ৩১টি কলেজ নিয়ে এ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি পরিচালিত হয়ে থাকে। উচ্চাকাঙ্ক্ষী মানুষদের কাছে এ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি এক স্বপ্নের নাম।

২। ক্যালিফোর্নিয়া ইনস্টিটিউট অব টেকনোলজি
যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের ক্যালিফোর্নিয়ার প্যাসেনাডোতে এই বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি অবস্থিত। এটি একটি বিশ্বখ্যাত বিজ্ঞান এবং প্রকৌশল গবেষণা ও শিক্ষা প্রতিষ্ঠান, যেখানে অসাধারণ কিছু অনুষদ আর সারা বিশ্ব থেকে আগত অসংখ্য ছাত্রের সমাগম থাকে। ১৮৯১ সালে এটি প্রথম ‘Throop University’ হিসেবে প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয়। পরে ১৯২০ সালে ‘ক্যালিফোর্নিয়া ইন্সটিটিউট অব টেকনোলজি’ নামকরণ করা হয়। এই বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় থেকে অধ্যয়নরত শিক্ষার্থীর মধ্য থেকে এখন পর্যন্ত ৩৪ জন নোবেল বিজয়ী এবং জাতীয় পদক পেয়েছেন ৫৮ জন। এছাড়াও প্রতিনিয়তই বিভিন্ন গবেষণা কার্যক্রমের মাধ্যমে সুনাম কুড়াচ্ছে। পৃথিবীর বিখ্যাত এই বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি অনেক মেধাবী তরুণের আকাঙ্ক্ষার জায়গা।

৩। স্ট্যানফোর্ড বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়
স্ট্যানফোর্ড বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের ক্যালিফোর্নিয়ায় অবস্থিত আরেকটি বিখ্যাত বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়। এটি মূলত গবেষণার জন্য বিখ্যাত। স্ট্যানফোর্ড বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয় ১৮৮৫ সালে। ১৮৯১ সালের ১ অক্টোবর ৫৫৫ জন ছাত্র নিয়ে এ প্রতিষ্ঠানটি যাত্রা শুরু করে। ১৯০৫ সালে এক ঘূর্ণিঝড়ে বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি ক্ষতিগ্রস্ত হয়। পরবর্তীতে ১৯০৬ সালে তা পুনরায় প্রতিষ্ঠা করা হয়। পৃথিবীর বিখ্যাত লোকদের অনেকেই এ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে লেখাপড়া করেছেন। তরুণদের কাছে এ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টিও একটি স্বপ্নের নাম।

৪। ইউনিভার্সিটি অব ক্যামব্রিজ
ইংরেজি ভাষাভাষী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের মধ্যে এই বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি পৃথিবীর দ্বিতীয় প্রাচীন বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়। পৃথিবীর সব বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের মধ্যে এটি তৃতীয় প্রাচীন বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়। ইউনিভার্সিটি অব ক্যামব্রিজ প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয় মূলত ১২০৯ সালে। বর্তমানে ৩১ টি কলেজ এই বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের তত্ত্বাবধানে পরিচালিত হচ্ছে। ৯০ জন নোবেল বিজয়ী এ প্রতিষ্ঠানের সাথে সংযুক্ত ছিলেন। যুক্তরাজ্যের সবচেয়ে প্রাচীন ও বিখ্যাত এ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি অনেক তরুণেরই স্বপ্নের বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়।

৫। ম্যাসাচুসেটস ইনস্টিটিউট অব টেকনোলজি (এমআইটি)
আমেরিকার আরেকটি বিখ্যাত বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের নাম ম্যাসাচুসেটস ইনস্টিউট অব টেকনোলজি (এমআইটি)। এ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি মূলত শরীরবিদ্যা ও ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং-এর জন্য বিখ্যাত। তবে বর্তমানে জীববিজ্ঞান,অর্থনীতি, ভাষাবিজ্ঞান ও ব্যবস্থাপনাও এখানে পড়ানো হয়। ১৮৬১ সালে যুক্তরাষ্ট্রে শিল্পায়ন বৃদ্ধির সময় প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয় এ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি। বাংলাদেশের কিছু মেধাবী শিক্ষার্থীও বর্তমানে এ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে শিক্ষাগ্রহণ করছে। তরুন মেধাবীদের কাছে এমআইটি এক বিশাল স্বপ্নের আরেক নাম।

৬। হার্ভার্ড বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়
আমেরিকার বিখ্যাত হার্ভার্ড বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় পৃথিবীর সেরা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের স্বীকৃতি পেয়েছে। ঐতিহাসিকভাবে হার্ভার্ড বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের গুরুত্ব অপরিসীম। এ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয়েছে ১৬৩৬ সালে। পৃথিবীর অনেক জ্ঞানীগুণী মানুষের জন্ম হয়েছে হার্ভার্ড বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় থেকে। নোবেল বিজয়ী থেকে শুরু করে পৃথিবীর বড় বড় সব পুরষ্কার বিজয়ীদের অনেকেই লেখাপড়া করেছেন হার্ভার্ড বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে। উচ্চশিক্ষার জন্য যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের সবচেয়ে প্রাচীন প্রতিষ্ঠান হার্ভার্ড বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়। মেধাবী শিক্ষার্থীদের অনেকেরই জীবনের লক্ষ্য থাকে হার্ভার্ড বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে লেখাপড়া করা।

৭। প্রিন্সটন বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়
যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের নিউ জার্সির প্রিন্সটনে এ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি অবস্থিত। এ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি ১৭৪৬ সালে কলেজ অব নিউ জার্সি নামে প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয়। আমেরিকান বিপ্লবের আগে প্রতিষ্ঠিত কলোনিয়াল ৯টি কলেজের মধ্যে প্রিন্সটন বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় একটি। বর্তমানে সেরা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়গুলোর মধ্যে এই বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি পৃথিবীর ৭ম বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়। এই বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে হিউম্যানিটিজ, সোশ্যাল সায়েন্স, ন্যাচারাল সায়েন্স ও ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং পড়ানো হয়। তরুণ মেধাবীদের কাছে এটিও একটি প্রত্যাশিত বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়।

৮। ইয়েল বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়
১৭০১ সালে কানেকটিকাট উপনিবেশে প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয়েছিল ইয়েল বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়। উচ্চশিক্ষার জন্য এই বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি আমেরিকার তৃতীয় প্রাচীন বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়। এই বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি বর্তমানে যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের কানেকটিকাটের নিউ হ্যাভেনে অবস্থিত। এটি পৃথিবীর দ্বিতীয় বৃহত্তম একাডেমিক ইনস্টিটিউশন। পৃথিবীর ৫১ জন নোবেল বিজয়ী এ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের সাথে সংযুক্ত ছিলেন। মেধাবী তরুণদের কাছে এই বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টিও একটি স্বপ্নের নাম।

৯। ইউনিভার্সিটি অব ক্যালিফোর্নিয়া, বার্কলি
যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের আরেকটি বিখ্যাত বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের নাম ইউনিভার্সিটি অব ক্যালিফোর্নিয়া। এই বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয় ১৮৬৮ সালে। ১০ টি ক্যাম্পাস নিয়ে এ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি পরিচালিত হচ্ছে। এর মধ্যে ৯টি আন্ডারগ্র্যাজুয়েট ও গ্র্যাজুয়েট ক্যাম্পাস,আর একটি প্রফেশনাল। যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের ক্যালিফোর্নিয়ায় এ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি অবস্থিত। পৃথিবীর বিভিন্ন দেশের মেধাবী তরুণদের কাছে এ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টিও একটি স্বপ্নের নাম।

১০। শিকাগো বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়
শিকাগো বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় ঊনিশ শতকের গোধূলি লগ্নে সাধারণ মানুষকে শিক্ষার দোরগোড়ায় নতুন আলো দেখানোর জন্য প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয়েছিল। যুক্তরাজ্যে অবস্থিত এই বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি নিয়মিতভাবে শিক্ষাগত দিক দিয়ে বিশ্বের শীর্ষ প্রতিষ্ঠানের তালিকায় নিম্ন স্তরে গণ্য হলেও পুরষ্কার বা ক্রীড়াঙ্গনে বেশ প্রসারিত। স্যাটেলাইট ক্যাম্পাস ও বৈদেশিক সুবিধার সঙ্গে, শিকাগো বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়  খুব অল্প সময়েই তার মার্কিন ভূগোল অতিক্রম করেছে। সর্বোপরি এই বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ও অনেক শিক্ষার্থীরই স্বপ্নের জায়গা।

Reference:
http://10minuteschool.com/blog/10-amazing-universities-of-the-world/

20

Software Engineering / UBER =টাকার গাছ. But reality is?

« on: May 12, 2017, 05:31:29 PM »

মানুষজন হুমড়ি খেয়ে পড়ছে উবারে গাড়ি দেবার জন্য। সপ্তাহে 20000!!!খাইছে!!! সব মধ্যবিত্ত ধনী হয়ে যাবে এবার। মাসে ৮0000 টাকা আয়ের জন্য সবাই গাড়ি কেনার জন্য প্লান করছে। একটু হিসাবটা ভাল করে মিলিয়ে নিন। আর ড্রাইভার উল্টাপাল্টা করলে লস ও হইতে পারে।

আয় দেখলেন এবার ব্যয় দেখুন।

Normally UBER says, you can earn up to 20,000 Taka per week by
attaching your car with U BER. So monthly income will be =20,000 x 4 = 80,000 taka.

This 80,000 Taka is your income; not profit. Yes, according to UBER, this will be your monthly income.

Now here comes the cost calculation:
In a month, you can have maximum use 25days (weekly 1 day off for driver). So you have to earn per day = 80,000/25= 3,200 Taka.

1. Uber commission = 80,000 x 25% = 20,000 Taka.
2. Driver's salary = 15,000 Taka (minimum)
3. Driver's lunch = 100 per day;
So lunch bill = 100 x 30= 3,000 Taka

4. For earning 3,200 Taka per day, fuel cost will be minimum = 1,000 Taka.
So, monthly fuel cost = 1,000 x 25= 25,000 Taka.

So, this is your total running cost per month is = 20,000 + 15,000 + 3,000 + 25,00 = 63,000 Taka.

So, you are thinking now, you have a profit = 80,000 - 63,000 = 16700 Taka.
NO, this is WRONG.

 

Reference:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6268283546553675776/

21

Software Engineering / 5 Books That Inspired Warren Buffett

« on: May 11, 2017, 08:22:59 PM »

Please visit:
https://www.inc.com/video/5-books-that-inspired-warren-buffett.html

22

Software Engineering / Why I quit my government job to become a freelancer?

« on: May 10, 2017, 11:07:11 PM »

I usually use this column to write about social issues and current affairs within the UAE. I try to focus on the changes and transformations that are happening in our rapidly evolving country, what we can do to embrace and be part of that change, and how it’s setting up the next generation for a brighter and more sustainable future.

Many of my readers, who are also part of my audience on social media where I share a large part of my personal and professional life, know that I made a significant change in my career almost a year ago. I left a full-time job with the Government and began freelancing in the digital-media and events sectors.

I’m often asked why I made this decision. I had been writing for The National while I was still working in investments at a government organisation, and fell in love with journalism and sharing opinions, as well as the dialogue that our articles and news creates. I worked in investments for a large government organisation for almost six years, then I took a leave of absence to study for a master’s. During my studies, I started focusing on the communications side of business. I took elective classes on storytelling, acting, the business of entertainment and digital-media entrepreneurship. I fell in love with those classes and knew those were the things I wanted to do in my career, plus I was an average analyst at best, bad with numbers and didn’t enjoy sitting down crunching them and sticking them on a PowerPoint slide at 2am.

The second most-common question I get is about the provisions I made at the time of the decision – at the time I was staring at a significant rise in salary and a promotion. I made sure that when I quit I had enough savings in the bank to sustain the same standard of living for about one year with no regular income. I heard that it was common practice to have about four to six months of savings, but I’m married with two kids and two years into a 30-year mortgage, so I wanted to play it extra safe. I also had several freelance opportunities in the pipeline based on work I had previously done, either in the evenings, on weekends or during annual leave. I think I had about two months’ salary’s worth of work lined up when I quit, which gave me momentum heading into my freelance life.

The third question I’m asked the most is: "What has it been like?" Two words come to mind: awesome and exhausting. The awesome part is doing work I’m passionate about every day of my life, waking up knowing that I’m shaping my own destiny and, for better or for worse, doing things on my terms. That unnecessary bureaucracy that slows down or prevents your work seeing the light of day is gone; hoping that you can take your annual leave is now a thing of the past.

The exhausting part is that freelance work is harder because your mind and your body are constantly moving, from one client to the other, and making sure that everything you do, every strategy you execute, every media opportunity you present, every show you host or every article you write, is top quality. You’re only as good as your last piece of work. The emotional exhaustion comes from sometimes worrying about where your next lead will come from and constantly ensuring that you have work to provide a great life for your family. Until now, I have been too busy working for any of that worry to kick in.

There are things I miss about the corporate world – building things, travelling and working with great people. But do I ever regret the decision I made? Not for a second. Even in my hardest moments, when I am working through the night to hit deadlines or working at events late into the evening, I’m always grateful. I’m doing what I love and that brings out the best in who I am. It took me almost 10 years to get here, and there’s one question that will never haunt me: What if?

*This article was originally published in The National

Reference:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-i-quit-my-government-job-become-freelancer-khalid-al-ameri?trk=v-feed&lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_feed%3BRHhPuZTCX%2B1uan32D48kNA%3D%3D

23

Software Engineering / Netflix and Facebook seem to share a crucial thesis about the future of TV shows

« on: May 10, 2017, 11:03:09 PM »

Visit:
http://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-facebook-and-the-future-of-tv-shows-2017-5

24

Software Engineering / Why Facebook Is Getting Into TV?

« on: May 10, 2017, 10:58:46 PM »

Last week there was a lot of coverage around the 51% increase in year on year ad revenue and the additional 80 million monthly active users added to Facebook in Q1 2017. However last week also saw the unveiling of a significant new development in Facebook’s overall user monetization strategy. During an analyst conference call following Facebook’s Q1 earnings report last Wednesday, Facebook CFO David Wehner stated that Facebook was “kickstarting” the production of longer-form content on its portfolio of social platforms. To this end, Facebook is now hiring a film producer, and its subsidiary Instagram is seeking to hire a creative producer.

It’s All About Long Form Video

Facebook is a victim of its own success. When Facebook went public back in 2012 it faced an immediate challenge in that it had no effective mobile engagement strategy. The acquisitions and successful integration of Instagram and Whatsapp alongside the aggressive promotion of Messenger have created a portfolio of highly successful messaging apps which have now future-proofed audience retention for the business. Now, these messaging apps are directly threatening the core business of Facebook which is all about deploying target ads to its users. The PC ecosystem allows for these ads to be relatively unintrusively served to users. The limited real estate, data limitations and the highly personal nature of a mobile phone app make the delivery of ads on messaging apps much more challenging. As such, Facebook is having to find ways to monetize its user base across its messaging apps which do not antagonize its users, 90% of whom now engage via mobile. The development of chatbots on Messenger is one example of this diversification strategy. Far more lucrative at this stage and a much easier sell to advertisers is integrating premium video offerings.

MIDiA Research called out Facebook as a next generation video operator in its report on Next Generation TV Operators in October 2016, with the prediction that Facebook would move into the increasingly disrupted mainstream TV operating business as a logical way to optimize its best-in-class ad targeting technology and its global scale. No traditional pay-TV operator can compete with these twin unique selling points of partnering with Facebook as a TV network distribution service. Indeed, since the report was published, Google has announced the launch of YouTube TV on a trial basis across 5 US cities.

The Future Of Social Video Is About Cornering Engagement

Over the next 4 years, the pay-TV ecosystem will undergo a fundamental shift from cable and satellite to streaming pay-TV services such as Hulu‘s Live TV service and Sling TV. Cable and Satellite will become the preserve of high spending niche premium video consumers. This technological shift will be accelerated by the end of the current lucrative sports rights revenue stream in 2021, when the first set of major NFL broadcast rights comes up for re-negotiation. Traditional Pay-TV, which currently accounts for $72 billion in US ad spend (compared to digital video’s $4.9 billion), will be significantly diminished by this shift especially as online video consumption reaches mainstream penetration rates across the globe in 2019.

For Facebook and its tech competitors, long form video represents an opportunity both to halt an increasingly diminished business model and for it to seize the lion’s share of the increasingly disrupted TV operator landscape. And its successful deployment of micro-targeted advertising will allow it to monetize user engagement without having to deploy a subscription business model.

Facebook’s announcement last week is just the beginning of the next front in the digital video wars.

Reference:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-facebook-getting-tv-tim-mulligan?trk=v-feed&lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_feed%3B5%2B817n1JQHKVSUr333aEyA%3D%3D

25

Software Engineering / How To Answer 'Why Do You Want To Leave Your Job?'

« on: May 10, 2017, 10:55:52 PM »

Dear Liz,

I have to get out of my toxic workplace.

My company is going downhill and my boss is becoming more hostile and irrational all the time.

It's hard enough to job hunt when you're working for an angry, bitter boss who suspects every employee of trying to get away with something, even when they're not job-hunting.


Shutterstock

It's even harder when you have to pretend on your job interviews that your job is perfectly fine but you're just looking for a better opportunity.

I struggle with the interview question "Why do you want to leave your job?"

I don't want to bash my current employer, but there is a lot I could bash them about.

They've cut our benefits plan twice in the past year.

My supervisor treats me and my co-workers like servants. She asks us to walk two blocks to the deli and get her lunch, and then we have to stand there while she digs in her purse for cash to reimburse us, huffing and fuming. She's a horrible person, to be honest.

I've had two job interviews so far and both times, I stumbled over the question "Why are you thinking about leaving your job?"

How can I answer that question without lying on the one hand or giving away my desperate situation on the other hand?

Thanks Liz!

Yours,

Lauren

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Dear Lauren,

Your frustration with your manager will begin to diminish, at first imperceptibly, when you turn your focus away from your feelings toward her and concentrate on your next opportunity.

You will still do your job capably, of course, but you will not put your emotional energy into your job. Your current situation will bother you less and less as you see your future — yourself in your new job, that is — more clearly.

It is very frustrating to feel trapped. Little by little as you go on more interviews it will become obvious that you are very employable and that the right job for you (not necessarily the first job offer you get) will show up before long.

As your job interview conversations remind you that you are smarter and more talented than your current boss could ever acknowledge, you will start to relax.

Here are five ways to answer the question "Why do you want to leave your current job?" without bashing your boss or your company or saying something that isn't true.

Of course, you will customize your response to your own situation and the job you're interviewing for.

Why do you want to leave your current job?

1. I learned the most at my job in the first year and then the learning started to slow down. I'm very eager to keep learning more and trying new things — that's why I'm talking with other organizations, like yours.

2. It's been a tough few years in my industry and my company is feeling the strain. This is a great time for me to investigate other opportunities. I was especially drawn to your open position because it seems like a great fit for my skills in X and Y.

3. I started thinking about launching a job hunt at the end of the first quarter of 2017. Unfortunately my company's sales were not what they had hoped for and that really affects my work. I wish my current teammates all the best of course, but I need to move on.

4. The more I reflect on my talents and goals, the more clearly I can see that I need to work in the area of X, which is something I'm passionate about and good at. That's what attracted me to this job!

5. I've accumulated tremendous learning at my job but I can tell that it's time to spread my wings more than I'm able to do right now. Can I ask you a few questions about this role?

It is easy to interpret the interview question "Why do you want to leave your job?" as another way of asking "What's wrong with your current job?" but that is not the only way to interpret the question.

People leave perfectly wonderful jobs for new opportunities every day. There doesn't have to be something wrong with your job in order for you to launch a job search!

Think about what you want in your next job rather than about what's broken in your current job, and the question "Why do you want to change jobs?" will become much easier to answer.

Ask yourself what you want and need from your new job that the old job isn't giving you.

Share that wish list the next time you run into this question, and you'll sail through the interview!

All the best,

Liz

Reference:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2017/05/10/how-to-answer-why-do-you-want-to-leave-your-job-2/#10302d343fb8

26

Software Engineering / Re: যে ৫টি জিনিস সিভিতে রাখা যাবে না

« on: May 10, 2017, 10:45:11 PM »

Thanks!

27

Software Engineering / Cybersecurity Has a Serious Talent Shortage. Here’s How to Fix It

« on: May 07, 2017, 09:40:23 PM »

It’s a refrain I’ve been hearing for the past 18 months from clients all over the world: “We need more skilled people for our security team.”

The need is real and well-documented. A report from Frost & Sullivan found that the global cybersecurity workforce will have more than 1.5 million unfilled positions by 2020. But the security industry is a fast-growing market, with IDC pegging it as becoming a $101 billion opportunity by 2020. So what’s causing the talent shortage?

One of the big reasons is that security businesses tend to look for people with traditional technology credentials — college degrees in tech fields, for example. But security is truly everyone’s problem; virtually every aspect of personal and professional data is at risk. So why are we limiting security positions to people with four-year degrees in computer science, when we desperately need varied skills across so many different industries? Businesses should open themselves up to applicants whose nontraditional backgrounds mean they could bring new ideas to the position and the challenge of improving cybersecurity.

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Other burgeoning industries have been in similar positions throughout history. In 1951 the U.S. accounting industry was poised for growth but was predominantly male, with only 500 female certified public accountants in the country. After recognizing the problem, leaders across the accounting field teamed with industry associations and academic institutions to solve the issue through awareness campaigns and hiring initiatives. Today there are over 800,000 female CPAs in the U.S. Security businesses need to follow this example, taking a hard look at themselves to see what’s holding them back.

There are no signs that the bad guys are limiting their talent pool — and cybercrime is now a $445 billion business. The average company handles a bombardment of 200,000 security events per day. Cybercriminals are becoming increasingly more organized and aggressive, while the teams defending against these attacks are struggling to fill their ranks.

One way IBM is addressing the talent shortage is by creating “new collar” jobs, particularly in cybersecurity. These roles prioritize skills, knowledge, and willingness to learn over degrees and the career fields that gave people their initial work experience. Some characteristics of a successful cybersecurity professional simply can’t be taught in a classroom: unbridled curiosity, passion for problem solving, strong ethics, and an understanding of risks. People with these traits can quickly pick up the technical skills through on-the-job training, industry certifications, community college courses, and modern vocational and skills education programs.

We began using this approach about two years ago, and its success has been clear: 20% of our U.S. hiring in cybersecurity since 2015 has consisted of new collar professionals. Other organizations can use a similar approach by establishing apprenticeship opportunities, emphasizing certification programs, exploring new education models, supporting programs at community colleges or polytechnic schools, and looking for talent in new places. Some of our recent additions to the security team came from unexpected career fields such as retail, education, entertainment, and law. The two things they all had in common? They were curious about security and motivated to learn the skills.

Building a pool of talent to fill these new collar jobs is also an important part of the equation. A great example of this is the P-TECH educational model (Pathways in Technology Early College High School), which provides a training avenue for students to jumpstart their careers in cybersecurity. Public high school and college students in grades 9-14 get hands-on experience with the most sought-after technical skills. By combining specific elements of high school curricula, community college courses, hands-on skills training, and professional mentoring, these students are primed for successful entry into highly technical career fields. The P-TECH model has expanded to over 50 U.S. schools and 300 industry partners, with the goal of expanding to 80+ schools in 2017.

Of course, cutting-edge technology is going to be at the center of these new collar jobs. Artificial intelligence, for example, is being used in the workplace in a wide range of ways, and in cybersecurity it is already creating opportunities for new collar positions. AI not only provides a way to help overcome the skills shortage, but is also an important step forward in the way employees will work and companies will defend themselves. We’ve found that by using AI to gather and correlate the insights from the 60,000 security-related blog posts each month, security professionals can digest the relevant information much more efficiently, allowing organizations to upskill their employee base. Companies are already using Watson for Cyber Security to connect obscure data points humans can’t possibly identify on their own, enabling employees to find security threats 60x faster than manual investigations.

Companies that are interested in using a new collar approach to fill security positions should consider the following:

Re-examine your workforce strategy: Do you know what skills you need today and tomorrow to run a successful security program? Realize that skills and experience can come from a variety of places, and adjust your hiring efforts accordingly.
Improve your engagement and outreach: Don’t limit yourself to the same old career fairs and recruiting programs of yesteryear. Get involved in community colleges, P-TECH schools, and other educational programs to start building your recruiting base.
Build a local cybersecurity ecosystem: Connect with government organizations, educational institutions, and other groups. Sponsor Capture the Flag security events, and work with local middle and high schools to generate interest in the field. These groups are always looking for willing experts and mentors.
Have a robust support program for new hires: Mentorships, rotational assignments, shadowing, and other opportunities help new cybersecurity hires gain experience and learn. Remember, not everyone knows what they want to do right away. Keep new hires engaged by giving them the creative freedom to work on different projects and explore new technologies and services.
Focus on continuous learning and upskilling: To retain your new talent, keep employees current on the latest skill sets through classes, certifications, and conferences. Cybersecurity is a highly dynamic field, requiring ongoing education and exploration. And be open to employees from other areas of your business who express interest in cybersecurity career paths. Remember that AI provides employees with more intelligence and contextual recommendations at a speed and scale previously unimagined, so upskilling your workforce is a completely different ballgame these days.
Cybersecurity is a complex career field with extraordinarily challenging problems, but with a diverse pool of experiences and ideas, we stand a much greater chance of successfully defending our assets.

Reference:
https://hbr.org/2017/05/cybersecurity-has-a-serious-talent-shortage-heres-how-to-fix-it

28

Software Engineering / People want AI for its brain power, not its people skills

« on: May 06, 2017, 11:50:34 PM »

By Anand Rao

Artificial intelligence (“AI”) is fast becoming the next great democratizer for services. In the medical field, 56% of consumers surveyed see its potential to lower cost and break down barriers in providing medical access to lower income adults. And the beginnings of that technology can already be seen: an AI system has successfully identified autism in babies with 81% accuracy, while a Stanford-led experiment used AI to identify skin cancer with 91% accuracy.

But as much as these technologies develop and become more successful in application, the majority of consumers still want a human touch accompany cutting-edge tech. While consumers trust AI to make vital decisions on the back end in terms of data processing and analysis, they still prefer a human to deliver information to them or to help explain a result. According to our latest Consumer Intelligence Series survey, 77% would prefer to visit a doctor in person than to take an at-home assessment with a robotic smart kit, and only 22% think it’s likely that people will turn entirely to an AI assistant versus a human as a doctor.

The same sentiment is echoed for office environments. AI is great for the processing it brings to the table, but not for making final decisions. Executives see AI as a liberator when it comes to repetitive tasks in their day-to-day life. Our survey reveals that paperwork, scheduling and timesheets seemed like appropriate, tedious tasks to be delegated to a machine. However, executives were less confident about AI’s ability to handle HR-related tasks which require a human touch. Sixty-nine percent of executives believe AI would be just as fair, or even more fair, as a human manager when making promotion decisions. But in practice, 86% would want to speak with a human after a review decision made by AI.

Ultimately, people are optimistic that AI will save time and provide more services to even more people. But when it comes to tasks that require emotional intelligence, they aren’t ready to hand over the reins just yet. The emotional skills that humans innately have as, well, humans, are their strength. Where AI is logical and methodical, humans can be inventive and empathetic. The role of humans will be to push AI further: to create more useful programs, to develop more unique ways for machines to think, and to tackle new problems. All of which will lead to a smarter – both intellectually and emotionally – world for all.

Man and machine together is better than either one on their own.

Reference:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/people-want-ai-its-brain-power-skills-anand-rao?trk=v-feed&lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_feed%3BzFYTCfNGRKWVNoLnccIClw%3D%3D

29

Software Engineering / যে ৫টি জিনিস সিভিতে রাখা যাবে না

« on: May 06, 2017, 11:45:23 PM »

১। নাম, কন্টাক্ট ছাড়া খুব বেশি পার্সোনাল ডিটেইল প্রয়োজন নেই, স্পেস বাচান, সেখানে কি কাজ করেছেন, আউটপুট নিয়ে কথা বলুন।

২। সিজিপিএ কোন কাজে আসে না, এটা মুছে ফেলতে পারেন। কাজ তুলে ধরুন।

৩। কোন স্পেশাল কেস ছাড়া ভাষা উল্লেখের দরকার নেই, সফট স্কিল উল্লেখের ক্ষেত্রে কিসের ভিত্তিতে লিখছেন সেটা উল্লেখ করুন।

৪। অপ্রয়োজনীয় জব ডেস্ক্রিপশান সরিয়ে ফেলুন, রেজাল্ট ও পটেনশিয়ালিটি নিয়ে লিখুন।

৫। মিড ও সিনিয়র লেভেলে যাওয়ার পর রেফারেন্স সরিয়ে ফেলুন। ২ পেজে সিভি নামিয়ে আনুন। সিভিকে নিজের সাফল্য গাথা হিসেবে প্রকাশ করুন।

বিজনেস ইনসাইডার ও ফরবস অবলম্বনে।

30

Software Engineering / The Next Big Idea in Health Care

« on: May 06, 2017, 11:41:36 PM »

Every day, 1,650 Americans die of cancer. It is an ugly, devastating, and costly disease that affects far too many people. Although we’re light-years ahead of where we were, we remain frustratingly limited in our capacity to detect, treat, and cure cancer. We’ve spent billions of dollars in research, and made great strides, but there is much more to be done.

Former Vice President Biden, a staunch champion of the Obama administration’s Cancer Moonshot, would likely agree. The very name of the NIH-funded initiative suggests that we’re at a point where big ideas are more necessary than ever.

We’re at a point where big ideas are more necessary than ever.
Big ideas like the Cancer Moonshot were the focus of this week’s Fortune Brainstorm HEALTH, a gathering that brings together global health care leaders to discuss our greatest health care challenges. I had the privilege of sharing the stage there with Fortune’s Clifton Leaf and Duke University’s Shelley Hwang, where we talked about how we can change our thinking to improve health care. Both Cliff and Shelley are deeply immersed in the fight against cancer, and our discussion covered a range of key topics, like the need for improved diagnostic tools, a shift to value-based care, engaging patients in their own care, and ensuring that all populations have access to medical advances – regardless of their incomes. 

For me, the big idea is Precision Health, which looks to predict, prevent and cure disease – precisely. It’s hard to find a better fit for Precision Health than cancer. The World Cancer Research Fund estimates that 20 percent of all cancers diagnosed in the U.S. are caused by a combination of excess body weight, physical inactivity, excess alcohol consumption, and poor nutrition. This means that we have a good shot at preventing a substantial proportion of cancers, through a combination of early screening and behavior modification. I’m confident that in the next five to 10 years, we’ll see a wave of innovation in these spaces – driven by both advances in technology and improved application of existing methods like the mammogram.

It’s our duty as physicians to help our patients live the healthiest lives possible.
It’s our duty as physicians to help our patients live the healthiest lives possible. And Precision Health’s focus on treating the patient proactively, taking into account environmental factors and other issues unique to the patient, is one of the best ways for us to beat cancer.

Doctors at our own Stanford Medicine Cancer Institute apply the principles of Precision Health every day, taking advantage of new diagnostic approaches, leveraging the power of collaborative thinking, and deeply engaging with local communities to raise awareness and encourage preventive action. From diagnosing cancer without resorting to invasive surgery, to ensuring that clinical trials draw from diverse patient pools, I’m inspired and encouraged by the work that they do. It gives me hope that we’ll see the end of cancer in my lifetime.

Sometimes, people ask me when we’ll know that Precision Health is working. For me, I’ll know that Precision Health has fulfilled its promise when the number of people who die from diseases like cancer is trending downward, reaching towards zero. We’re not there yet, but by empowering patients; pushing for early screening; and considering environmental, behavioral, and other factors, we might find that the moon is within our grasp.

Reference:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/next-big-idea-health-care-lloyd-minor?trk=v-feed&lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_feed%3BCv68IUhXQ16H5gsXuXFEhA%3D%3D