NASA Space Apps Challenge: Bangladesh becomes world champion

Team Voyagers of Bangladesh has become the world champion in the best storytelling category at the NASA International Space Apps Challenge 2023.

This is the third consecutive and the overall fourth time that Bangladesh has won the title, according to a press release.

The NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) of the United States organises the competition to help talented young people from various fields from around the world find innovative solutions to global problems.

As part of this, the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) organised the Bangladesh phase of the event for the 10th time in October in nine cities: Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barishal, Rangpur, Mymensingh and Cumilla.

Around 57,999 participants from 8,715 teams representing 152 countries competed in 30 categories, making it the largest NASA Space Apps Challenge to date.

Md Khalid Sakib is the team leader of Team Voyagers of Varendra University from the Rajshahi region. The other members of the team are Md Abdul Malek, Md Shakhawat Hossain, Fahmida Akter, and Md Atiqur Rahman.

The theme of Team Voyagers' project was "Everything Starts with Water", as it wanted to create a visual tool to explain the complete water cycle on Earth, helping understand the flow of water through Earth's system and its impact in climate change.

In the press release, Sakib said that they were proud of their achievement as it brightened the image of the country. He expressed gratitude to the BASIS for helping them along the way.  

Tanvir Hossain Khan, the convener of the NASA International Space Apps Challenge Bangladesh, and a director of the BASIS, said that the global championship is a testament to the creativity and technological capabilities of Bangladeshi students.

BASIS President Russell T Ahmed said, "Our success highlighted the vast potential and innovation in the field of information and communication technology among Bangladeshis."

The mentors for the event were Ariful Hasan Opu and Mohammad Mahdee-uz-Zaman.