Organized by the ICT Division, the second National High School Programming Contest is scheduled to start from the 6th of March 2016. Leading mobile phone operator Robi is going to sponsor the national event. Bangladesh Open Source Network will work as the implementation associate of the event and Codemarshal will be the academic associate. Besides, Kishore Alo, ATN News, Bangladesh ICT Journalists Forum (BIJF) will also be partners of the event.
This came at a press conference held at the National Press Club today.
In order to make everyone aware of the event, promotional activation will be carried out in 500 Upazilla and Thana. In addition, mentors training, facilitators’ workshop, workshop at 64 
This year the entire country has been divided into 16 regions. The regions are Rangpur, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Chittagong, Barisal, Dhaka, Gopalhanj, Dinajpur, Pabna, Patuakhali, Tangail, Noakhali, Comilla, Jessore and Mymensingh. The regional level programming contests will start from March 6 and end on April 3. Winners from all the regional level programming contest will take part in the national level programming contest which will be held at Dhaka Krishibid Institute on April 9th.
Hon’ble State Minister for the ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak MP was present at the press conference as the Chief Guest. Speaking at the Press Conference Hon’ble State Minister for ICT Division and the key proponent of the National High School Programming Contest Zunaid Ahmed Palak, MP said that “There is no reason to believe that the next Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates will not come from Bangladesh. We have the world class talents with ambition. All we need to do is to nurture the talents at an early age so that they get proper direction and guidance in their pursuit to excel in the global arena. National High School Programming Contest is one such platform where we aim to create the next global ICT entrepreneurs. I would like to thank Robi for coming forward to sponsor this national event for the youth of the country. ”
Thanking ICT Division for their continued support Robi’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) Mahtab Uddin Ahmed said that “Robi has always kept its faith in the indomitable spirit of the youth of the country to propel us into a Digital Bangladesh. Inspired by their unrelenting pursuit for excellence we have already launched our mobile application platform bdapps.com; providing an opportunity for the young programmers to hone their skills and come up with mobile applications that enrich our life. Hence, we are very happy to be part of this august arrangement.”
Secretary ICT Division Shyam Sunder Sikder also spoke on the occasion. Besides, Internation Programming Contest Judge Mohammad Mahmudur Rahman and Dhaka University’s Associate Professor for Computer Science and Engineering Lafifa Jamal and many other luminaries were present at the press conference.
The regional level programming contests will be held at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Bangabandhu Science and Technology University, Begum Rokeya University, Dhaka University, Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology, Barisal University, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, Kobi Nazrul Islam University, Jessore Science and Technology University , Pabna Science and Technology University, Comilla University, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Maulana Bhashani Science and Technology University and in Hazi Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University.
ABOUT ROBI:
Robi Axiata Limited is a joint venture between Axiata Group Berhad, of Malaysia and NTT DoCoMo Inc., of Japan. Robi is the second largest mobile phone operator in Bangladesh in terms of revenue, with 28.4 million subscribers, as of September 2015. Robi network provides nationwide coverage to 99% of the population with 13,260 2.5G BTS and over 2,950 3.5G sites. Robi proudly claims to have the widest international roaming service in the market, connecting 600 operators across more than 200 countries. It is also the first operator to introduce GPRS and 3.5G services in Bangladesh. The Company has introduced many first of its kind digital services in the country and has invested heavily in taking mobile financial services to the underserved communities in the rural and semi-urban areas.