# Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University

Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University (Bengali: জাতীয় কবি কাজী নজরুল ইসলাম বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়) is a government-financed public university of Bangladesh. It is also known as JKKNIU. It is located at Namapara-Battala, Trishal which is a suburb of Mymensingh, some 22 kilometres from Mymensingh urban center. Established in 2006, the university At present more than eight thousand students are studying in the university.

## History

The initiative to establish the university was undertaken at a meeting of the executive committee of National Economic Commission (ECNEC) in February 2004. Prime Minister Khaleda Zia laid the foundation stone of the university on 1 March 2005. At a function on 25 May 2007, organized to celebrate the birth anniversary of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, Khaleda Zia inaugurated the university.
The university was originally conceived to be the first culture-based university in Bangladesh, but the University Act of 2006 made it a general university with a special focus on liberal arts education and activities.
Mohammad Shamsur Rahman was the first vice-chancellor of JKKNIU. Its first batch consisted of 185 students. The academic programme of the university started effective from 3 June 2007 with three departments under the Faculty of Arts (Bengali Language & Literature, English Language & Literature, and Music) and the single department Computer Science and Engineering under the Faculty of Science and Engineering.
Two more departments were established the next year under two new faculties: the Department of Accounting and Information Systems under the Faculty of Business Administration and the Department of Economics under the Faculty of Social Science.
Two other departments were opened in the academic year 2009–2010 under two faculties: the Department of Finance and Banking under the Faculty of Business Administration and the Department of Fine Arts under the Faculty of Arts.
Four additional departments were established in the academic year 2010–11 under four existing faculties, i.e., the Department of Dramatics under the Faculty of Arts, Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering under the Faculty of Science & Engineering, Department of Public Administration under the Faculty of Social Sciences, and the Department of Human Resource Management under the Faculty of Business Administration.

## Location

It is located at Namapara Battala,Trishal about 22 km from Mymensingh city center and 3 km from Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway.It is 100 km away from the capital city Dhaka.
The name of the place 'Battala' derives from the legendary banyan tree standing for years here at Namapara.

## Faculties

The university has 25 departments under 6 faculties.
| Faculty | Department |
| Faculty of Science Engineering | Computer Science and Engineering |
| Faculty of Science Engineering | Electrical and Electronic Engineering |
| Faculty of Science Engineering | Environmental Science & Engineering |
| Faculty of Science Engineering | Statistics |
| Faculty of Arts | Bangla Language and Literature |
| Faculty of Arts | English Language and Literature |
| Faculty of Arts | Theatre and Performance Studies |
| Faculty of Arts | Music |
| Faculty of Arts | Film & Media Studies |
| Faculty of Arts | Philosophy |
| Faculty of Arts | History |
| Faculty of Business Administration | Accounting and Information Systems |
| Faculty of Business Administration | Finance and Banking |
| Faculty of Business Administration | Human Resource Management |
| Faculty of Business Administration | Management |
| Faculty of Business Administration | Marketing |
| Faculty of Social Science | Economics |
| Faculty of Social Science | Public Administration & Governance Studies |
| Faculty of Social Science | Local Government and Urban Development |
| Faculty of Social Science | Folklore |
| Faculty of Social Science | Anthropology |
| Faculty of Social Science | Population Sciences |
| Faculty of Social Science | Sociology |
| Faculty of Fine Arts | Fine Arts |
| Faculty of Law | Law & Justice |

## Institute

The university has an institute called 'Institute of Nazrul Studies'.

## Academic buildings

The university has four academic buildings for conducting academic activities. The buildings are
* Arts Building
* Old Science building
* Social Science Building
* Business Administration Building
* New Science Building

## Notable research

Ashraf Ali Seddique, departmental head of the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering and his team found high levels of uranium in Cox's Bazar.

## Notable faculty and alumni

Faculty:
* Jatin Sarkar (writer, thinker, honorary guest teacher at the university)
* Khondakar Ashraf Hossain (poet, translator, 3rd VC of the university)
* Mohit Ul Alam (writer, Shakespearian scholar, 4th VC of the university)
* Soumitra Sekhar Dey, (researcher, writer. the 6th VC of the university)
* Brindaban Das (actor, TV director, guest lecturer of the theatre dept.)
* Manoj Pramanik (actor, film producer, assistant professor of the film and media studies dept.)
Alumni:
* Fazle Hasan Shishir (film producer, alumni of English dept.)
* Animes Roy (Folk singer)

## Cultural activities

Various types of cultural events are held on campus. The birthday of Nazrul is the biggest cultural program of JKKNIU. Every year a two-day long cultural festival is arranged under the name Kuyasha Utshab. There were many segments like photography exhibition, painting exhibition, bookstall, indigenous traditional product stall, film show, recitation, literary debate and musical nights with famous and student band of the university that made a unique impression.
The university arranges Nazrul and Rabindranath's birthday celebration every year.

## List of vice-chancellors

| Name | From | To |
| M. Shamsur Ra hman | 7 June 2006 | 19 April 2009 |
| Syed Gias Uddin | 22-April-2009 | 21-April-2013 |
| Khondakar Ashraf Hossain | 22-April-2013 | June-2013 |
| Mohit Ul Alam | 14 August 2013 | 13 August 2017 |
| A.H.M Mustafizur Rahman | 13 November 2017 | 13 November 2021 |
| Soumitra Sekhar Dey | 15 December 2021 | 14 August 2024 |
| Md Jahangir Alam | 19 September 2024 | Present |

## Gallery

* Gahi Sammer Gan Moncho
* Floating Cafeteria SINDHU SAROS