Visit from Bangladeshi ambassador

On Tuesday 14 September, the Ambassador of Bangladesh, M. Riaz Hamidullah, graced VHL University of Applied Sciences in Velp with a visit. The purpose of his visit was to, on the one hand, get acquainted with the university of applied sciences, and, on the other, to introduce students and lecturers to Bangladesh. The focus of the visit was on the field of agriculture and water.

Jan van Iersel, Executive Board Chair, Ruth van der Beek, Education Director, and Jannet Lavalette, International Affairs manager, received the ambassador, after which there was an opportunity for extensive mutual acquaintance. "For me it was an inspiring visit focused on an important subject”, says Jan van Iersel. "Climate change is affecting both our countries. We have seen again today that you have to seek solutions from within your own culture. It's good that we now know more about Bangladesh."

Researchers Jan Fliervoet and Loes Witteveen gave a presentation to the ambassador and his entourage about their research practice and about the Master’s programme River Delta Development. Ambassador M. Riaz Hamidullah then gave an inspiring presentation on Bangladesh to a group of students. This was followed by an animated conversation between the students and the ambassador. “I saw a different side of Bangladesh today”, says Jesper van Delden, Land and Water Management student. “I know Bangladesh from the images of floods on TV, but today I also got to see the culture of the country.”

During the concluding gift exchange, the ambassador presented a set of 30 books on Bangladesh to the university of applied sciences. These books can be check out in the media library in Velp.