Big Success in Bangladesh

I often get asked how I find the destinations for my “instructional odyssey.” There’s no single answer, but several have been via ACM, the professional society of computing. There are ACM chapters in universities all over the world, so periodically I send inquiries to a dozen or so. Most of those emails disappear into the void, but once in a while it works out — that was the case with North South University (NSU) in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

I got connected with North South University in Bangladesh via their student chapter of ACM, the professional society of computing.

These days, Stanford’s summer break is when I usually find time for travel-teaching, but that timing wasn’t workable for NSU. So I played hooky from the dean’s office right in the middle of our winter quarter; I rationalized the excursion by tacking on university business in India.

It’s not my first visit to Bangladesh — I taught at the Asian University for Women (AUW) in Chittagong in December 2016. This time was different in almost every way:

• Dhaka is Bangladesh’s main city and capital, although Chittagong in the #2 position is still plenty large.
• Both cities have become significantly safer in the past few years. In 2016 my hosts wouldn’t allow me outside of my apartment or the university building, while this time I went jogging every morning and could wander the streets in the evenings.
• NSU is a large, flagship institution, while AUW serves a niche but important purpose.
• I had around 250 dedicated students at NSU, while at AUW I struggled to maintain my class of about 15. To be fair, the background of the students at the two institutions differs dramatically.

Unlike my previous visit to Bangladesh it was safe outside for my morning jogs, with two pleasant parks close to my hotel.

Here are the main takeaways, then I’ll elaborate:

• With no obvious indicators during the planning process, this stop on the instructional odyssey turned out to be one of my very best in terms of organization, overall experience for me, and (at least according to the feedback) appreciation, enjoyment, and making a difference for the students.
• I was treated like royalty by the university and like a celebrity by the students. Both took some getting used to!

My first hint of royalty-celebrity status was upon campus arrival: Red carpet was laid out (literally) at the entrance, I was met by a large entourage of faculty, handed a giant flower bouquet, and saluted by numerous guards as I walked through the main atrium sporting gigantic banners announcing my short-course and a public talk I would give one afternoon.

One of two giant banners in the university atrium advertising my visit.

Arriving at the classroom I found a vast sea of cubicles — somewhere between the size of a basketball court and a soccer field. I’d been sent a photo of the room in advance and was concerned it would be entirely unworkable, but they made it work: A technical support team operated cameras, microphones, and sophisticated projection across numerous screens; six computer science students roved the room helping with academic questions, while another half-dozen roving volunteers made sure operations were smooth. The room was divided into numbered zones for a variety of purposes, along with a “VIP zone” where faculty occasionally sat and from where I delivered the course. Even my head-mounted microphone was one of the most convenient amplification systems I’ve had to date.

I had a large and exceptionally dedicated group of participants spread across a giant room; sophisticated technology (video cameras, microphones, numerous screens) and an army of helpers made it all work.

I suspect many weeks of thought and preparation led up to my visit. One basic Bangladeshi asset is a large number of people willing to work (evident throughout my stay, at every level of society), but organizing those people to make things go smoothly takes real effort. The primary organizers for my visit were a set of faculty, some staff from NSU’s external relations team, and student leaders from the ACM chapter I was first in contact with. During breaks and lunch I was whisked off to a special conference room with the faculty and staff; apparently a great deal of consideration even went into what food I would be served on those occasions, with a pivot when they learned I love spicy local food. Speaking of food, I typically insist on keeping most of my evenings free when teaching but often go out with organizers on the last evening. NSU was no exception, with a final-evening tour of Old Dhaka by horse & buggy (traditional for special occasions) and a seafood dinner overlooking the main river port.

Horse & buggy ride to our farewell dinner in Old Dhaka, and the two university guards who came along.

Turning to the participants, 300 of them were selected via 1000 phone interviews from about 1500 applicants. Unfortunately only 250 of the 300 showed up on the first day — it’s a perennial problem with my travel-teaching since there’s usually no tangible commitment, or consequences for not showing up. (I’ve toyed with various solutions to this ubiquitous problem, e.g., charging a nominal fee that’s returned at the end, but it’s really up to the hosts.) The 250 who did arrive were incredibly attentive, enthusiastic, and capable, and there was virtually no attrition among them. I’m told they were primarily computer science and electrical engineering undergraduates from NSU, along with some business and medical students and a few students from other universities in Dhaka.

Managing the Stanford-branded prizes I always give to the first 3–4 students to finish each of the short assignments turned out to be a challenge, especially keeping track of who finished first. Most students were using fixed computers and even the army of helpers couldn’t reliably figure out in which order hands shot up. Eventually I had the finishers line up in the VIP zone and I’d visit their computers one at a time to check their work. Sometimes there was a literal running race to get in line, and often the line got extremely long, though it soon became apparent that many students were getting in line when they had only a vague idea their work might be correct— it could take a line of 10–15 or more to find 3 prizewinners.

Students queuing up in hopes of having completed an assignment correctly and garnering a Stanford-branded prize.

And finally, the photos. Where to begin? I often agree to photos with individual students after a course is finished; I recall seemingly endless sessions with the 400+ students in The Philippines and Nigeria. But here the photo requests began on my first day and didn’t let up. Many students were arriving late the first couple of mornings (normal, I’m told), but when I announced that anyone who arrived before the start time of 9:00 AM would get a photo the punctuality was remarkable. One afternoon I gave a general talk to a university audience of several hundred. Afterward I was ushered to a waiting car with students running behind asking for photos; I felt like I was being stalked by paparazzi. When the final data-science session was finished, my hosts asked the students to stay seated and then led me out before I was mobbed — a bit of a letdown since I enjoy talking with students, but I think it was the right decision. I’m told the intense desire among the students for a photo was at least in part for social media bragging rights.

A great experience like NSU validates the continuation of my travel-teaching hobby, and demonstrates that I never quite know what to expect — part of the adventure and the joy. My next locations haven’t been nailed down yet, but as always I have a few ideas brewing.