BM Desk:

A team of students from Bangladesh’s Berhampur University has won the Best Storytelling category at the 2023 NASA International Space Apps Challenge. This is the fourth time that a Bangladeshi team has won the global competition, and the second time in a row.

The winning team, called Team Voyagers, developed a visual tool that explains the complete water cycle on Earth. The tool is designed to help students understand how water flows through the Earth’s system and how this precious resource plays a role in climate change.

“This is a huge achievement for Bangladesh,” said Tanvir Hossain Khan, director of BASIS, which organized the Bangladesh leg of the competition. “It is a testament to the creativity and technical skills of our young people. We are very proud of Team Voyagers and their hard work.”

The team’s leader, Mohammad Khalid Sakib, said that the journey to winning the competition was not easy. “We started out virtually and had to work hard to develop our project,” he said. “But we are so proud to be able to represent our country on the global stage. We are grateful to BASIS for their support.”

This year’s NASA International Space Apps Challenge saw a record number of participants from around the world. More than 8,700 teams from 152 countries submitted 57,999 projects.

Bangladesh has a strong track record at the NASA Space Apps Challenge. 

In 2018, a team from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology won the Best Use of Data category for their virtual reality project that simulates a trip to the moon. 

In 2021, a team from Khulna University of Engineering and Technology and Bangladesh Army University of Engineering and Technology won the Best Mission Concept category. 

And in 2022, a team from the American International University-Bangladesh won the Most Inspirational category.