From improving vaccination to identifying refugees, Bangladeshi youth come up with innovative use of blockchain

Fourth year students of CSE at the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) Rim Chowdhury and Muhid Hassan Risvy have come to Dhaka all the way from Sylhet to participate in the Blockchain Olympiad.

When they were in third year, they were taught a course in blockchain and had to prepare a project at the end of the course. “Our interest in blockchain has only grown since then. We also participated in last year’s Olympiad and made it to the final round,” Rim shared with us.

Rim and Muhid’s team is called SUSTMightyM24 and they have prepared a white paper (plan) on improving vaccination systems using blockchain technology. 

“Our website will allow users to be better informed about vaccination, they will be able to trace even the vaccine producers,” said Muhid.   

To keep pace with the rapid development and adoption of blockchain technology in the world, the Blockchain Olympiad Bangladesh (BCOLBD) is organised every year. Blockchain technology is used to record public information in a way that makes it difficult to hack or change the system. 

The Olympiad is a great opportunity for Bangladeshi youths to share their innovative ideas and be part of a network of experts and talented individuals like themselves. 

The third edition of the BCOLBD began from 6 June at the Krishibid Institute Bangladesh Convention Hall. This year, the theme is empowerment and innovation. Technology expert and former professor of Buet Dr Mohammad Kaykobad was the event convener whereas the founder of Technohaven Co Ltd, a co-founder of BASIS, Habibullah N Karim was the coordinator. 

The three-day event was organised by Blockchain Olympiad Bangladesh in association with the ICT division, Bangladesh Computer Council and Technohaven Company Ltd. Other partners are FBCCI, Basis, The Business Standard newspaper, IBA, Ekattor TV, ICE Business Times and ADN Telecom.

Many young tech enthusiasts like Rim and Muhid participated at the Olympiad and each group came with equally interesting plans. This year, BCOLBD 2022 introduced a new category – the professional category, so that students as well as professionals can take part in the competition. 

Each stall had a monitor displaying the group’s plan and participants were more than open to answering visitors’ questions. 

The group from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) called themselves ‘Buet GRC’ and consisted of four members.  

They have developed a website astha-bd.web.app for a refugee identification system using blockchain. Here, information about refugees can be stored at a low cost and without the fear of getting lost. Fake identities can be separated from verified ones.   

One of the group members shared with us, “The global refugee crisis inspired us to create something that will help refugees and also other citizens. Using our system that involves blockchain, refugee information can be safely stored.”  

The opening ceremony on 6 June was attended by Planning Minister M A Mannan, MP as the chief guest. Other guests and speakers included Professor Muhammed Zafar Iqbal and Professor Mohammad Abdul Momen, Director, IBA, University of Dhaka. 

After the opening ceremony, participants showcased their projects in the exhibition hall. Other sessions included seminars, quiz competitions, awards ceremony, a gala dinner and a cultural night. 

The seminars covered important topics such as crypto adoption across emerging markets, blockchain in governance, credentials in blockchain and blockchain in financial services. 

A total of 50 student category finalist teams and 10 professional category finalist teams participated in the Olympiad.