Millennium Fellowship Cohort-Bangladesh Maritime University

Meet Ronit Kumar Roy, a fellow of our Campus from the class of 2025!

Ronit is dedicated to making a real difference in the lives of those who need it most, especially in communities that are often overlooked. He’s helping women gain the skills they need to open their own doors to economic freedom through mobile banking. Ronit is especially passionate about helping women in slums, where getting access to technology and education for mobile banking can be a real hurdle. His mission is to give them the knowledge and tools they need to become financially independent.

Ronit truly believes that by empowering these women, they can change the world, help their country grow, and be a vital part of its development. His work is designed to create a positive chain reaction, where empowering these women leads to even bigger changes in society and better lives for everyone in the community.

Ronit encourages women to use safe and easy-to-use mobile banking tools to close the gap between the digital world and financial security. This work directly supports several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 1 (No Poverty) by helping people get financial stability, SDG 5 (Gender Equality) by giving women the power to control their finances, SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by tackling unfair financial exclusion, and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) by building inclusive cities in slum areas.

Meet Israt Jahan Mahmuda Trisha, an enthusiastic fellow of our campus from class of 2025.

Trisha is a Millennium Fellow representing Bangladesh Maritime University, dedicated to advancing financial inclusion for underprivileged women in Dhaka's urban slums.Through her project, "Expanding Access to Mobile Banking for Under-Privileged Women," she works to reduce digital and financial inequalities faced by domestic workers who often depend on others to manage their earnings.

Motivated by empathy and field-based insight, Trisha and her team conducted on-ground engagement in the Duaripara slum, Pallabi, Mirpur. They carried out surveys and hands-on workshops to help women open mobile banking accounts, safely send and receive money, check balances and manage finances independently. These efforts addressed not only technical barriers but also social vulnerabilities such as harassment, deception and financial loss.

Her initiative directly supports SDG 10-Reduced Inequalities, empowering women to gain control over their income and build economic resilience. Through the Millennium Fellowship, Trisha strengthened her leadership, communication and community engagement skills, applying them to create inclusive and confidence-building learning spaces.

As she believes, "True empowerment begins when a woman can control her own earnings with confidence and dignity"...

Meet Asma Zaman Ifa, an enthusiastic millennium fellow of the BMU Campus !

In the crowded lanes of urban slums, where financial services are often out of reach, Ifa is creating new opportunities for women to take control of their lives. She is deeply committed to empowering underprivileged women through mobile banking, helping them overcome the barriers that prevent financial independence. Guided by empathy and a strong belief in gender equality, she works to ensure that women can save, manage income, and make decisions with confidence, bridging the digital and financial divide that has long held them back.

Through her efforts, she helps reduce the digital and financial gap by encouraging women to adopt safe and accessible mobile banking tools. This work directly contributes to SDG 1 (No Poverty) by supporting financial stability, SDG 5 (Gender Equality) by strengthening women’s economic agency, SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by addressing systemic financial exclusion, and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) by fostering inclusive urban development in slum areas.

At the heart of Ifa’s work lies a strong belief that financial access is a powerful tool for dignity, independence, and long-term change. Her passion for social work and women’s rights continues to guide her toward building a more equitable and inclusive society.

Meet Abi Umaiya Khan, an energetic fellow of the BMU Campus !

Abi Umaiya Khan is the project leader of a grassroots sustainability initiative aimed at reducing plastic pollution through locally sourced, biodegradable solutions. Driven by a deep concern for environmental degradation and its growing impact on communities, she envisions a future where economic development and environmental responsibility move forward together.

Her passion for sustainability is rooted in the belief that real change begins at the local level. By harnessing Bangladesh’s natural strengths—particularly jute and areca palm—Abi is working to transform traditional, eco-friendly materials into practical alternatives to single-use plastics. She is especially motivated to create solutions that are not only environmentally sound but also socially inclusive, generating rural employment and empowering small-scale producers.
Abi’s enthusiasm lies in building systems that are affordable, scalable, and accessible to everyday consumers.

"Reducing the plastic problem requires deliberate change, change that enables the adoption of affordable, biodegradable alternatives," says Abi.

Through the project, she aims to raise awareness, shift consumer behavior, and inspire collective action toward a cleaner, plastic-free future. Her leadership reflects a strong commitment to innovation, community engagement, and long-term sustainability, making it not just a project, but a movement toward a more resilient and environmentally conscious Bangladesh.

This fellowship is not just a program-it is a movement. A movement that transforms curiosity into impact, ambition into action, and young minds into tomorrow's changemakers. Every time I see a fellow step up with bold ideas, lead with integrity, and lift others along the way, I am reminded why I pour my soul into this mission.

I am proud-immensely proud of the resilience you show, the excellence you demand from yourselves, and the unity you build across campuses. You are the reason MCN is more than an opportunity; it is a legacy.

And I am dedicated-fully, fiercely dedicated to walking this journey with you. To mentor, to challenge, to celebrate, and to ensure that no dream is too big and no fellow stands alone.

Together, we are not just building leaders. We are building a future.

- Nusair Ahmed
Campus Director

As the Campus Director of this cohort and an enthusiastic youth of the 21st century, I firmly believe that there are no naturally marginal communities on this spherical Earth.

Just like a circle, where every point on the circumference is at the same distance from the center-equal in position, equal in value-we humans occupy the same shared planet, bound by the same gravity, breathing the same air, and dreaming under the same sky. Nature does not draw borders of worth; it does not label one group as central and another as peripheral.

Yet, over centuries, we have invented the term "marginal community"-a human construct born from power, politics, prejudice, and profit. We have drawn artificial lines of race, caste, class, gender, and geography to separate, exclude, and dominate. These divisions are not imprinted into the Earth's crust; they are imprinted into our systems, stories, and structures.

But the labels, and what remains is undeniable: "We are all human."

-Md. Towhidur Rahman
Campus Director