August 7, 2025
DHAKA – In 2014, while working for a reputed company in Bangladesh, I had to wake up at 5am every day to catch a bus, which typically took around two hours to reach my workplace in Gazipur. After a full day of work, compounded by heavy traffic jams, I usually arrived home between 9 and 10pm. This left me with only six to seven hours for showering, dinner, spending time with my family, sleeping, and preparing for the next day. As an industrial engineer earning a limited salary in a highly competitive and overcrowded job market with few facilities, I felt increasingly unfit for the relentless race.
I attempted the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) exam once but was not selected in the preliminary stage. I found myself among many engineers who lacked practical opportunities to apply their skills. After discussing my frustrations with seniors and friends from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, I decided to leave the country. In 2015, I landed in the US to study at Lamar University.
The experience was completely different. There was no student politics or noise pollution; everything was clean, and people were incredibly cooperative. As a graduate student in the US, I benefited from systems starkly contrasting with those in Bangladesh. For instance, American universities offer extensive funding through teaching and research assistantships (TAs and RAs), which often cover full tuition, provide stipends for living expenses, and health insurance—opportunities rarely available in Bangladesh, where higher education is largely self-funded with minimal scholarships. Students studying in American universities also have access to state-of-the-art laboratories, advanced technology like high-performance computing clusters, and collaborations with expert faculty from top institutions. Additionally, international students can utilise Optional Practical Training (OPT) and Curricular Practical Training (CPT) to gain paid work experience and pathways to H-1B visas or green cards. Bangladesh’s system, meanwhile, suffers from limited infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms, and political disruptions.
These US facilities were instrumental in my success. During my time at Lamar University, I worked to develop a facial recognition system for unmanned aerial vehicles using machine learning techniques, gaining hands-on experience in computer vision and AI domains. The access to cutting-edge tools and a supportive environment helped me secure a fully-funded scholarship for my PhD at the University of Oklahoma. Without the advanced labs and funding, I might not have built the portfolio that led to publications, collaborations, and ultimately, prestigious positions.
In Bangladesh, graduate and PhD programmes often suffer from insufficient funding, outdated facilities, and a disconnect between academia and industry demands. Political instability, frequent strikes, and economic challenges like low salaries (often below living wages for skilled professionals) exacerbate the issues, leading to a nearly 10 percent rise in educated unemployed individuals over the past decade. The brain drain is rampant; Bangladesh’s brain drain index stands at 6.7 out of 10 (higher than the global average of 4.98-5.55), with thousands of skilled professionals emigrating annually for better opportunities abroad, resulting in economic losses and skill shortages that hinder national development.
To reduce brain drain, Bangladesh can implement targeted strategies: first, increase government investment in education by expanding scholarships and modernising university infrastructure to match global standards; second, align academic programmes with industry demands through partnerships, offering internships and vocational training to boost employability; third, improve economic incentives like competitive salaries, tax breaks for returning professionals, and dual citizenship policies to encourage “brain gain;” fourth, promote political stability and anti-corruption measures to create a safer, more attractive environment; finally, foster entrepreneurship with low-interest loans and startup incubators, turning potential emigrants into local innovators. If adopted, these steps could stem the outflow and build a thriving knowledge economy.
My journey from Bangladesh’s challenges to the opportunities of the US has been transformative. Now, at the University of Oklahoma, I develop AI-driven digital twins for metal additive manufacturing at the Sooner Advanced Manufacturing Lab, reducing costs and waste. Looking back, the supportive ecosystem of the US was key to my success—but with reforms, Bangladesh could nurture its own talents and reverse the tide.
Md Manjurul Ahsan is research assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma. He can be reached at mdmanjurulahsan@gmail.com.
Views expressed in this article are the author’s own.