On February 10, 2018, AIUB Community of Engineering Students (ACES) organized an Industrial tour to United Power Generation and Distribution Company Ltd (UPGDCL) which is located at Ganakbari, Savar, Dhaka. It is a gas based power plant with the total capacity of 88 MW consisting of 12 engines (4 Wärtsilä engines each having a capacity of 8.73 MW, 5 Rolls-Royce engines each having a capacity of 9.34 MW and 3 MTU engines each having a capacity of 1.95 MW) and 3 power transformers in sub-station. The principle activity of the company is associated with the generation and distribution of electricity throughout Bangladesh both on grid and island mode. It was a one-day tour which involved the participation of 46 students and 4 faculty members of American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB). The team departed at 9 a.m. and reached the power plant at around 10:30 a.m.

After reaching the destination, all the faculty members and students were warmly welcomed by the authority members present there. Soon all the participants were taken to the conference room where Mr. Jalal Uddin (Senior Plan Engineer) briefed the theoretical fundamentals on which the power plant works and described the mechanism of power transformers and the working principle of SCADA. Prior to his interactive presentation, some refreshments were served among the participants. Later, the team was led to show, Switch Gear, Substations and different components of electrical machines there. At the end of the session, the authorities of UPGDCL discussed about the ongoing projects and future aim of the company with the faculty members and thanked AIUB for taking such initiatives for the engineering students. In addition, they have also shared their thoughts on how organizing more of these events that will be beneficial for the students and help them become more familiar with the work field and broaden their practical knowledge.

The tour concluded by presenting a token of appreciation to the officials and engineers of the power plant by our faculty members. Mr. Kazi Firoz Ahmed (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Engineering, AIUB), Ms. Susmita Ghosh (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Engineering, AIUB), Mr. Safayet Ahmed (Lecturer, Faculty of Engineering, AIUB & Motivator of ACES) and Mr. S.M. Imrat Rahman (Lecturer, Faculty of Engineering, AIUB) also participated in this tour. ACES extends its sincere gratitude towards the authority of UPGDCL for their conviviality and support.