On April 17, 2024, Faculty of Engineering (FE) of American International University – Bangladesh (AIUB) organized a seminar titled “Secrets to Success” included in the prestigious “Dr. Anwarul Abedin Lecture Series”. The esteemed speaker of the seminar is Mr. Zaheed Sabur, (Distinguished Engineer, Senior Director, Google), an alumnus of Department of Computer Engineering (CoE), AIUB. This seminar started at 3:30 PM and ended at 5 PM in AIUB Auditorium. The Auditorium was houseful, and the session was interactive due to the presence of educators and many learners from every discipline. The Session was inaugurated by the chief guest of the event Mr. Ishtiaque Abedin (Founder Member and Chairman, Board of Trustees, AIUB) and he welcomed the speaker to the stage to give his invaluable speech and greeted Mr. Sabur’s companions at the session. The event was also graced by the presence of Ms. Nadia Anwar (Founder Member and Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees, AIUB). The speaker, Mr. Zaheed Sabur, started his speech by introducing his current work going on with application of long data and generative AI. The speaker spoke on his early academic undergraduate years at AIUB, as well as his career hardships, beginning with his position as a software engineer at Google's backend system development project in 2007 in India's Bangalore office and continuing six months later in their California office. Mr. Sabur also led the engineering team for the first Google Assistant Smart Displays. He discussed hidden recipes for setting objectives in life and achieving success while enjoying the ride. He emphasized the importance of learning through understanding rather than memorization. The speaker recommended balancing life planning priorities in the past, present, and future while successfully organizing time. Mr. Sabur concluded the talk by emphasizing the value of being kind and respectful, sharing knowledge to improve oneself, and being appreciative of what everyone has in life. Afterwards, during an interactive question and answer session, Mr. Sabur discussed his previous temporary failures and how he overcame them, his constraints before becoming successful, how present work positions would be affected by technology, and the benefits and drawbacks of ever-evolving AI modules. He expressed his views on the need for clear basic mathematical ideas and programming language in engineering professional positions. Then, Prof. Dr. ABM Siddique Hossain (Dean, FE, AIUB) emphasized that by working hard, one can fulfill one’s life goals. At the end of the program, Prof. Dr. Md. Abdur Rahman (Pro Vice Chancellor, AIUB) delivered his concluding remark, emphasizing that everyone has their own journey, success, and failure, and that one must cope properly. Ms. Shania Mahia Abedin (Member, Board of Trustees, AIUB) also attended the closing ceremony. The honorable speaker was presented with a token of appreciation from AIUB for sharing his valuable time and insightful encouraging speech.

After the event the speaker along with his family and AIUB officials, visited the permanent campus and signed the AIUB Alumni Society Membership form. Ms. Nadia Anwar (Founder Member and Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees, AIUB) and Prof. Dr. Md. Abdur Rahman (Pro Vice Chancellor, AIUB) handed over the AIUB Alumni Society membership card to Mr. Zaheed Sabur.