Three Bangladeshi teams triumph at international innovation competition

Three Bangladeshi student teams have earned top honors in the 2025 Xylem Global Student Innovation Challenge, winning in separate categories for their innovative solutions to water-related and disaster challenges—issues highly relevant to Bangladesh.

The Xylem Global Student Innovation Challenge is a worldwide competition that invites students to develop creative solutions to pressing water-related problems. This year’s edition drew over 4,400 participants from around 150 countries, with projects centered on themes such as flood management, climate resilience, and clean water access.

Team Khudrorin, featuring students from the Army Institute of Business Administration and Daffodil Polytechnic Institute, won the Best Project award in the ‘Water-Related Disaster Challenge 1’ category. Their project, FloodSense AI, blends storytelling through short films with a tech-driven solution that assesses flood risk using a Flood Risk Index (FRI) API. The team—Tashfin, Araf, Tanha, and Mubashwira from the Army IBA, and Hamim from Daffodil Polytechnic—received $500 in prize money.

“We’ve already set new goals and brainstormed five creative ideas. We’re committed to refining them and plan to participate in more competitions to raise funds,” said Tashfin, the team leader.

Team Terra from North South University took the Best Project award in the ‘Water-Related Disaster Challenge 2’ category. Their innovation, Flood Link, is a platform designed to function even in offline conditions during floods. It enables real-time aid tracking, emergency alerts, rescue coordination, mental health support, coastal education, and SMS-based flood warnings. The team includes Hashibur Rahman Shahed (leader), Raisa Zahin, Sabrina Haq, Ilhum Rahman Pushpita, and Zayma Hossain—all CSE students at NSU.

“This mission is deeply personal. While many student teams focus on programming or policy, we lack a dedicated platform for environmental innovation or SDG-driven efforts in Bangladesh—and I wanted to change that,” said Hashibur.

Team ResQMap won the Community Choice Award in the university track for their AI-powered platform that collects, verifies, and maps missing persons’ data during disasters to streamline rescue operations. The team includes Mumtahina Ambrin and Farhan Anjum from BUET, Tanim from Rajshahi University, Tasin from Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, and Jawad from St. Joseph’s University. They also received $500.

“Our project is still in development. Once we’ve added key features and conducted proper testing, we plan to collaborate with NGOs and communities who can truly benefit from it,” said Mumtahina, the team leader.

These achievements highlight Bangladesh’s growing presence in global innovation contests, particularly in tackling climate and disaster challenges.