As the university librarian at Brac University in Bangladesh, Ms. Hasina Afroz strives to imbue students with the principles of good academic practice from the beginning of their university career:
“We are encouraging our students to practice original writing from the first year, working together with the faculty members to build a culture of academic integrity.”
After BracU adopted the Turnitin application software in 2014, Hasina worked directly with the administration to implement the software, as well as develop a comprehensive university plagiarism policy. The policy serves as a guide to ensure academic excellence, honesty, and integrity among faculty members and students of the university.
Brac University also established its own institutional repository for theses, dissertations, and publications, holding students and faculty to a high-quality standard and ensuring the integrity of their work.
In 2018, with the support of Turnitin, BracU conducted the first academic integrity conference in the history of Bangladesh, hosting professors, vice-chancellors, and librarians from other universities to discuss “academic integrity in the institutions and in higher education, and also in the society at large and everywhere.”
Check out all of the 2019 Global Innovator stories here!