ISU Launches AI and Data Science Engineering Degree in Bangladesh

International Standard University has won formal approval to run a 152-credit BSc Engineering programme in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science under a new Faculty of Advanced Science and Computing. The University Grants Commission of Bangladesh cleared the degree on 24 June 2026, opening the door for a Fall 2026 intake that the university has already begun advertising.

The approval adds ISU to a small group of Bangladesh private universities with dedicated AI engineering programmes, even as the country’s wider AI readiness gap remains a separate question. ISU sits inside the Standard Group network of industrial firms, and the trustees have built the university on a promise of affordable, career-oriented higher education.

UGC Clears ISU’s AI Engineering Degree

Bangladesh’s University Grants Commission approved the new programme on 24 June 2026, according to coverage of the announcement. ISU said the degree will sit under a new Faculty of Advanced Science and Computing, distinct from the existing Faculty of Engineering and Technology that already houses Computer Science and Engineering.

The university said in a press release that the programme reflects its continued focus on providing quality, affordable and career-oriented higher education since its establishment. Admission is open for Fall 2026, and ISU has begun promoting the BSc across its own channels. The trustees framed the new degree as preparation for both the domestic technology sector and the international job market. ISU has not named a start date for the first cohort in the announcements reviewed.

Inside the 152-Credit Curriculum

The undergraduate programme carries 152 credits, putting it in line with conventional four-year BSc Engineering loads in Bangladesh. Coverage of the announcement lists the core subjects:

• Artificial Intelligence
• Data Science
• Machine Learning
• Robotics
• Cybersecurity
• “Other emerging technologies”

The “other emerging technologies” wording is the programme’s own hedge, leaving room to add subjects as the field shifts.

Students will also have access to research opportunities, modern laboratory facilities and industry-focused projects aimed at developing practical skills alongside academic knowledge, per ISU’s release. ISU’s existing CSE department already offers tracks in artificial intelligence, machine learning and cyber security. The new faculty gives the university a separate home for its dedicated AI engineering degree, and gives the trustees room to scale research capacity as the cohort grows.

Where ISU Fits in Bangladesh’s AI Push

ISU’s approval lands against a national push to scale AI education. Green University of Bangladesh runs a dedicated Department of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, and other private universities have added AI-related concentrations inside their CSE departments. Public universities are also expanding capacity, though no single government tally lists every AI-focused programme launched in the country this quarter.

ISU by the numbers:

• Founded: 2018
• UGC approval for AI degree: 24 June 2026
• Credit load: 152 credits
• Faculties: 5
• Departments: 8

ISU itself was established in 2018 under the Private University Act, 2010, according to the university’s own site and the UGC’s own listing. The UGC’s listing for ISU confirms the current campus at 69 Mohakhalio C/A, Dhaka-1212, and names Professor Dr. Abdul Awal Khan as Vice Chancellor. The institution is young enough that its alumni base is still thin compared with longer-established private peers. ISU’s official listing on the UGC site provides the underlying institutional data. RAJUK has allocated an acre of land for ISU’s permanent campus at Sector 11, Road 107, Plot 001 of Purbachal, Dhaka, per the university’s own website.

Standard Group and the Job Pipeline

Standard Group, the industrial conglomerate whose philanthropic arm founded ISU, runs more than 30 sister concerns. ISU advertises job placement access through those firms as a core student benefit. The university’s own website lists credit-transfer pathways into master’s and PhD programmes in the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Finland and Malaysia. The Standard Group network of firms is what the university points to when it talks about career-oriented education.

Develop skilled engineers with expertise in artificial intelligence and data science, supporting career opportunities in domestic and international technology industries.

The university’s own framing ties the programme to its continued focus on providing quality, affordable and career-oriented higher education. That framing is the explicit case for the new faculty.

For a private university built on a non-profit, industry-tied model, the AI degree is the next extension of a job-pipeline promise first made for BBA, CSE and textile graduates. ISU’s website lists prior alumni placements in the USA, UK, South Korea, Japan, China and Malaysia as well, giving the same students a second exit door after graduation.

Hiring access through more than 30 sister concerns is a private network, not a national labour-market plan. Students who fall outside that pipeline rely on the international credit-transfer routes the university names in its own materials. Public-sector universities would typically run a broader hiring network. ISU’s reliance on its founding conglomerate is the trade-off the trustees made when they built the university as a non-profit.

Faculty Structure and the Wider Roster

ISU runs five faculties and eight departments across its Dhaka campus, with the Faculty of Advanced Science and Computing now added for the new AI engineering programme. The UGC’s listing for ISU confirms the institution’s location at 69 Mohakhalio C/A, Dhaka-1212, and the founding year of 2018.

The Faculty of Advanced Science and Computing currently hosts the new BSc Engineering in AI and Data Science as its only programme. ISU’s existing CSE department sits inside the older Faculty of Engineering and Technology.

For students weighing ISU against other private universities, the distinction matters. AI and Data Science lives in its own faculty here. Green University’s Department of AI and Data Science takes a similar shape, run by a dedicated chairperson and supported by industry partnerships. Other private universities have folded AI tracks into CSE departments rather than spinning up separate faculties. Adding a dedicated data science or robotics track later at ISU would not require setting up a parallel computing department, since the Faculty of Advanced Science and Computing already exists to host it.

Who Pays and Who Gets In

To widen access, ISU has introduced merit-based tuition waivers for eligible students enrolling in the new programme. The waivers sit alongside the university’s existing financial aid policies and a credit-transfer system that lets students continue into master’s and PhD programmes abroad.

The university has not published the AI programme’s tuition fee in the announcements reviewed. ISU’s wider pitch has long centred on affordability, and the trustees describe the university as a non-profit built on the Standard Group founders’ corporate social responsibility commitment. Admission is open for Fall 2026, and prospective students can apply through ISU’s official website or contact the admissions office using the phone numbers listed on the site. ISU’s existing credit-transfer partnerships in the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Finland and Malaysia give graduates a second route if the local job market does not absorb them.

What the New Degree Won’t Fix

The new programme only opens so many seats at one private university. Bangladesh’s broader AI skills gap runs deeper than any single BSc can close. The single-institution step leaves most of the wider pipeline question untouched, and the country’s other AI education efforts run on their own tracks. The UGC’s approval covers one programme at one university, not a national curriculum rollout.

For students outside Dhaka or unable to pay even discounted tuition, the new programme is not yet a route in. The trustees’ industry placement network also skews toward Standard Group sister concerns, which is a narrower pipeline than a public-sector university would offer. Research on what daily AI use does to confidence in checking its answers covers the parallel question of how AI users handle AI outputs in a country pushing to scale the field.

Frequently Asked Questions

What degree did ISU get approved?

ISU received approval for a BSc Engineering programme in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, to be offered under a new Faculty of Advanced Science and Computing.

When did UGC approve ISU’s AI programme?

Bangladesh’s University Grants Commission gave formal approval on 24 June 2026.

How many credits is the ISU AI engineering degree?

The ISU AI and Data Science engineering degree runs to 152 credits, matching other four-year BSc Engineering programmes in Bangladesh.

Which subjects does the ISU AI and Data Science curriculum cover?

Coverage of the announcement lists artificial intelligence, data science, machine learning, robotics, cybersecurity, and “other emerging technologies.”

How does the ISU AI programme relate to other Bangladesh universities?

ISU joins a small group of private Bangladesh universities with dedicated AI and Data Science offerings. Green University of Bangladesh runs a separate Department of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, and several other private universities have added AI-related concentrations inside their CSE departments.