Two Bangladeshi students, Dr. Md. Rafiqul Islam Rana and Khirul Basar Mim, won the student best paper competition organized by International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) in 2022.

Dr. Rana, an Assistant professor at the University of South Carolina, won 1st place in the Kim Johnson Best Doctoral Student Paper. While Khirul Basar Mim completed his M.S. from Texas Tech University and received the Master level 1st place in the ITAA thesis competition.
Their research is about textile and apparel supply chains and sustainability. This is the first time both prestigious awards were won by Bangladeshi students. In addition, Shahbaj Kabir and Mir Salahuddin, studying Ph.D. at Auburn University, received the 2022 paper of Distinction award in the textile and apparel science track.

Their research project focuses on the drapability of 3D printed auxetic structure textiles for wearable products. At this conference, Khirul Basar Mim was also honored with the prestigious Sara Douglas Fellowship for Professional promise.
The International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) annual Conference 2022 was held in Denver Colorado, USA between 26 to 29 October. ITAA is a professional, educational association composed of practitioners, scholars, educators, and students in the textile, apparel, and merchandising disciplines.
Over 15+ Bangladeshi students presented their research and design works at this conference. These students are pursuing their higher studies in textiles and apparel at various universities in the US. Dr. Md Imranul Islam, an Assistant Professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), attended and presented his research in this conference.
Dr. Imranul Islam said, we feel proud to represent our country in this prestigious venue and our very existence is remarkably noticeable among 500+ total attendees.