Sylhet Agricultural University

What Sylhet Agricultural University does

Sylhet Agricultural University (SAU) is a public higher education and research institution established in 2006 under the Sylhet Agricultural University Act 2006 (Act No. 47) and operating under the Government of Bangladesh's Ministry of Education. The university is headquartered in Sylhet, Bangladesh, with a secondary guest-house facility in Dhaka, and serves roughly 3,000 students (including 25+ international students from multiple countries) through 7 faculties and 47 departments offering 6 undergraduate programs and 50+ postgraduate (MS and PhD) programs in agriculture, fisheries, veterinary and biomedical sciences, biotechnology and genetic engineering, agricultural engineering and technology, and agricultural economics and business studies. Admission is highly competitive, with 431 undergraduate seats attracting over 60,000 applicants in 2023 through the centralized agricultural cluster (গুচ্ছ) system spanning 9 public universities.

SAU's core operational stack combines academic delivery with a set of internally developed digital systems: SAURES (a research management portal at saures.sau.ac.bd), a DSpace-based Institutional Repository (repository.sau.ac.bd), an Online Admission Portal (admission.sau.ac.bd), and a Central Library providing access to JSTOR, Emerald journals, and TEEAL. An in-house ICT Cell manages networking, web, email, and centralized data operations, and a Technology Transfer Office is positioned to commercialize research output, evidenced by a registered Hoof Disease Detection Kit announced in March 2026. The university also operates a veterinary teaching hospital (Professor Mosleh Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury Veterinary Teaching Hospital) providing clinical services.

The university's revenue model is structurally distinct from a commercial enterprise: it is primarily funded by the Government of Bangladesh through the Ministry of Education, supplemented by tuition fees (government-subsidized, exact amounts not publicly disclosed), national and international research grants, and emerging commercial partnerships (e.g., Southeast Bank, Prime Bank, IDE, Swisscontact). It holds international research collaborations with Max Planck Institute (Germany), Kobe University (Japan), Chungbuk National University (Korea), IRRI, Prifysgol Bangor University (UK), and Assam Agricultural University (India), and has been ranked #1 in Bangladesh by SCImago Institutions Rankings in both Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (2024) and Aquatic Science (2023). The institution is governed by a Vice-Chancellor (currently Professor Dr. Md. Alimul Islam) with a Syndicate Committee, and operates under University Grants Commission oversight.

Name

Sylhet Agricultural University

Legal name

Sylhet Agricultural University

Website

https://sau.ac.bd

Company type

Public

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Sylhet Agricultural University is a public university in Sylhet, Bangladesh, established in 2006 under Act No. 47, delivering agricultural, fisheries, veterinary, and biotechnology education across 7 faculties and 47 departments to roughly 3,000 students, including 25+ international students from multiple countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education (Agricultural Sciences)

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Support Activities for Animal Production (1152)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Agribusiness, Farm Management & Compliance (EDAOAOAN)

Keywords

• Agricultural education
• Higher education services
• Agricultural research
• Fisheries sciences
• Veterinary education

Headquarters

HQ city

Sylhet

HQ country

Bangladesh

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Public university funded by Government of Bangladesh through Ministry of Education
2. Tuition and Fees: Student tuition fees and admission fees for undergraduate and postgraduate programs
3. Research Grants: Funded research projects from national and international agencies

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sylhet Agricultural University provides higher education and research services through 6 undergraduate and over 50 postgraduate programs across 7 faculties and 47 departments, covering agriculture, fisheries, veterinary and biomedical sciences, agricultural economics and business, agricultural engineering and technology, and biotechnology and genetic engineering. It supports these academic programs with research infrastructure (SAURES portal, Institutional Repository on DSpace, Central Library digital databases) and operational services including a veterinary teaching hospital, ICT Cell, and guest house facilities.

Product overview

Sylhet Agricultural University operates as a comprehensive agricultural higher education institution offering a platform-plus-services model. The core educational offerings span 7 faculties with 47 departments providing over 50 postgraduate and 6 undergraduate programs. Supporting this academic portfolio are technology systems including the SAURES research portal for research management, the Central Library with digital resources (JSTOR, Emerald, TEEAL), and an Institutional Repository based on DSpace for preserving scholarly output. The university also provides an Online Admission Portal for student enrollment and maintains ICT infrastructure through its dedicated ICT Cell for campus-wide network, web, and data management services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Undergraduate and Postgraduate Academic Programs Academic degree programs including 6 undergraduate programs and over 50 postgraduate programs (MS and PhD) across 7 faculties and 47 departments in agriculture, fisheries, veterinary and biomedical sciences, agricultural economics and business studies, agricultural engineering and technology, and biotechnology and genetic engineering, serving domestic and international students.
• Central Library Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Ranked #1 in Bangladesh for Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (SCImago 2024)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, regional and minor.

• Max Planck InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006International research collaboration in agricultural sciences with prestigious German research institution
• Kobe UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic exchange and research collaboration with Japanese university
• Chungbuk National University (Korea)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational academic partnership with South Korean university
• Bangladesh Fisheries Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational research collaboration in fisheries science
• IRRI (International Rice Research Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal research partnership for rice research and agricultural development
• Assam Agricultural University (India)regionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional collaboration with Indian agricultural university
• Prifysgol Bangor University (UK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational academic partnership with UK university
• SwisscontactregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerBilateral pre-negotiation meeting held August 2025 for development projects
• IDE (International Development Enterprise)regionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint partnership agreement signed August 2025 for agricultural development initiatives
• Southeast Bank LimitedminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvided financial assistance to university research sector in December 2024
• Prime Bank LimitedminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-branded credit card agreement signed January 2026
• British CouncilminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDelegation meeting held for potential collaborations
• Australian High CommissionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDelegation meeting held for discussions

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU): Bangladesh's dedicated veterinary and animal sciences university based in Chittagong. Directly comparable to SAU's Faculty of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences and a key competitor for veterinary students within the national admission cluster.
• Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU): A public agricultural university in Gazipur offering programs in agriculture, fisheries, veterinary, and agricultural economics. Direct peer within Bangladesh's agricultural cluster admission system, competing for the same applicant pool as SAU.
• Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU): Bangladesh's oldest and largest agricultural university located in Mymensingh, offering the same core disciplines (agriculture, veterinary, fisheries) as SAU. It is the most direct domestic competitor for students, faculty, and research funding within the country's agricultural cluster admission system.
• Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University: A public agricultural university in Dhaka offering undergraduate and postgraduate programs in agriculture, animal science, and related fields. Direct competitor for students within Bangladesh's unified agricultural cluster admission system alongside SAU.

Broad incumbents

• Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) / Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI): India's premier national agricultural research and education system, headquartered by IARI (Pusa, New Delhi). Comparable to SAU's combined teaching-research role and provides a benchmark for South Asian agricultural research intensity and output.
• Punjab Agricultural University (PAU): One of India's largest and most prestigious agricultural universities, offering comprehensive programs in agriculture, engineering, and home science. A broad incumbent peer for benchmarking research output and academic scale in South Asian agricultural higher education.
• Wageningen University & Research: Globally-ranked Dutch university specializing in life sciences and agricultural research. SAU faculty members have Wageningen credentials (per management team data), making it a benchmark peer for research ambition and international collaboration models.

Regional players

• Assam Agricultural University: India's oldest agricultural university located in Jorhat, Assam. SAU has an existing partnership with this institution; both serve the Northeast India / Sylhet region with overlapping agricultural and fisheries research, though operating across national borders.
• Patuakhali Science and Technology University: A regional public university in southern Bangladesh offering agriculture, fisheries, and animal science programs. Comparable to SAU in mandate but serves a different coastal geography and operates outside Sylhet's catchment.

Emerging players

• Khulna Agricultural University: A newer public agricultural university in southwestern Bangladesh, established to expand agricultural higher-ed capacity. Direct peer in mandate but smaller and less established, competing for government funding and faculty talent.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SylhetAgriculturalUniversityOfficial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sylhet-agricultural-university

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Sylhet Agricultural University