The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of American International University–Bangladesh (AIUB) launched the International Conference on Challenges and Trends in Arts and Social Sciences (ICCTASS 2025) on 11 December 2025.

Held under the theme "Sustainability, creativity and ethics: insights into interdisciplinary perspectives and practices", the conference brought together academics, researchers and professionals from the fields of arts and social sciences.

Philippine Ambassador to Bangladesh Nina P Cainglet attended the inaugural session as chief guest, while Dr Carmen Z Lamagna, member of the Board of Trustees and patron of the conference, and Prof Dr Saiful Islam, vice chancellor of AIUB, were present as special guests. Prof Dr Tazul Islam, general chair of the conference and dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, wished the event success, while Prof Dr Md Asif Kamal, organising chair of ICCTASS 2025, delivered the welcome address.

The two-day conference featured six keynote sessions by internationally recognised scholars, including Lilian W Mina of the University of Alabama at Birmingham; Prof Dr Zhen (Peter) Ye of Xiamen University and University College London; Taberez Ahmed Neyazi of the National University of Singapore; Prof Dr Hayward Derrick Horton of the University at Albany, SUNY; and Prof Dr Shaila Sultana of the BRAC Institute of Languages.

In addition to keynote sessions, ICCTASS 2025 hosted a series of on-site and online parallel paper presentation sessions, providing a platform for scholars to present research across diverse domains of the humanities and social sciences. Poster presentations and an information session on the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Programme, conducted by Raihana Sultana of the US Embassy in Dhaka, further enriched the academic engagement.

The first panel discussion, titled "AI, ethics, education and legal frameworks: insights into a sustainable future", featured Prof Mashrur Shahid Hossain, Prof Dr Saiful Alam Chowdhury, Prof Dr Akash Deep Muni, Dr Robayet Ferdous Syed, Dr Priyadarshini Muthukrishnan and Dr Abu Saleh Md Rafi, and was moderated by Theotonius Gomes. The second panel, "Leveraging sustainable development through the synergies of health and socio-economic discourses", featured Gawher Nayeem Wahra, Dr Fahmida Khatun, Professor Sartik Bagh and Dr Mohsin Ali, moderated by Dr Sabuktagin Rahman.

The conference concluded on 12 December 2025 with a closing session led by Nadia Anwar, chairman of the Board of Trustees of AIUB. Ten special mention awards were presented to distinguished participants, followed by a vote of thanks delivered by Dr Faria Sultana, organising secretary of ICCTASS 2025 and associate professor of economics.