Uzayer Masud

Reference

Experience, programmes, publications, and press. The writing and organisational work that sits alongside the projects.

Experience

Roles held across #DAY and #DIAL.

Literature Editor

Dec 2021 – Aug 2024 · 2 yrs 9 mos

  • Regularly researched topics on current affairs, humanitarian issues, and marginalised communities
  • Edited articles for clarity; cross-referenced sources to verify information
  • Collaborated with other editors on poetry and prose - fiction, personal narratives, journalistic articles, opinion pieces

Website Team

Jul 2023 – Aug 2024 · 1 yr 2 mos

  • Managed administrative tasks for DAY's website on Wix, ensuring content updates and structural improvements
  • Assisted with website maintenance, organisation, and minor updates to improve user experience
  • Supported the team in maintaining a functional and accessible digital presence aligned with DAY's advocacy mission

Head of Engineering

Aug 2024 – Present · 1 yr 5 mos

Leading DAY's engineering and technical infrastructure. See Organisational Systems for the projects built in this role.

Research Assistant

2024 – Present · 1+ yr

Working with Dr. Nova Ahmed at DIAL (North South University) - an HCI lab in the ECE department.

  • First independent project: MISGENDERED++, a robustness evaluation framework proposal for nonbinary pronoun bias in LLMs (archived when a concurrent paper solved the underlying problem)
  • Redesigned DIAL's RA recruitment and onboarding pipeline - PI accepted the redesign; developing the post-recruitment layer
  • Building LabKit, a Research Knowledge Orchestration Platform - a semantic graph-based alternative to standard CMS tools for academic labs (PayloadCMS 3 + Next.js + MongoDB)
  • Exploring ResearchNet: grant compliance automation on top of LabKit's data model
  • Pitched an HCI research internship for high school students in Bangladesh

See Research & Lab for full project detail.


Programmes

International Writing Program: Between The Lines

University of Iowa & U.S. Department of State · 2023

Two-week fully funded literary residency. 1 of 2 Bangladeshis selected; 1 of 2 students selected nationwide by U.S. Embassy Dhaka (acceptance rate <1%). Studied at IWP - UNESCO City of Literature. Explored creative writing as a tool for cultural diplomacy.

ALEX Program

U.S. Department of State, KL-YES, American Councils · 2022

Two-week student exchange program. One of 5 Bangladeshis selected. Leadership training for multicultural teams; volunteering at Capitol Area Food Bank and Living Lands & Waters.


Publications

Between The Lines Anthology 2023

International Writing Program, University of Iowa · Essay

"Nazrul's Immaculate Rizz - My Experience with Bangla and Internet Culture"

Lamp Poetry Collection

Published anthology · Poetry

Two poems: Death, Alas (p. 99) and Nostalgia (p. 164). Goodreads · Excerpt →

The Paper Crane: Poetry by Outstanding Writers

Published anthology · Poetry

my father, drunk, talking to me in bed (p. 80). Amazon · Excerpt →

Handprints on the Unpartitioned Map of India

The Daily Star · Fiction

Published in the SHOUT Fable Factory section.

Online Friendships in the 21st Century

The Daily Star · Essay

I Exist In Small Spaces

The Daily Star · Fiction

Published in the SHOUT Fable Factory section.

From best friends to lovers, a transition

The Daily Star · Essay

Kind of embarrassed by this one. Was very young, dumb, and in love back then.

Slam Poetry Nights

The Daily Star · Performance

Performed twice: Jan 24, 2024 and May 7, 2025 (no recording available).

Breezer's Brew Magazine

South Breeze School · Mixed

Published two original pieces in the inaugural issue. The magazine was sold at Baatighar and The Bookworm. Raised BDT 140k (~$1,150) via letterman jackets to cover printing costs.


Press

"Another writer, Uzayer Masud, says 'poetry is where we start to push the bounds of language to describe things that we don't have words for. For example, consider how you might describe the colour red to someone who has never seen it before. There are no words in [any] language that can describe red for what it is.'"


Organisations

A key to the organisations that appear throughout this site.

Dear Asian Youth (DAY) - 501(c)(3) advocacy nonprofit. Founded 2020 by Stephanie Hu (Harvard). dearasianyouth.org

DIAL, North South University - HCI lab in the ECE department of NSU. Lab director: Dr. Nova Ahmed. Founded 2020. dial.northsouth.edu

The Daily Star (TDS) - Largest English newspaper in Bangladesh. Youth segment formerly SHOUT, now rebranded to Campus.

Breezer's Brew (TBB) - South Breeze School's first student-led literary magazine.

International Writing Program (IWP) - University of Iowa IWP. UNESCO City of Literature. Hosted the Between The Lines residency programme.

Autana Systems - A company I'm planning to start.

What could Autana do?

If documentation systems are integral to the success of enterprise AI agents, what can Autana do in the space of documentation-as-a-service? GitLab's handbook had a small effort to create a company handbook template - now largely abandoned. Even if it's not git-and-markdown based, how far can AI go in generating guardrails and documentation for itself? Where does the real challenge lie in translating messy business logic into documentation that an agent can actually follow?

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