Dr. Imran Matin

Executive Director
BRAC Institute of Governance & Development (BIGD)
BRAC University

Dr. Matin started his professional career after his masters and PhD in Economics from the University of Sussex, at BRAC’s Research and Evaluation Division which he led from 2003-2006 and then at BRAC International as Deputy Executive Director until 2012. He served as the International Programmes Director of Save the Children International from 2012-2017 overseeing the international programme portfolio of the organization operating in over 60 countries around the world. His immediate past role has been as the Chief Research and Policy Officer of Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), a global research and evaluation organization working across twenty countries.

Manzoor Hasan OBE

Executive Director
Centre for Peace and Justice
BRAC University

Manzoor Hasan is a public policy reform specialist with nearly two decades of experience in capacity building and institutional strengthening aimed at strengthening governance in Bangladesh. Barrister Hasan is a lawyer-cum-economist trained at the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn and the London School of Economics & Political Science, London, England.
Mr. Hasan is currently serving as the Executive Director of the Centre for Peace and Justice, BRAC University, Bangladesh. He was instrumental in establishing BIGD (former Institute of Governance Studies) in 2005 and from 2006 he was the Director of the then IGS. Previously worked as the Deputy Executive Director, BRAC, the largest NGO in the world. He was the Regional Director (Asia-Pacific) of Transparency International, Berlin, Germany and previously the Founding Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II awarded the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) to Mr. Hasan in 2003 for his promotion of transparency in Bangladesh.

Professor A F M Yusuf Haider, PhD

Professor and Chairperson
Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
BRAC University

Professor A F M Yusuf Haider was a selection grade professor of physics of the University of Dhaka (retired, in June 2016). His latest field of research was Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), Laser Raman Spectroscopy (LRS) and nano-particle fabrication by Laser ablation technique. Professor Haider had been a teacher and a researcher (joined as lecturer in 1972) in the physics department of the University of Dhaka for 43.5 years. Professor Haider was the Vice-Chancellor for two months and Pro Vice-Chancellor for six and a half years, University of Dhaka. Professor Haider was the director of semiconductor Technology Research Centre for more than seven years. Professor Haider was also the Chairman of the physics department for three years, the Dean of the faculty of science and Provost of Surja Sen Hall (student dormitory, for more than six years).

K. Shamsuddin Mahmood

Professor and Dean
School of Law
BRAC University

Professor K Shamsuddin Mahmood is the founder Head of the School of Law and in-house law adviser of BRAC University. Shamsuddin was instrumental in drawing up the curriculum for the LLB Program and receiving its approval from the University Grants Commission of Bangladesh. Before joining BRAC University, he began his career by joining the Bar and became an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh as well as a lecturer in law. Eventually he pursued teaching as a full time profession and became Principal and served the Central Law College, Dhaka for several years.

Professor Firdous Azim, PhD

Chairperson
Department of English and Humanities
BRAC University

Firdous Azim is a Professor of English and is chair of the Department of English and Humanities at BRAC University. She is also a member of Naripokkho, a woman’s activist group in Bangladesh. She obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Sussex, UK in 1989 and was awarded a fellowship by the University as one of its fifty most distinguished alumni and academics in 2012.

ATM Nurul Amin, PhD

Professor and Chairperson
Department of Economics and Social Sciences
BRAC University

ATM Nurul Amin, Professor and Chairperson of Department of Economics and Social Sciences, a PhD in Economics from the University of Manitoba, Canada, served in several national, regional, international institutions and organizations prior to joining BRAC University. For his distinguished service to the Asian Institute of Technology as a faculty member of the Division of Human Settlements Development and Urban Environmental Management during 1987-2008, Prof Amin has been conferred the title of Professor Emeritus of AIT. Prior to joining BRAC University in May 2017, in addition to his position of Professor of the Department of Environmental Management, he was the Director of NSU’s Graduate Studies, Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Chair of the Department of Environmental Science and Management.

Abdur Rob Khan, PhD

Professor and Dean
School of Humanities & Social Sciences
North South University

Dr. Abdur Rob Khan, a former Research Director at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) for more than fifteen years, is a Professor and Chair at the department of Political Science and Sociology (PSS), North South University (NSU), Dhaka. With a Ph. D. in International Relations from the University of Kent at Canterbury (UKC), UK, Dr. Khan specialized in security and conflict studies. His area of interests also branched out to non-traditional security, including human security. At NSU, Dr. Khan teaches International Relations and China Studies at Undergraduate levels and International Business at graduate levels. Dr. Khan has published widely articles in professional journals, book chapters and edited several volumes in the fields of security, conflicts.

Dr. A.K. Enamul Haque

Professor
Department of Economics
East West University

Dr. A. K. Enamul Haque, Professor, Department of Economics West University, Bangladesh. He has authored and co-authored multiple peer-reviewed scientific papers and presented works at many national and International conferences. His contributions have acclaimed recognition from honorable subject experts around the world & actively associated with different societies and academies. Dr. Haque’s academic career is decorated with several reputed awards and funding. His research interests include Natural resource economics, environmental valuation, cost benefit analysis, applied microeconomics.

Dr. Md. Aoulad Hosen

Chairman & Associate Professor
Dept. of Economics
National University Bangladesh

Rubana Ahmed, PhD

Assistant Professor
Department of Economics and Social Sciences
BRAC University

Rubana Ahmed is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics and Social Science at BRAC University, Dhaka. Dr. Ahmed has also been involved with various non-profit organizations through research and evaluation projects while working with the Institute for Urban Policy Research at UTD. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Dhaka, a masters degree from the Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas and a PhD in Public Policy & Political Economy from the University of Texas at Dallas, USA.

Rubana Ahmed, PhD

Assistant Professor
Department of Economics and Social Sciences
BRAC University

Rubana Ahmed is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics and Social Science at BRAC University, Dhaka. Dr. Ahmed has also been involved with various non-profit organizations through research and evaluation projects while working with the Institute for Urban Policy Research at UTD. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Dhaka, a masters degree from the Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas and a PhD in Public Policy & Political Economy from the University of Texas at Dallas, USA.

Prof. Md. Golam Samdani Fakir, PhD, SFHEA

Professor and Vice-Chancellor
Green University of Bangladesh

Professor Md. Golam Samdani Fakir has been working as the Vice-Chancellor of Green University of Bangladesh (GUB) since May 2013. Prior to his appointment as the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Fakir worked as Pro-Vice Chancellor and Director Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) of BRAC University during 2009 - 2013. He worked as Visiting Professor of SIT Graduate Institute, Brattleboro, Vermont, USA from 2006 to 2009. He also worked as Director- BRAC Training Division and Academic Chair for Post Graduate Diploma Program in NGO Leadership and Management under Global Partnership for NGO Studies, Education and Training from 1996 to 2006. He was also one of the co-founder of Global Partnership. Prof. Fakir has been very active in facilitating the processes of developing the capacity of faculty members of universities in Bangladesh. He played an instrumental role in establishing a platform named Foundation for Learning, Teaching and Research (fLTR) and working as Director for offering a course on Teaching for Active Learning (TAL) for the faculty members of both private and public universities of Bangladesh. In planning the development of the fLTR, he undertook a detailed assessment of the challenges facing higher education in Bangladesh, and then worked with Vice Chancellors of other private universities in Bangladesh on both the vision for the fLTR and the practicalities of establishing the Foundation. He is also directing a (one full semester) certificate course on Teaching and Learning for all the newly recruited faculty members of Green University.
Prof. Fakir is an internationally renowned educationist, trainer and researcher with 30 years extensive professional experience in NGO management, teaching, training and research. He was directly involved in the initial development process of BRAC University. He was one of the facilitators of BRAC University Initiative for Learning and Development (BUILD). His success in teaching subjects related to leadership and HRD is very much related to his own many achievements as a teacher, leader and manager, and especially his ability to reflect on and learn from those experiences. Prof. Fakir has a deep and informed passion for teaching and learning, combined with significant leadership skills, which he has applied to a career, spent supporting students and colleagues.
In recognition of his contributions in higher education, he received Senior Fellowship from the Higher Education Academy (UK) on 29 November, 2016, Global Awards for excellence in education, leadership and teaching from World Education Congress, Mumbai, India on 29 June 2012. He also received another award as a Vice Chancellor from World Education Congress on 28 June, 2014. Bangladesh Organization for Learning and Development (BOLD) offered him a Lifetime Achievement Award on 26 August, 2016. He also received Atish Dipankar Gold Medal Award for his contributions in higher education on 15 November, 2016 from the Atish Dipankar Shriti.
Prof. Samdani Fakir has had a brilliant academic career. He graduated with Hon’s and Masters in Economics from the University of Dhaka. Subsequently he received his Ph.D. degree in Industrial Economics from Academia De Studii Ecomice, Bucharest, Romania in 1982.

Professor Khawza I. Ahmed, PhD

Professor, Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering,
United International University (UIU)

Dr. Khawza Iftekhar Uddin Ahmed completed his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering Technology (BUET) in 1996 and 2000, respectively. He obtained his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University (ASU), Tempe, USA in 2005. He served as a staff member in Olympus Communication Technology, USA. He was one of the founding Directors of Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd. At present, He is a Professor at United International University (UIU), Dhaka, Bangladesh and is presently acting as the Director of Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC). His current research interest includes data-analytics for education, use of technology in education, bio-signal processing, smart devices for e/m-health and development of a sustainable model for e/m-health in Bangladesh.

Md. Mamun Habib, PhD

Associate Professor
BRAC Business School
BRAC University
Editor-in-Chief, IJSCM, UK - Scopus Indexed

Dr. Md. Mamun Habib is an Associate Professor at BRAC Business School (BBS), BRAC University, Bangladesh. In addition, Dr. Habib is the Visiting Scientist of University of Texas – Arlington, USA. Prior to that, he was Associate Professor at Asia Graduate School of Business (AGSB) at UNITAR International University, Malaysia and the Dept. of Operations Research/Decision Sciences, University Utara Malaysia (UUM), Malaysia. He accomplished his Ph.D. and M.S. with outstanding performance in Computer & Engineering Management (CEM) under the Graduate School of Business (GSB) from Assumption University, Thailand. He has 17 years’ experience in the field of teaching as well as in training, workshops, consultancy and research. At present, he is supervising some Ph.D. students at locally and internationally. He is actively involved with national and international research grant projects.
As a researcher, Dr. Habib published more than 100 research papers, including Conference Proceedings, Journal articles, and book chapters/books. He is the Editor-in-Chief in International Journal of Supply Chain Management (IJSCM), London, UK (SCOPUS Indexed). He serves as the Editor-in-Chief/Lead Guest Editor/Editor/Editorial Board Member/Reviewer of more than 20 journals, particularly Scopus and Thomson Reuters Indexed Journals. Also, he delivers lecture as Keynote Speaker at more than 30 international conferences. He also serves as General Chair, Program Chair, Technical Chair, Organizing Committee Member, Technical Committee Member, Track Chair, Session Chair as well as Reviewer of numerous international conferences.
His core research areas are supply chain management, production & operations management, operations research, research methodology, engineering management, technology management, and educational management. Finally, Dr. Habib is an active member of different professional organizations, including IEEE (Senior Member), IEOM (President, SCM Technical Division), IETI (Senior Member and Board of Director), IRED (Fellow), GRDS (Vice-President), IEB, AIMS, INFOMS, just to name a few. He is involved with QS World University Ranking and Times Higher Education Ranking as an academician.

S.N. Kairy

Vice Chancellor(Acting)
BRAC University

Mr. Shib Narayan Kairy has joined BRAC University as Treasurer on 2nd July 2017 in which role he will provide oversight to the university’s major upcoming project – the building of a US$ 100 million state-of-the-art campus. He will also ensure that the university continues to be a financially sustainable centre of excellence for higher education in Bangladesh.
In addition, Mr Kairy will continue to serve in the Boards of BRAC Bank Limited, BRAC EPL Investment Limited, BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage Limited, and BRAC Tea Company Limited.
Prior to joining BRAC University, Mr. Kairy served BRAC for 35 years and upon reaching 60 years of age he retired as the Chief Financial Officer of BRAC and BRAC International. Following the completion of his M.Com in Accounting from the University of Dhaka, he joined the Accounts Section of BRAC in April 1982.
Throughout his outstanding career with BRAC, Mr. Kairy rose from the position of Accounts Assistant to become the Chief Financial Officer, a role he has carried out with distinction for close to a decade. He has been an essential and integral part of BRAC, contributing directly to many of the organization’s successes over the last three and a half decades. Under his leadership, BRAC has also been repeatedly recognized for the transparency of its financial reporting. BRAC received the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) National Award for Best Published Accounts and Reports for the years consecutively from 2004 to 2015.

Akbar Ali Khan, PhD

Professor
BRAC Business School
BRAC University

Dr. Akbar Ali Khan was born in 1944 at Nabinagar in Brahamanbaria district. He studied History in Dhaka University and secured first place in first class in both B.A. (Hons.) and M.A. Examinations. He studied Economics in Queen’s University Canada and obtained M.A. and PhD in Economics.
He joined the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) in 1967 and was posted as SDO Habiganj in 1971. He actively participated in the liberation war and was sentenced to fourteen years rigorous imprisonment in absentia by a military court of the occupation forces. He joined the provisional Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh as Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Defense.
On lien from the Government service, he served as assistant and associate Professor of Jahangirnagar University. He taught Development Economics and Development Administration for three years in Bangladesh Public Administration Training Center as Member Directing Staff. He has taught postgraduate courses in Governance and Development Studies Departments in BRAC University after his retirement. He served as an Adjunct Professor in several privare universities. He is now associated with Business School of BRAC University as a Professor specializing in corporate governance and business environment.
He served with distinction in various Ministries including Cabinet, Finance Education, Irrigation and Environment Divisions. He worked in the Ministry of Finance for more than sixteen years at levels of Joint Secretary and above. He was Chairman NBR and Secretary Internal Resource Division for nearly three years. He served as Finance Secretary for more than five and half years covering three consecutive governments. He was appointed Cabinet Secretary in 2001 and retired from that position in 2002. He was Advisor in charge of the Ministries of Finance, Planning, Commerce, Post, Telegraph and Telephones in the Caretaker Government in 2006 and resigned in protest against the failure of the Chief Advisor in ensuring a free, fair and impartial election. He also served as the first Chairman of Regulatory Reforms Commission during 2007-2009.
He has significant experience in poverty alleviation programs in Bangladesh. He was the Executive Director of World Bank assisted RD-1 Project. He was the Chairman of Board of Directors of Gramenn Bank for more than three years. As Finance Secretary, he played a prominent role in establishing Grihayana Tahbil (Fund for Housing of the Poor) and Karmasangsthana (Employment Generation) Bank. He was the Chairman of Social Development Foundation for two years.
Dr. Khan served as Economic Minister in Bangladesh Embassy at Washington D.C. for four years from 1987-1991. He was the Alternative Executive Director of World Bank for more than three years, as the representative of the governments of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and India. He represented Bangladesh in various international conferences. He was elected chairman of the 42-nation FAO sub-committee on Surplus Disposal (Food Aid) for the year 1989. He was elected Vice Chairman of Officials Committee of UNCTAD Trade Summit in Columbus, Ohio in 1995.
He has published eleven books and a. number of articles on economics, public administration and water resources in various national and international journals. His first book Some Aspects of Peasant Behavior in Bengal was praised by The Journal of Economic History (USA) as “a significant contribution to the growing body of new economic history in South Asia.” His book Discovery of Bangladesh was rated by the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh as the best publication in humanities for the period 1996-98 and was awarded Justice Md. Ibrahim gold medal. His book Parathaparatar Arthaniti was highly commended for wit and originality by Desh the most widely circulated literary magazine of Calcutta. His book People’s Participation in Budgetary Process in Bangladesh: In Search of Policy Reforms was published in 2008 by Shamunnay – a national advocacy NGO. His latest publications include Friendly Fires, Humpty Dumpty Disorder and other Essays (2010) and Andhakarer Utsa Hote (2011 and Ajab and Jabor Ajab Authentic (2013).
He is a member of American Economic Association and a life member of Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. He was awarded Maulana Akram Khan gold medal for distinguished public service and Mercantile Bank gold medal for research in economics. He was elected fellow of Bangla Academy in 2010 in recognition of his contribution to economics and history of Bangladesh. He is a life-member of Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.

Ashim Sachdeva

Regional Director – South Asia
TurnitIndia Education Pvt. Ltd.

An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore and St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, Ashim is an entrepreneurial business leader with marketing, sales & operations experience across both Global and Indian corporations.
A firm believer in ‘lifelong & deep learning’, Ashim is passionate about solutions & initiatives that will foster excellence in India’s educational system. With a deep understanding of cloud-based solutions across domains like Edtech, Publishing, e-Commerce, Business Consulting, Travel & Hospitality, since 2010, Ashim’s professional assignments have focussed on the Higher Education and Government Research sectors.
In his current role as Regional Director – South Asia, TurnitIndia Education Pvt. Ltd., Ashim leads a team of very talented individuals that is driving rapid growth of the South Asia business of Oakland, California headquartered, Turnitin LLC, USA. As the leader in academic integrity solutions for over 20 years, indexing over 70 billion web pages, 170 million journal articles and I billion student papers globally, Turnitin’s originality checking and authorship investigation services ensure academic integrity, promote critical thinking and help students improve their authentic writing, fuelling a cycle of innovation & research. Turnitin’s cloud-based software services - Feedback Studio, Originality Check and iThenticate - are used by more than 30 million students at 15,000 institutions in 140 countries and by more than 400 institutions in India, including leading institutions like IISc, IITs and IIMs, CSIR and ISRO.
Prior to his present assignment, Ashim was the Head of the South Asia Institutional Business at Wiley India Pvt. Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of John Wiley & Sons Inc., USA. During Ashim’s leadership tenure, Wiley’s South Asia team scaled up the Institutional Business revenue manifold by widening & deepening Wiley’s relationships with Higher Education and Research institutions. Over the years prior to joining John Wiley, Ashim built a first-generation I.T. services business which, a division of which was an early mover in the hyperlocal e-commerce space.
A technology buff, Ashim also enjoys perfecting his swing at the golf course, whenever his tight business schedule affords an opportunity!

Abdul Hannan Chowdhury, PhD

Professor and Vice-Chancellor,
Primeasia University

Dr. Abdul Hannan Chowdhury is the Vice Chancellor of Primeasia University. He served as the Pro Vice Chancellor of Eastern University from 2014 to 2017. He served as Professor, Dean of the School of Business, and Member of the Syndicate of North South University between May 2005 to May 2014. He has 31 years of teaching and research experience with various reputed institutions in Bangladesh, Canada, and the USA. He has worked as a faculty member at the University of Windsor, Canada; Northeastern University, Boston, USA; University of Calgary, Canada; and at Islamic University, Gazipur, Bangladesh. He has worked as a visiting Professor of Yunnan Normal University, China. He was awarded Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and MS in Operations Research from Northeastern University, Boston, USA in 1999 and 1996, respectively. He has completed post-doctoral research at the University of Calgary (UofC) Canada in 2002. Earlier, he earned Bachelor of Science (Hons.) and Master of Science in Statistics from Jahangirnagar University in the year 1986 and 1987, respectively.
Dr. Chowdhury taught Business Statistics, Probability, Operations Management, Operations Research, Quantitative Analysis, Management Science, Statistical Quality Control, and Total Quality Management courses in Bachelors, Masters and Executive Masters programs. During his career, he has obtained grants for conducting research and other projects that includes PIMS, Canada; Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Canada; Nortel Networks, Canada; StatCaR of UofC, Canada; National Science Foundation (NSF) of USA through NIST, USA; Institute of Sustainable Communities (ISC), USA; One Asia Foundation, Japan; INSPIRE British Council, UK; IFC of World Bank; Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation (CFTC), UK; HEQEP, UGC; and ICT Ministry, Govt. of Bangladesh.
Dr. Chowdhury edited many papers in different national, international journals and conference proceedings. He has attended numerous national and international conferences as invited speaker and served as the reviewer of several scientific journals. He was the editor of North South Business Review (NSBR) and currently serving as the editor of the Journal of Knowledge Globalization published by Knowledge Globalization Institute, Boston, USA.
Dr. Chowdhury’s publications have appeared in International Journal of Production Economics, Journal of Quality and Reliability Engineering International, Journal of Quality Engineering, International Journal of Industrial Engineering, International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, The Learning Organization, International Journal of Trade and Economic Development, International Journal of Economics and Finance, South Asian Journal of Management, Journal of Knowledge Globalization, International Journal of Electronic Government Research, Journal of Business Administration, Journal of Business Education and Accreditation, Pakistan Journal of Statistics, North South Business Review, East West Journal of Business and Social Sciences, World Journal of Business and Social Sciences, Social Science Review, The Business Review, and Journal of Statistical Studies. He has published more than 50 papers and two books on Statistics and presented more than 40 papers in different international conferences.