Mr Islam has excellent academic track records, research experiences, publications, teaching and training skills, and long experience as a practitioner exactly shaped him as a pracademic (practitioner and academic). His professional experience covers 17 years in the public sector both at field level implementation and national level policy making (Ministry of Public Administration, Local Government Division, and Ministry of Finance) in Bangladesh, and six years in the academic sector, where he actively engaged as a researcher and educator in the field of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and public policy. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Science discipline, awarded by Griffith University in 2020; his thesis dissertation was ”The Challenges and Opportunities in Integrating Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in Bangladesh from a Political Economy Perspective”. In addition, he has a Master of International Studies degree awarded by Kobe University, Japan, a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Dhaka University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

His PhD work was an outstanding piece of work as demonstrated by a large number of high-quality research output. During his PhD, he published six research articles in few reputed international journals. In addition, he presented his research at two international conferences in front of a world-renowned audiences of the respective fields. His research interests include Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Climate Change Adaptation (CCA), and political economy in public policy implementation. For instance, climate-related natural disasters are increasing and leading to devastating physical, environmental and socio- economic impacts. His research focuses on the interplay between collaborative governance and political economy aspects that can play an essential role in shaping the policies surrounding disaster management. At the local, national and international levels, his research identifies socio-economic and ecological aspects of adaptation and mitigation of climate change based on good practices. His comprehensive research skills will significantly contribute to sustainability related actions in the world.

He is currently working as Chief Executive Officer, Cumilla City Corporation, Bangladesh. As a CEO, here he is responsible for decision making and implementation of all activities, including human resource management, development works (roads, drains, footpaths, lightings, infrastructure), water supply, waste management, tax assessment and collection, city planning, health facilities and EPI program and serving the citizens. His responsibility also include implementing all decisions taken in the city corporation’s monthly meeting, communicating and coordinating with all district level offices, and corresponding to all the ministries, including the Local Government Division, under the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development, Cooperatives.

Before, he worked in the Finance Division, Ministry of Finance, Bangladesh. he was working in a capacity where countrywide public policies are planned, articulated, and implemented for expenditure control. He was assigned in the State Owned Enterprise wing where post creation, retention, organogram, expenditure control, and pension management issues of all autonomous bodies decided. As one of the team members of the policy level, he was involved in preparing an integrated budgeting system that considers a sustainable environment. His position was also responsible for DRR, CCA, and the medium-term budget framework. The most notable work he has been involved in is climate financing for sustainable development initiatives through which budget allocation for climate change and disaster management is promoted. His appointment was also connected to Economic Relations Division which deals with the country’s Green Climate Fund, Climate Investment Fund, and Global Environment Facility. 

Before, he worked as Assistant Commissioner and Magistrate for three years, as Assistant Commissioner (Land) for three years, as Upazila Nirbahi Officer (CEO of subdistrict) for four years, as Senior Assistant Commissioner, NDC, DDLG for two years, and as Deputy Director of Bangladesh Institute of Administration and Management for one year.

Throughout his research career, he has been actively involved in a few collaborative research programs nationally and internationally. For instance, his current engagement with Dr Khondker Mohammad Zobair (Associate Lecturer, Department of Business Strategy and Innovation, Griffith University, Australia) in a collaborative research project focusing on Financial Technology in Bangladesh. The project specifically explores social, behavioural, organisational and technological determinants in policy adoption in mobile payment platforms in Bangladesh. As a chief investigator, he currently conducting an extensive survey in Bangladesh. He has also been collaborating with Dr Shamsul Alam (Faculty Lead- knowledge, Associate Professor-Research, Faculty of Business and Law, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.) in the project ‘Remittance and Climate Change Adaptability in Bangladesh’. He has also been engaged with Dr Mohammad Ehsanul Kabir, Research Associate, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, United Kingdom, under the project “Living Delta Research Hub” on a research project titled ‘constrained budding of weather index insurance in Bangladesh’.

He has demonstrated his ability to teach and train employees in the Ministry of Finance, Government of Bangladesh, where he lectured at in-house training programs. His teaching contents and assessment items cover disaster management, national budget, climate finance, sustainable development, environmental laws, research methodology, and so on. He also worked for education management, conducting public examination, monitoring for quality education in various districts. He has been conducted many training programs as an instructor in various national training organisations and universities, including Bangladesh Institute of Administration and Management (BIAM), Bangladesh Civil Service Administration Academy, Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre, Bangladesh Land Administration Training Centre, National Academy for Planning and Development, and Cumilla University. Besides this, He organised and conducted many workshops and seminars related to DRR, CCA, political economy, and financial management in Bangladesh and Internationally.

It is worth mentioning that he is a reviewer of several highly reputed academic journals, including Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, Sustainable Cities and Societies, Climate and Development, Environmental Science and Policy, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Environment Systems and Decisions. Additionally, he demonstrated his leadership skills as an elected president of Griffith University Bangladesh Association (GUBA) from 2018-2019. Another example of his leadership and high communication skills was his appointment as an International HDR Ambassador of Griffith University, Australia, where he successfully served his tenure 2018-2019, enhancing researchers experience and employability for the eight universities of Queensland.

Based on his research experiences, teaching skills, publications and awards, practical experience in the field level administration, national capacity development programs and policymaking in various ministries, strong communication and leadership skills, he has got what it takes to be an internationally recognised researcher and educator. At the same time, with 17 years’ experience of field level administration in districts and national level policy making in ministries, experience as CEO of Subdistricts, and as CEO of a city corporation, he is fully competent to run any organisation as a head of the organisation. Any organisation will be benefited from his professionalism and immense leadership quality to be considered for any endeavours he chooses to pursue.