Environmental Science Discipline

Khulna University

Khulna University was established on January 04, 1987 to fulfill the aspiration of the community of southwestern coastal Bangladesh for a higher education hub at their locality. During 1990 Khulna University Act was validated in Bangladesh Jatiya Sangbad (Parliament) and the academic activities of the University was formally initiated on November 25, 1991. The University is located along the Khulna-Satkhira Highway about four kilometers from the heart of the Khulna City Corporation (KCC) on the bank of river Mayur. Initially this university started it’s academic program with four Disciplines such as Architecture, Computer Science and Engineering, Urban and Rural Planning and Business Administration having 20 students in each disciplines. Two more disciplines e.g., Marine Biology (renamed as Fisheries and Marine Resource Technology) and Forestry and Wood Technology were added during 1992 – also enrolling 20 students in each. Currently the university hosts 29 disciplines in eight schools and there are two Institutes as well with a total number of 6,947 students and 504 teachers.  

Environmental Science Discipline

Vision

The vision of the Environmental Science Discipline in Khulna University is to stride for achieving a healthy environment supportive of robust ecosystems by and for all life on the Earth and beyond.

Mission

The mission of the Environmental Science Discipline of Khulna University is to effectively disseminate the knowledge on fundamentals of the earth and the ecosystems, and their dynamism through creating skilled learners who will take the opportunity of facing the challenges of achieving the sustainable development goals. 

 

Discipline – at a glance

Environmental Science Discipline was established on February 24, 1997 and is the pioneer in offering undergraduate academic degree program on Environmental Sciences in the country. The discipline started undergraduate academic session from academic year 1996-1997. The discipline views environment as a holistic subject and incorporates physical, chemical and biological sciences of the environment along with subjects from engineering and technology, socio-economics and management aspects of the environment. The undergraduate academic program consists of eight Terms of 39 weeks duration that to be completed within five years earning a minimum of 140 credits. The discipline started offering one and half year MS degree program in Environmental Science from 2004, and MPhil and PhD degree program from 2011. Besides, the discipline is conducting Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Disaster and Disaster Management from 2021-2022 academic session. For more on course curricula please visit <discipline.ku.ac.bd/es>. Up till now the discipline has produced around 700 graduates who are involved with diverse professional activities both in home and abroad.

The Environmental Science Discipline is currently enriched with twenty one full time faculty members having expertise on classical and applied field of research on environment. The emerging fields of environmental science is receiving outmost importance. The faculty members are active in collaborative research with many transnational universities/organizations such as Utrecht University, Wageningen University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Vanderbilt University, Worldfish, OXFAM and others. They are also intimately engaged with conventions, conferences, seminars and other colloquium of national and international importance. Please visit for more on faculty members: <https://discipline.ku.ac.bd/es/faculties>.

 

The discipline nourish its societal obligation by enrolling two students – one for progeny of freedom fighters and one for the tribal community – as reserved quota. Currently (2021-2022 academic session) there are 215 undergraduate, 39 Master’s and 8 PhD students engaged in achieving the respective academic degrees.

The Discipline maintains nine research laboratories equipped with advanced analytical instruments and tools for research and learnings on environmental science and one field laboratory for experimental purposes.  Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project (HEQEP) assisted generously in upgrading the laboratories and teaching facilities of the discipline. For details please visit : <discipline.ku.ac.bd/es>

The seminar library of the Discipline currently accommodates around 5000 titles of books, periodicals and journals. A copy of all undergraduate and graduate dissertations completed by researchers is also available in the seminar library. The research topic for around 300 undergraduate and 200 graduate dissertations completed till 2021 may be seen at <https://www.facebook.com/Environmental-Science-Discipline-Khulna-University-Bangladesh-106859141564914/>.

A good number of graduates from Environmental Science Discipline are currently active with diverse academic engagements at many universities of Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, The Netherlands, United States of America, United Kingdom and others countries. Also many have availed prestigious scholarships awarded worldwide such as Monbukagakusho, World Bank, ADB-JSP, Erasmus Mundus, VLRI, The Netherlands Fellowship program (NFP), DAAD, IPRS, Endeavour, ALA, AusAid, PM scholarship, Bangabandhu scholarship etc.

 

Achievements and Awards

Professor Dr. Abdullah Harun Chowdhury has been awarded Gold Medal in Biological Science (Junior Group) by the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (BAS) for his contribution in the field of Environmental Sciences in 2009. As a reward to quality environmental education and research, Environmental Science Discipline of Khulna University was awarded certificate of excellence on Environment by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in 2010. Wahidur Rahman Rana a student of 1998 Batch was the Fastest Man at the Inter-University Games 2002, Bangladesh.

 

Ex-faculty members of the Discipline

Name

Current Affiliation

Dr. Sadiqul Awal

Lecturer, Melbourne Polytechnic, Victoria, Australia

Dr. Md. Salequzzaman

Not available

Dr. Md. Rakib Uddin

Retired

Dr. Subrota Kumar Saha

Professor, Department of Geology, Dhaka University, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh

Dr. Md. Mezbaul Bahar

Research Fellow, Global Centre for Environmental Remediation, University of Newcastle, Australia

Dr. Md. Salim Uddin

Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Rajshahi University, Rajshahi, Bangladesh

Mr. Kushal Roy

Not available

Dr. Tapan Kumar Sarker

Professor, Discipline Head (Finance), School of Business, University of Southern Queensland, Springfield, Queensland, Australia

Dr. Wahidul Karim Biswas

Associate Professor, Sustainable Engineering Group, School of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Curtin University, Australia

Dr. Shakil Ahmed Ferdoshi

Not available

Dr Md Nazim Uddin

Adjunct Fellow, College of Engineering & Science, Victoria University, Australia