Dr. Sharif Nurul Ahkam

Grant Received

1993 Awarded Noble Dick Faculty Development Grant.  Duquesne University.

2012 Awarded Faculty Research Grant, North South University 2012.

2014 Awarded Faculty Research Grant, Southeast University. Liquidity and Profitability-A Cointegrating Analysis of Bangladesh Non-financial Firms. With Khairul Alom.

2015 Awarded Tk78,35,000 for IQAC of Eastern University

2015  Awarded $75,000 over three years for the One Asia Program from One Asia Foundation.

2020  Awarded Tk 3,00,000 for Faculty Research, Receivables Management. Co-grantees: Nazmun Nahar, Shabnin Rahman Shorna.

2021 Awarded Tk 3,00,000 for Faculty Research.  Women Entrepreneurship in Bangladesh.  Co-grantees: Nazmun Nahar, Shabnin Rahman Shorna.

2021 Awarded Tk 3,00,000 for Faculty Research.  Jewellery Entrepreneurship in Bangladesh.  Co-grantees: Amreen Talukdar (Principal Investigator), Sayma Siddika, Umme Hani Meem.

HONORS AND AWARDS

1.      2013 Best Paper Award at the World Business Institute Conference held in Melbourne, Australia.

2.      1993 Merit Award for being among the best in Teaching, Research, and Service in the School of Business, Duquesne University.

3.      1990 Best Researcher Award in the School of Business, Duquesne University.

4.      1988 Beta Gamma Sigma

5.      1987 Outstanding Young American.

6.      1987 Omicron Delta Epsilon.

EDUCATION:

Doctor of Business Administration, Kent State University, 1987. 

Dissertation Title:  An Application of the Bivariate Transfer Pricing Model for Forecasting Foreign Exchange Rates.  Dissertation Committee Chair: Dr. James C. Baker.

M.B.A. Kent State University, 1983. 

M.Com. The University of Dhaka, 1975, First Class Third.

B. Com. (Honors). The University of Dhaka, 1974, First Class Second

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE:

December, 2024 to Present: Professor, Department of Accounting and Finance, School of Business and Economics, North South University, Bangladesh.  Currently teaching Managerial Finance, Corporate Finance, Capital Investment Decisions.

Director, Center for Social Impact and Sustainability (CSIS). This is a new Center at the University.  I have managed the development of the Center, staffed the center, and generated the first report on how North South University contributed to the SDG goals.  I have also lead the development of the database to show the extent of research engagement with SDGs by the faculty members of NSU.

July 2023 to December 2024: Part-time Professor of Finance, Department of Accounting and Finance, School of Business and Economics, North South University, Bangladesh.

September 7, 2016 to June 2023: Professor, Department of Accounting and Finance, School of Business and Economics, North South University, Bangladesh.  Currently teaching Managerial Finance, Corporate Finance, Financial Derivatives, Capital Investment Decisions, International Financial Management.

I also managed two special programs dealing with development of women entrepreneurship in Bangladesh.  The first program is known as City Alo Program that provides training to women entrepreneurs who are just beginning.  The second program is targeted to experienced business women with a special focus on developing B2B business.

January 1, 2017 to May 5, 2022: Director of Graduate Studies, North South University, Bangladesh.

January 1, 2015 to September 7, 2016: Professor and Dean, Faculty of Business Administration, Eastern University, Bangladesh.

Director, Institutional Quality Assurance Cell, Eastern University, Bangladesh.

January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2015: Professor, School of Business Studies, Southeast University, Bangladesh.  Director: Institute of Policy Research and Training, Southeast University.

September 2011-December 31, 2013

Associate Professor of Finance and Program Coordinator for the Finance, Accounting and International Business Disciplines North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.  Teaching courses titled Managerial Finance, Corporate Finance, Financial Derivatives, Capital Investment Decisions, International Financial Management, and Business Seminar, at graduate and undergraduate level.  Teaching evaluation: Excellent.

June 1994 – June 2000

Assistant Professor of Finance, Rhode Island College, Providence, RI 02908.  I taught courses in Managerial Finance, International Finance, Statistics, and Investment.  Directly involved in developing a Major in Finance. 

July 1987 – May 1994

Assistant Professor of Finance, A. J. Palumbo School of Business Administration, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA 15282.  Courses taught: Introductory undergraduate and graduate Business Finance, Advanced Problems in Business Finance (Case course both at MBA and undergraduate level), Financial Markets and Institutions (at the undergraduate level), International Corporate Finance (both at the MBA and undergraduate levels).  Led the redesigning of the graduate and undergraduate finance curricula to meet the AACSB accreditation requirements.  I was actively involved in developing a major in International Business, both at the graduate and undergraduate levels.

1983-1987

Teaching Fellow, Graduate School of Management, Kent State University.  Courses taught: Business Finance, Business Statistics, and Business Finance.

1980-1983

Graduate Assistant, Graduate School of Management, Kent State University.

 1978-1980

Lecturer, Department of Management, University of Dhaka.  Courses taught: Financial and Managerial Accounting, Business Management.

Courses Taught:

Managerial Finance, Corporate Finance, Investment, International Corporate Finance, Business Statistics, Capital Investment Decision

Training

Attended a two-week training program at Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand held in November, 2015, on Development of Quality Assurance Program at Institutes of Higher Education.

January 1, 2015 to September 7, 2016: Professor and Dean, Faculty of Business Administration, Eastern University, Bangladesh.

July 2015 to September 2016:  I served as the Director of Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of Eastern University from July 2015 to September 2016.  I directed the efforts at instituting quality assessment measures at all levels of the university, upgrade the curricula to make it time appropriate, ensure quality and scholarship at all levels.  I directed the hosting of about 15 workshops and seminars from improving quality education and improving research skills of faculty members.

As Director of the IQAC, I have led the Self-Assessment Report writing for the Faculty of Business Administration and the Faculty of Arts and Social Science.  The Draft SAR has been submitted to the University Authority.

Member, External Peer Review Team as subject Expert for Peer Evaluation of the BBA Program at Primeasia University, Bangladesh, December 2017.

Member, External Peer Review Team as Local Expert for Peer Evaluation of the BBA Program at Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT), Bangladesh, April 2018.

Administrative Experience

December 2024 to date: Director, Center for Social Impact and Sustainability, North South University, Bangladesh.

January 1, 2017 to May 5, 2022: Director of Graduate Studies, North South University, Bangladesh. During my term at this position, North South University purchased, installed and implemented the Learning Management System, CANVAS.  North South University was the first university in South Asia to implement an advanced LMS.  North South University also started subscription of SCOPUS at this time.

January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2023: Director, The City Alo and WEConnect Program focused on developing women Entrepreneurship in Bangladesh.

January 1, 2015 to September 7, 2016: Professor and Dean, Faculty of Business Administration, Eastern University, Bangladesh.

July 2015 to September 2016:  I served as the Director of Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of Eastern University from July 2015 to September 2016.  I directed the efforts at instituting quality assessment measures at all levels of the university, upgrade the curricula to make it time appropriate, ensure quality and scholarship at all levels.  I directed the hosting of about 15 workshops and seminars from improving quality education and improving research skills of faculty members.

January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2015: Director: Institute of Policy Research and Training, Southeast University.

Special Programs

1.      City Alo Women Entrepreneurship Certification Program, Sponsored by The City Bank, this is an acclaimed entrepreneurship development program for women entrepreneurs starting out their businesses.  The program runs for three months on weekends, classes held for three hours on Saturdays.  I built a team for this program, developed the curriculum, and we have graduated about 200 women entrepreneurs.

2.      WEConnect Women’s Skill Enhancement Program. The program is funded by the World Bank and is expected to run for two more years. This is an advanced level program for experienced women businesses especially focused on developing skills to develop women owned B2B businesses.  We have graduated about 220 business women. 

3.      I coordinated with the CSE Department to arrange and coordinate training program for our student to prepare for the ITEE qualification exam in 2019.  This program was promoted by Bangladesh Computer Council and JICA. 

Research Interest: Financial management issues of multinational companies, capital budgeting and cost of capital issues, valuation issues, working capital management, portfolio management and mutual funds, Social Business.