Faculty Profile

Mohammad Shahjahan Chowdhury Ph. D.

Professor

Contact Information

  • Office Address: Professor Institute of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh
  • Phone: +8801775282290
  • Email: shahjahan-pad@sust.edu, shahjahansust.chowdhury@gmail.com

Biography

Shahjahan Chowdhury completed his graduation in 2005 and joined in the department of Public Administration, Shahjalal University of Science &Technology, Bangladesh in 2006. Since then, he has been serving in the department, his present position is Professor. His research interests include local government, environmental governance, rural poverty and development, and healthcare access. He conducts research applying both qualitative and quantitative methods. He is interested to examine how microfinance as a neoliberal policy contribute to poverty reduction, how local governments can be made more effective through resolving governance issues; how access to healthcare of rural people can be ensured through reduction of demand and supply barriers. He applies capability approach and Foucauldian lens to identify the structural injustice associated with his areas of interests. He teaches courses on research methodology, local government, and political thought. He has presented several papers on international conferences and has several publications in the indexed journals. He also works as reviewer in some international journals. He supervises seminar, research monograph and theses of undergraduate and graduate students. His current research projects include ensuring health care access among rural children, waste management in metropolitan government, and managerial practice in rural local government funded by the University Grants Commission of Bangladesh and SUST Research Center.

Scopus Author ID: 57212075588 https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=57212075588
Researcher ID: ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7743-1720

Education

  • 2019 Ph. D. , Department of Social Work, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh.
  • 2001 MSS in Political Studies & Public Administration, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh.
  • 2000 BSS (Honors) in Political Studies & Public Affairs, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh.

Research Interests

  • Local Government, Environmental Governance, Rural Poverty and Development, and Health Care Access.

Active Research Project

  • Inclusive and resilience planning to build sustainable child-friendly cities: Exploring the voices of Children and parents from Bangladesh.
  • Strengthening Local governments’ capacity to ensure food safety in Bangladesh: Quest for an inclusive approach.

Previous Research Project

  • 2017 Access to health care service at the Periphery: A Study on Community Clinics, funded by University Grants Commission of Bangladesh, (completed).
  • 2017 The implication of democratic local governance in ensuring institutional trust: A study of Sylhet City Corporation (SCC), funded by University Research Center, SUST, (Completed).
  • 2015 Public perceptions of police efficacy and image: The need for reform measures”, funded by University Research Center, SUST.
  • 2014 The effectiveness of NGOs in providing quality health care services to the poor community in urban Bangladesh: A Study on Two NGOs in Sylhet City’ funded by the University Grants Commission of Bangladesh.
  • 2013 The role of Bangladesh Rural Development Board in rural development: A case study on Sylhet Sador Upazila, funded by University Research Center, SUST.
  • 2012 Problems and challenges of rural development in Bangladesh: A Comparative Study on Comprehensive Village Development Program (CVDP) at Sylhet Sadar and Companygonj Upazila, funded by University Research Center, SUST.
  • 2004 Research monograph: Corruption of local level leaders in rural development activities in Bangladesh: A case study, as a part of the completion of master’s degree, SUST.
  • 2019 Access to child health care in rural areas of Bangladesh: A Study of Kanaighat Upazila”, funded by University Research Center, SUST.
  • 2019 Examining the relationship between Managerial practices and performance of Local Government: A study of Union Parishad”, Funded by University Research Center, SUST.
  • 2022 Sexual and Reproductive Health Behavior and the Practices of Family Planning Methods among People Living in Bhasanchar Rohyinga Camp funded by University Research Center, SUST, (Ongoing).

Journal Publish

  • 1. Practices of microfinance and poverty reduction in Bangladesh
  • 2. Sexual and reproductive health experiences of adolescent girls and women in marginalised communities in Bangladesh
  • 3. Conditionalities of public microfinance and the rural poor: Voices from the below. Journal of International Development, 32(4), (Wiley), https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3467.
  • 4. Conducting Field Work with Microfinance Programs’ Participants in a Non-Western Setting: A Reflexive
  • 5. Methodological dilemma in microfinance research: Applicability of a qualitative case study design. The Qualitative Report (Nova Southern University, USA) 25(2): 271-290. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol25/iss2/1
  • 6. Local democracy in health emergency: local governments (LGs) and community response to COVID-19 in Bangladesh
  • 7. Neoliberal governmentality, public microfinance, and poverty in Bangladesh: Who are the actual beneficiaries? International Journal of Rural Management (SAGE), 15(1):1-26. https://doi.org/10.1177/0973005218817657
  • 8. The experience of microfinance recipients of Bangladesh Rural Development Board: a case study on Integrated Rural Women Development Programme, Bangladesh Journal of Public Administration (BJPA) (Bangladesh Public Administration Training Center), 27 (1): 20-33.
  • 9. Examining Parliamentary Accountability in Bangladesh: Theory and Practice. Bangladesh Journal of Public Administration (Bangladesh Public Administration Training Center), 25(1): 76-84.
  • 10. Citizens Participation in Urban Local Government: A Case Study of Kanaighat Paurashava in Bangladesh, Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance (University Technology Sydney (UTS) Press), 19: 119-134. http://dx.doi.org/10.5130/cjlg.v0i19.5451
  • 11. Corruption of Local Level Leaders in Rural Development Activities in Bangladesh: A Case Study. SUST Journal, 17(3):38-51.
  • 12. Quest for an Effective and Efficient Local Government: Local Government in Japan and Policy Implication for Local Government in Bangladesh. Lex Localis - Journal of Local Self-Government, 10(3): 247 – 264. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4335/188
  • 13. Local Government in The United Kingdom, Thailand and Bangladesh: A Comparative Analysis & Lessons for Bangladesh. International Journal of Development Affairs (Center for Development Affairs), 1(1): 27-48.
  • 14. Empowering Rural Women in Bangladesh: A Study on Union Parishad. SUST Journal of Public Administration, 1(3).
  • 15. Strategies of Anticorruption in Bangladesh: Major Issues and Challenges. SUST Journal of Public Administration, 1(1).
  • 16. Urban Local Government and Environmental Management in Bangladesh: A Study on Chunarughat Paurashava, Bangladesh Development Research Working Paper Series (BDRWPS) BDRWPS 14 (January 2012), Bangladesh Development Research Center (BDRC) 2508 Fowler Street, Falls Church, VA 22046-2012, U.S.A. (Working)

External Affiliations

  • Academic Editor, PlosOne Journal
  • Human Development and Capability Association https://hd-ca.org/
  • Alumni, Swedish International Center for Local Democracy

Awards & Recognition

  • 2010 ADB Scholarship, Japan.
  • 2004 Vice-Chancellor Book Prize Award, SUST, Bangladesh,
  • SUST merit scholarship,
  • Education Board’s merit scholarship,
  • 2020 Vice-Chancellor Award for outstanding research.

Conference

  • 1. Microfinance as an antipoverty strategy in Bangladesh: An analysis from capability approach
  • 2. Local government in ensuring healthy city: The case of waste management in Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) in Bangladesh (Nurturing Social Justice Network of Academics: A Reflexive Writing Training in South Asia for Members from Excluded Communities, Katmondo, Nepal, 25th - 28th March 2024.
  • 3. Microfinance, capabilities, and women agency development in Bangladesh, presented at Human Development and Capability Association Conference, ‘2020 HDCA Conference’, Auckland, New Zealand, (June 30-July 2020). https://hd-ca.org/conferences/2020-hdca-conference-auckland-nz
  • 4. Local democracy in health emergency: local governments (LGs) and community response to COVID-19 in Bangladesh. Local Democracy Academy: Global Disruptions and Local Democracy for a Post-Covid World, 14-18 December 2020 (presented online)
  • 5. Examining new public management in an organizational context: The impact on microfinance program implementation, Presented at the 8th Annual ASA Sociology of Development Conference - “Development in Dialogue: Engaging Practitioners and Across Discipline” organized by University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA on October 17-19, 2019. https://devcon19.weebly.com/
  • 6. The Implications for Democratic Local Governance in Ensuring Institutional Trust: A Study of Sylhet City Corporation (SCC), presented at ICLD 2019, Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy and Umea University, Umea, Sweden, June 10-14, 2019.
  • 7. Public Perceptions of Police Efficacy and Image: The Need for Reform Measures, Conference on Multidisciplinary Findings by SUST Researchers, Organized by University Research Centre, SUST
  • 8. Policy Formulation & Implementation in Urban Local Government: Factors & Actors in City Corporations, Conference on Sustainable Development, University Research Centre, SUST
  • 9. Problems and Challenges of Rural Development in Bangladesh: A Comparative Study of Comprehensive Village Development Program (CVDP) between Sylhet Sadar and Companygonj Upazila, Conference on Multidisciplinary Findings by SUST Researchers, Organized by University Research Centre, SUST.

Teaching

  • 2020 Associate Professor, Department of Public Administration, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh, From 23.02.2020 to present.
  • 2019 Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh, From 20.12.2009 to 22.02.2020.
  • 2006 Lecturer, Department of Public Administration, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh, From 19.12.2006 to 19.12.2009