Dhaka: Professor Mohammad Al-Forkan of the Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology has been appointed as the new Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the University of Chittagong (CU). The announcement was made by Education Minister A N M Ehsanul Haque Milon at a press briefing at the Bangladesh Secretariat today.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the official notification regarding the appointment has not yet been issued. Responding to a query about his new role, Dr. Al-Forkan expressed that this is a new responsibility for him, although he has not yet received any official order.
Dr. Al-Forkan has long been involved in the politics of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in Hathazari of Chattogram and currently serves as the senior vice-president of the CU Nationalist Teachers' Forum. Notably, he played a significant role during the 13th parliamentary election as the convener of the election management committee for BNP-nominated candidate Mir Mohammed Helal Uddin in the Chattogram-5 constituency.
A founding chairman of the Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology at the University of Chittagong, Dr. Al-Forkan earned first-class honors in both his BSc (Honours) and MS degrees in Botany from the same institution. His academic career started as a lecturer in the Department of Botany in 1993, leading to his promotion to professor in 2006.
Dr. Al-Forkan has also made significant contributions to higher education and research. He obtained his PhD from the University of Nottingham, UK, focusing on the genetic engineering of indica rice, and completed postdoctoral research at the University of Alberta, Canada, and the Agricultural Research Council. Additionally, he served as a visiting professor at the University of California, USA. His research endeavors were supported by an Islamic Development Bank (IDB) scholarship.
In 2004, Dr. Al-Forkan was instrumental in the establishment of the Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology at the University of Chittagong. His efforts led to the creation of the Functional Genomics and Proteomics Laboratory (FGPL) and a modern automated climate-controlled greenhouse.
As a research supervisor, he has overseen the work of 39 MS students, seven MPhil researchers, and one postdoctoral fellow. During the Covid-19 pandemic from 2019 to 2022, Dr. Al-Forkan coordinated Covid-19 detection activities at the university.
Throughout his 31-year academic and research career, Dr. Al-Forkan has published 51 research articles and has served on the editorial boards of several internationally reputed journals, including his role as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Biological Sciences.