Dr. Iyanatul Islam is a renowned economist with deep expertise in development macroeconomics, employment policy, and inclusive growth. He currently serves as a Distinguished Fellow at the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), where he contributes to advancing policy-relevant research across South Asia.

Dr. Islam is also an Adjunct Professor at the Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University, Australia. Prior to this, he held senior leadership roles at the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva, most notably as Chief of the Employment and Labour Market Policies Branch, Employment Policy Department – where he led a global team working on employment strategies and labour market reforms in developing countries.

He did his PhD in Development Economics from the University of Cambridge, with earlier degrees from the University of Western Ontario and the University of Manchester – where he was awarded the prestigious T.S. Ashton and Richard Cobden Prizes. Dr. Islam has authored and edited over 100 publications, spanning peer-reviewed journals, institutional reports, and books on fiscal policy, labour markets, macroeconomic stability, and structural transformation.

He is a co-founding editor of the Journal of Asia-Pacific Economy and has served as an advisor and consultant to major multilateral institutions including UNDP, ADB, and the ILO. His work consistently bridges academic rigour and practical policymaking, offering frameworks that integrate macroeconomic policy with employment generation and social protection.

As a Distinguished Fellow at SANEM, Dr. Islam brings decades of policy insight and scholarly depth, strengthening SANEM’s mission to promote inclusive, evidence-based economic research and dialogue across the region.

Dr Syed Shahadat Hossain has been a Professor of Applied Statistics at the University of Dhaka since April 2004, having begun his academic career at the same university as a Lecturer in the Department of Statistics in 1990. On 6 June 2023, he was appointed Director of the newly established Dhaka University Research Coordination and Monitoring Cell (DURCMC). He earlier served as Director of the Institute of Statistical Research and Training (ISRT), University of Dhaka, from January 2002 to January 2005.

His experience also spans international academic settings. He was a Lecturer at the School of Computing and Mathematics, Deakin University, Australia, from 2000 to 2002, and taught part-time at Deakin University and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University between 2000 and 2001. He was invited as an Academic Visitor at the School of Computing and Mathematics, Deakin University, in 2000, and held a Visiting Fellowship under the Commonwealth Fellowship Programme at the School of Mathematics and Statistics, Newcastle University, UK, in 2008.

Alongside his work at the University of Dhaka, he has taught part-time at a number of institutions, including East West University, BRAC University, Green University, and Bangladesh University of Professionals.