Introduction

Dhaka School of Economics (DScE) was established as an autonomous and constituent institution of Dhaka University in April 2010 with the objective of building a centre of excellence for higher education and research in economics. Though all public and some private universities in Bangladesh offer various training/degree programs in economics, the necessity of establishing such an institution was always felt from the viewpoint of creating some ‘specialists’ in economics whose principal endeavor and preoccupation would be to study the problems and prospects of economic advancement of Bangladesh.

Mission

The DScE envisions that specialization in economics will equip students with necessary tools for economic analysis along with intensive practical applications with the use of state of the art technology in analyzing economic problems/issues/concepts to help Bangladesh move forward. Thus, the principal missions of the School are:

to deliver challenging, stimulating, and research-based academic programs in an environment that supports learning and development of independent critical thinking among students.
to ensure, through critical self-reflection, that its teaching and research remain at the forefront of economics and related disciplines, addressing the evolving challenges of contemporary society.
to make the institution internationally competitive and establish it as a Centre of Excellence for advanced study and research in economics and related disciplines.
to extend interactions with society and key regions of the world across DScE’s full academic portfolio.

Vision

Vision of the School is to create an internationally recognized community of learning, foundation of knowledge and its augmentation, and of practice which will prepare individuals concerned with multifarious economic and social problems and promises of Bangladesh; also for the challenges and opportunities of the global economy of the 21st century. It is a vision that is anchored in our historically venerable values of intellectual excellence, which equally looks forward and embraces the expectations and ambitions of contemporary society.

More specifically the Objectives of the School are:

  • To establish an institution of high academic standard which will provide scope for higher studies and research in economics and related disciplines.
  • To establish a full-fledged Data Centre for economics teachers, policy makers and researchers in economics and related disciplines.
  • To offer post-graduate degree (M. Sc., M. Phil, Ph.D. & post-doctoral) courses for qualified persons interested in pursuing higher studies in economics and selected disciplines.
  • To offer advanced short courses (Graduate Diploma) for economics teachers and masters degree holders in economics and related disciplines.
  • To establish and strengthen academic cooperation with national and international academic and other appropriate institutions to strengthen teaching/research capacity and perspectives of DScE.
  • To engage in other academic teaching and research activities in response to felt need in the future.
  • To encourage reputed economists from home and abroad to contribute to the fulfillment of the objectives of DScE.
    Academic

Teaching

Academic journey of the School, the foremost and prime function of the institution, was kicked off on 22 February 2012 with a post graduate diploma (PGD) program in economics. Two master’s degree programs of eighteen-month duration, one in Environmental Economics and the other in Development Economics have already been introduced.

The School, in the mean time, has filed proposal with DU for authorization to initiate M. Phil and Ph. D. degrees in economics. Furthermore, the School contemplates expansion of its educational services through introducing various certificates, diplomas, and degree programs in different areas of the economics discipline. Some of the areas under consideration are, for example, natural resources, energy/power, food security, climate change, etc.

Research

One of the missions of the School is to produce and promote high quality research on economic and social issues of the society of the time. With this end in view syllabi for various diploma/degree programs have been (and will be) designed to engage students in mastering the techniques and gain hands-on experience in carrying out research works. Projects are undertaken to extend the opportunity of accessibility to students in applied research works. Three such projects have already been completed under the stewardship of the Chairman, Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad.

Seminar/Workshop/Conference

The School holds and is committed to continue holding national/international seminars on contemporary issues and challenges of economic and social interest both at national and global levels on a regular basis.

Publication

DScE has decided to produce four categories/series of publication at a regular interval – these are a) Working paper; b) Occasional paper; c) Edited volume(s); and d) Peer reviewed journal.

Library

DScE aspires to build up an enviable library with a profusely large collection of books, journals/reports both online and off-line supported by state of the art technology.

Dialogues

Dialogues amongst a wide spectrum of intellectuals/stakeholders on issues related to national/regional/international concerns/problems/disputes are being held organized and hosted by the School.

Training Programs

Introduction of some custom-tailored training programs/refreshers’ course for university/college teachers, professionals of non-economics background, officials of various government and non-government entities, etc. are being contemplated in the future.

Data Bank

The School is also mandated to work towards developing a data bank on various economic and social facets/aspects of Bangladesh along with comparable data from other countries, especially of the countries at the similar stage of development. Such a data bank is in the process of construction.

Faculty

The School aspires to have a first-rated, world class faculty to accomplish the tasks bestowed upon it. Meanwhile, it has recruited several scholars who have joined the faculty and plans to continue the effort to enlarge the size of the full-time faculty. In the mean time, highly qualified, competent and experienced scholarly faculty members are being engaged on a part-time basis to fill in the fissure.

Association

The School has initiated efforts to establish and build up some productive relationship with other institutions of excellence and reputation in the same and similar areas of interest, e.g. the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Delhi School of Economics, and South Asia University located in Delhi, etc.