Hakikur Rahman

Engr. Md. Hakikur Rahman, PhD. is the Chairman of SchoolNet Foundation Bangladesh, and the Founder-Chairperson of Internet Society Bangladesh Chapter. He is currently serving as a Post-Doctoral researcher at the University of Minho, Portugal. He is an Adjunct Faculty of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, and a former faculty of the International University of Business Agriculture and Technology, Bangladesh. He served Sustainable Development Networking Foundation (SDNF) as its Executive Director (CEO) from January 2007 to December 2007, the transformed entity of the Sustainable Development Networking Programme (SDNP) in Bangladesh where he was working as the National Project Coordinator since December 1999. SDNP is a global initiative of UNDP and it completed its activity in Bangladesh on December 31, 2006, and the South Asia Foundation Bangladesh Chapter as the Secretary during 2001-2008. Before joining SDNP he worked as the Director, Computer Division, Bangladesh Open University. Graduating from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 1981, he has done his Master's of Engineering from the American University of Beirut in 1986 and completed his PhD in Computer Engineering from the Ansted University, UK in 2001.

Dr. Rahman’s career in ICT4D goes back to 1970s, when he started the first DX club in Bangladesh (1973) and started publishing a monthly bulletin in English, the Bengal DX Comet (later on QRG-WD). He obtained diploma in DXing from Radio Prague, and Radio Bucharest (1973-1975), including membership of DX clubs around the world during those days (VOA, BBC, Radio Japan, Radio Australia, and others). Design and development of a walkie-talkie was his graduate thesis at BUET (1980), and similarly he has developed an interface for Token Ring Network during his ME thesis (1985). As a hobbyist and also as a professional in communication technologies, he has written many technical articles in journals and newspapers, including Wireless World since 1974. He has implemented the largest Wi-Fi mesh communication network in that time in Bangladesh (2000-2006); the largest fiber based WAN at the Bangladesh Open University (1998); the first and lone Internet exchange (2004); and assisted in implementing hosting of the F-Root server in the country (2004).

He started his academic career at the Dhaka Engineering College as Lecturer in July 1981 and joined Institute of Computer Management and Science, a Technical Education Board affiliated institution in 1989 as its Principal and served there till November 2008 before joining the University of Minho. In between this period, he worked as a Research Fellow and teachingship in BUET during February 1986 to September 1986.

He is the Chief Editor of the Advances in Knowledge Communities and Social Networks (AKCSN) Book series; Head Examiner (Computer), Bangladesh Technical Education Board (1996-2008); member of the international Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) of the Advances in Electronic Government Research (AEGR) Book Series; international Review Board Member of International Journal of Doctoral Studies (IJDS) (2006-2008); a reviewer for the Editorial Reviewer Board of the International Journal of E-Government Research (IJEGR); Special Issue Editor for the Journal of Electronic Commerce and Organizations (JECO); Ad Hoc reviewer for the Editorial Review Board of the Information Resources Management Journal (IRMJ) (2006-2009); reviewer of Journal of Environment and Development (JED); reviewer of EISTA 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009; CITSA 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009; Director of the Informing Science Institute; and programme committee member of several international journals and events.

Dr. Rahman was UN GAID Nominating Committee member for 2007 and 2008; a member of ISOC IGF Ambassador Programme of IGF2007; DNSO Whois TF member 2002; member of 2009 IGC MAG Nomination; and Interim Chair South Asia Net group, APAN 2004-2006.

He has written several books, many articles/papers, contributed over 20 book chapters and edited seven books on ICT for Development (knowledge management, e-governance, e-learning, data mining applications and Internet governance). He is the Founder-Principal, Institute of Computer Management & Science (ICMS); President, ICMS Foundation; Editor, the Monthly Computer Bichitra; and Executive Director, BAERIN (Bangladesh Advanced Education Research and Information Network) Foundation. With preliminary working knowledge of a few international languages, he is highly interested to establish a technology based university in Bangladesh to promote Internet governance at the grass roots.