Experience of CPRBD
- Executive Training on Climate Risk Insurance, 2024-2025
Center for Policy Research on Business and Development (CPRBD), University of Dhaka, Launched Bangladesh's First Short Course on Climate Risk Insurance- a pioneering initiative funded by Oxfam in Bangladesh and supported by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). CPRBD designed and successfully delivered two rounds of a seven-day Executive Training Program on Climate Risk Insurance (CRI) on December 2024 and January 2025.
The program brought together 84 participants from a wide spectrum of institutions, including government ministries and agencies, public and private insurance companies, data and technology providers, microfinance institutions, civil society organizations, national and international NGOs, academia, researchers, and students. This diverse participation fostered cross-sectoral dialogue and knowledge exchange essential for advancing climate resilience in Bangladesh.
As the first structured course on Climate Risk Insurance in the country, the training filled a critical capacity gap by equipping participants with practical tools and analytical frameworks to design, implement, and scale CRI solutions. The course emphasized evidence-based decision-making, risk modeling, and policy innovation, empowering participants to contribute more effectively to national climate adaptation and disaster risk management efforts.
Looking ahead, CPRBD plans to integrate the CRI course into the academic curriculum of the University of Dhaka and offer it commercially as a recurring executive training program. Developed in close collaboration with leading local and international CRI experts, this initiative represents a significant step toward institutionalizing climate risk education and building long-term national capacity to manage climate-induced economic vulnerabilities.In 2023, under the Improve Coordination of International Climate Finance (ICICF) project of GIZ Bangladesh, CPRBD designed and delivered skill and capacity-building courses for national and local actors to improve their understanding and knowledge of climate finance. Over a three-month period, two rounds of capacity-building training were delivered, each lasting seven days and comprising both on-campus and off-campus sessions, involving 70 participants from the public and private sectors. Furthermore, technical assistance was provided to develop the climate finance inventory for Bangladesh, hosted by the ERD, the Ministry of Finance, and the Government of Bangladesh (GoB).
- CPRBD conducted several training and knowledge-sharing sessions on developing multicultural competency among Australian students through interactions with people, cultures, and management practices in Bangladesh in collaboration with the University of Wollongong, Australia. Professor Abu Hena Reza Hasan served as the Team Leader for this project in 2023.
- CPRBD completed a research study on “LDC Graduation of Bangladesh: Challenges and Opportunities for SMEs” for the SME Foundation Bangladesh. The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Bangladesh funded this project. The research team consisted of Professor Abu Hena Reza Hasan, Professor Dr. Shobod Deba Nath, and Associate Professor Dr. Mansura Akhter from the Department of International Business. The report was submitted on 30th November 2022.
- The CPRBD conducted a study on “Corporate Governance in Business Firms of Bangladesh” under the supervision of Dr. Chowdhury Saima Ferdous, with a lecturer from the Department of International Business serving as Assistant Researcher, and students from the outgoing BBA program as field investigators for data collection.
- The CPRBD conducted a study on “Corporate Social Responsibility in Business Firms of Bangladesh” under the supervision of Dr. S. M. Mahfuzur Rahman. A lecturer from the Department of International Business served as Assistant Researcher, and outgoing students of the BBA program, as well as students from the Department, acted as field investigators for data collection.
The CPRBD provided training to researchers and students in the Department's PhD, DBA, MPhil, MBA, Professional Master's, EMBA, and BBA programs on research proposal development, research methodology, and thesis and report writing. Organized meetings of the teachers of the Department with foreign researchers/scholars (from the UK, Australia, and South Africa) visiting the University of Dhaka and the Faculty of Business of the University.