Prof Dr M R Kabir appointed as VC of Daffodil International University

Professor Dr M R Kabir, an academic with more than four decades of experience in teaching, research, and academic leadership, has been appointed as Vice Chancellor (VC) of Daffodil International University (DIU).

His appointment was approved by the university's Board of Trustees and formally announced on 10 July 2025.

According to a circular issued by the Ministry of Education on 30 June and signed by Assistant Secretary Md Sultan Ahmed, Professor Kabir will serve a four-year term in the role.

Prior to this appointment, Professor Kabir had been serving as a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at DIU since July 2021. He previously held the position of Pro Vice Chancellor at the University of Asia Pacific (UAP) for four consecutive terms, where he played a key role in shaping the institution's academic growth and policy development.

Earlier in his career, Dr Kabir took early retirement from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), where he was an Associate Professor in the Department of Water Resources Engineering. He remains a Syndicate Member of BUET and has served on the Board of Accreditation for Engineering and Technical Education (BAETE) under the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) since 2016. He was also a member of the Board of Governors at BUET's Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM) from 2014 to 2016.

Dr Kabir has held visiting positions at several international institutions, including the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Alberta in Canada, and Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands.

He completed his Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Roorkee (now IIT Roorkee) in 1980, followed by a Master's in Water Resources Engineering from BUET in 1984. He went on to receive a Postgraduate Diploma from Anna University, India, under a UNESCO fellowship, and later earned his PhD in Civil Engineering from the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL), Belgium.

A prolific researcher, Dr Kabir has published 49 technical papers in national and international journals and conferences. He has also supervised numerous research projects and academic theses. He served as Chairman of the Bangladesh Chapter of the Association of Universities of Asia and the Pacific (AUAP) across three terms from 2015 to 2021 and currently chairs the Quality Assurance Cell (QAC) of BAETE.

His contributions to higher education have earned him several accolades, including the 'Quality Leader Award' from the World Council for Total Quality and Excellence in Education (WCTQEE) in 2011 and the 'Exemplary Leadership Award' from EDS Business School in Malaysia in 2012.