My Career Progression from Rajshahi to the Wider World

 

Dr. Md Aminul Islam

Associate Professor of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics

Universiti Brunei Darussalam

Alumnus and former faculty member, Department of Geology and Mining

University of Rajshahi | Session 1983–84 | Ninth Batch

 

As the Department of Geology and Mining at the University of Rajshahi celebrates its golden jubilee, I think of the people and moments that shaped my life. A teacher’s encouragement, kindness during fieldwork, repeated disappointments and an unexpected conversation all helped determine where I went next.

My journey has taken me from Bangladesh’s petroleum industry to universities in Japan, Malaysia and Brunei, with periods of study in the Netherlands and Norway. Yet Rajshahi has remained close to my heart. I entered the department as a student and later returned as a teacher. Both identities are still part of me.

Because of session delays, I sat my 1986 honours final examinations sometime in 1989. During the sedimentology examination, our teacher stopped beside my desk and asked, “Aminul, how is the examination going? Will you get a first class?” He added that, if I did and wished to undertake an MSc thesis, I could work with him.

Until then, I had not firmly chosen the research route. His confidence changed my thinking. I graduated with a first class, second position, and approached him. Under his guidance, I learned to read earlier work, identify a worthwhile question and explain why it mattered. His encouragement helped me overcome my hesitation to ask questions, a lesson I later carried into my own supervision.

My MSc research examined heavy minerals in the coastal sands of Cox’s Bazar and Teknaf. Collecting samples, recording their settings and analysing them taught me the patience behind geological observation. My supervisor’s kindness left an equally lasting impression.

At Teknaf, I had almost exhausted my money. Friends were visiting the Burmese market, and I wanted to buy something for my younger siblings. Instead, I stayed at the hotel, saying I felt unwell. Perhaps my supervisor understood. He placed 1,100 taka in my hand and told me to go shopping and repay him when convenient.

On the journey home, he brought two heavy packets onto the bus. One was for my mother: betel nuts he had bought after remembering that she enjoyed them, just as his own mother did. I could barely respond. Many details of that trip have faded; that kindness has not.

Back in Rajshahi, I spent long hours separating minerals, examining them under the microscope and interpreting results. Financial pressures made the work difficult. My supervisor encouraged me, but chapter after chapter returned with corrections. He showed me that affection for a student and demanding standards could belong together.

I submitted my thesis in August 1991 and moved to Dhaka, urgently needing employment. In April 1992, I joined Islami Bank as a probationary officer. On 12 January 1993, I joined Petrobangla as an Assistant Manager in Geology.

Working in my discipline was deeply satisfying. Geological ideas now informed exploration and decisions about national energy resources. Approximately eight years at Petrobangla gave me practical experience that later enriched my teaching. I learned how carefully an interpretation must be examined when important decisions depend on it.

The wish to teach at university remained. I applied to Rajshahi more than once without success. Those disappointments hurt, although the intervening years gave me skills I would eventually bring back to the department.

While at Petrobangla, I completed a postgraduate diploma in Exploration Geophysics in Delft. In 1998, I went to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology for an MSc in Petroleum Geoscience. Coursework, industry projects, three-dimensional seismic data and research strengthened my understanding of the subsurface. Geophysics became central to my approach as a geologist.

I returned to Bangladesh in March 2000, eager to apply what I had learned. Adjusting that enthusiasm to established institutional procedures was not always easy. Then another teaching opportunity arose at Rajshahi.

On 6 January 2001, I joined the Department of Geology and Mining at the University of Rajshahi. Leaving Petrobangla was emotional, but returning to my department felt like coming home.

I taught petroleum geology and geophysics, hoping to help students understand how interpretations develop through work with real data. Obtaining those materials required permissions and patience. Officers at Petrobangla and BAPEX generously helped us access seismic data, well logs, reports and core samples.

In 2003, 2004 and 2005, I travelled with students to Dhaka to collect research materials. Their excitement at studying actual gas fields was a reward in itself. With collaborators, we investigated subsurface structures, stratigraphy and reservoirs. Shared effort and discussion produced valuable learning and publications.

As my teaching responsibilities grew, I wanted deeper research training. I pursued PhD opportunities in the United States, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands. Several came close, but admission, funding and visa circumstances never quite aligned.

After one particularly painful disappointment, I returned home, closed the door and cried. So much hope had gone into the application. Eventually, I began searching again. The wish to complete a PhD remained stronger than the discouragement.

An early forty-nine-day visit to Japan introduced me to universities, research institutions and petroleum laboratories. Those contacts later proved invaluable. I learned about the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science’s RONPAKU dissertation PhD programme, which allowed research visits to Japan while continuing to work at home.

My first application failed. I revised my approach, found another host supervisor and applied again. My respected teacher agreed to serve as home supervisor, and a colleague helped strengthen the proposal. Eventually, I gained the opportunity to undertake my PhD through the University of Tsukuba.

On 1 May 2005, I arrived for my first PhD research visit. My co-supervisor and his wife welcomed me warmly. Research discussions soon revealed that my proposed work on Miocene gas reservoirs of the Bengal Basin did not fully overlap with my supervisors’ specialisms. I had to take substantial responsibility for its direction and organisation.

Some essential laboratory facilities were unavailable. I contacted researchers at JAPEX whom I had met previously. They offered the necessary analyses at their research centre without charge. Their generosity allowed the work to advance and reminded me how much research depends on people willing to share facilities and knowledge.

Preparations for my 2006 visit coincided with the murder of our respected Taher Sir. Grief, protest and uncertainty shook the department. Continuing my research commitments during that period was painful, but I eventually travelled to Japan.

Two further visits in 2007 enabled me to complete the remaining work and defence. The University of Tsukuba formally awarded my PhD on 29 February 2008. Happiness came with profound relief after years of setbacks.

One evening in 2009, at the university club in Juberi Bhaban, a colleague mentioned suitable vacancies at the University of Malaya. The deadline was that very day.

I hurried home to prepare an application. Without internet at home, I went to a shop near Kazla Gate, only to find it closed. I thought the opportunity was lost. The colleague suggested sending my application through a professor he knew. I did so the next day, and the professor forwarded it to the university authorities.

That unexpected conversation eventually led to my appointment. On 30 October 2009, I joined the University of Malaya.

Kuala Lumpur offered experienced colleagues, extensive facilities and contact with international scholars. Teaching was rewarding, and training professionals from African countries through Petronas helped me draw on my industry experience. Improved finances also brought welcome relief to my family.

While in Malaysia, I was invited to teach for two or three weeks in a master’s programme at Universiti Brunei Darussalam. I enjoyed teaching there and received an encouraging response from the students. A permanent opportunity followed this teaching opportunity. After an interview in Kuala Lumpur, I was selected as a Senior Lecturer and joined UBD on 30 June 2011.

Brunei’s peaceful surroundings and international academic community suited me. I developed my teaching and research and helped introduce a master’s programme in Petroleum Geoscience.

In 2015, I took on three PhD and six research master’s students simultaneously. Each required individual attention. Across my career, I have been involved in supervising eleven PhD students at different stages, many master’s students and more than sixty undergraduate research projects, including students from several Asian countries.

Their development remains one of teaching’s greatest satisfactions. Some need confidence to speak; others need help connecting software results with geological reasoning. I often remember how a teacher’s belief first gave me courage.

My research has extended to datasets from Bangladesh, Brunei, New Zealand, Australia, the Gulf of Suez, Pakistan, the United States and the North Sea. With students and collaborators, I have studied seismic interpretation, reservoir and source-rock characterisation, petrophysics and geological modelling. These investigations draw on research data; they do not imply personal fieldwork in every region.

Different basins have taught me caution. Methods must suit the geology, and software cannot take responsibility for an interpretation.

Life abroad has brought opportunity and happiness, alongside adjustment, demanding work and separation from loved ones. Many evenings and weekends have gone into lectures, papers and students’ theses. My family has shared the consequences of every move. Their patience belongs in this story, even when the career carries my name.

With nearly twenty-six years in teaching and approximately eight earlier years at Petrobangla, my professional life approaches thirty-four years. A difficult dataset or a student’s question can still send me back to learning.

Alongside my work in Brunei, I now serve voluntarily on Bangladesh’s National Technical Committee concerned with oil and gas and on the BAPEX strengthening committee. Having begun my geological career at Petrobangla, I value this opportunity to contribute to exploration, professional training and research capability at home.

During this golden jubilee, I remember the teacher who invited me into research, the long laboratory days, the students beside me and those who helped when progress seemed impossible. Their kindness remains woven into my life.

Wherever I teach, learn or work, the Department of Geology and Mining at the University of Rajshahi stays in my thoughts and affections. Years away have not diminished that belonging. In classrooms abroad, I still remember my teachers, classmates and the students I once taught there.

I still feel that I am one of the department’s teachers. Just as strongly, I remain one of its students. Countries and workplaces have changed, but this feeling has stayed. The golden jubilee feels like an invitation to return home.

For as long as I can, I hope to keep teaching, learning and contributing. Wherever those years take me, this department will remain an address of my heart.