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'Finance is the reality of managing yourself, your profession, your life,' highlights an academician.

Feeda Hasan Shahed

When it comes to Business education in our country, students have a dilemma as to which major program they should go for, especially for undergraduate programs. Many still have the notion that Finance is a 'predominantly mathematical' subject, which is often difficult. One of the most dynamic personalities in the area of Finance education and research, Professor Humayun Murshed, presently Chair of the Department of Finance in Dhaka University, states a different story altogether.

He highlighted the fact that in the corporate world, not a single Finance graduate has been unemployed so far. 'In fact, our graduates get employed within a very short time in various companies. I am happy to say, when a BBA graduate with Finance major faces interview anywhere, s/he is treated differently, with more respect and dignity' says Prof. Murshed, 'It's because Finance is the lifeblood of any organization.'

Prof Humayun Murshed

Replying to a query regarding a common public perception that Finance lacks 'glamour' compared to some other business courses, he explains how wrong the concept is. 'Finance IS glamorous. Globally, Finance has its own style and wave. The fact is, the word Finance itself rates a student as someone with quality and ability. It immediately proves her/his different breed as a graduate. Why? Because s/he has learn to manage funds and financial institutions,' says Prof. Murshed emphatically.

He continues, 'And I can tell you, Finance is not all mathematics. It is both descriptive and qualitative. Liberal Arts is a necessary component of it. Case studies are taught with holistic approach. As an academic subject, Finance is as glamorous as a successful corporate executive. It is the reality of managing yourself, your profession, your life.'

Prof. Murshed in fact is a man of great acumen. He stood first in his HSC exam, and later went on to attain First Class First positions in both his B.Com. (Hons) and M.Com programmes. He joined the Finance Department of Dhaka University (DU) as a Lecturer in 1982 and later obtained his Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Manchester in UK. He served as Head of the School of Management Studies at the University of Brunei Darussalam from1992 to 1998. In the capacity of a Visiting Professor, Prof. Murshed contributed to the MBA Outreach Programmes of Maasrtricht School of Management in Netherlands. He has been a policy advisor for numerous projects including The World Bank. His papers have been published in research-based books and international journals.

As the present Chairperson, how does he personally evaluate the growth and the functioning of the Department?

He looks back at 1974 when the department started. 'The primary objective was to produce skilled professionals in allied corporate industry in finance and banking, a sector which was running short of manpower. It started with hundred students. Today it is one of the premier departments in the whole country. It has been offering undergraduate, graduate, M. Phil. and Ph.D. programmes since 1978. The growth has been enormous as our teachers, students, and officers have been committed to creating an image in the corporate community, plus other sectors of the country.'

Prof. Murshed has always strongly felt the need to bring some innovative dimensions in the departmental functions. Some of these have already been initiated. Further involvement of corporate personnel in academic procedure will also be initiated; this would keep students up-to-date with the most current financial trends.

'Right now we are working on introducing Academic Management Software which is the first of its kind among public universities.' He further said, 'Through this, a student would instantly know her/his past and current grades' status and accordingly plan to improve performance. With the help of this software, not only the results will be published faster but also the schedules of classes and exams will be notified much earlier. We plan to launch it in coming October.'

'Brilliant, and very bright. Even brighter than us,' says Prof. Murshed without any hesitation. 'I am personally very optimistic as a teacher. As far as my life and living in this society is concerned, I hold some if-s and but-s. But I do not hold any when I judge the present generation of students, and also the future ones to come.

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