The two-day International Conference on Economics, Business and Technology Management 2025 (ICEBTM 2025) – organized by the School of Business and Entrepreneurship (SBE) of Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) – kicked off on November 14, 2025 at The Westin Dhaka.

Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, Executive Chairman of the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) and Chairman of BRAC, opened the event on Friday morning as Chief Guest. He was joined by IUB Board of Trustees Chairman Didar A. Husain, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. M. Tamim, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Daniel W. Lund, Acting Dean of SBE Prof. Dr Raisul Awal Mahmood, and Conference General Chair Prof. Dr. Md Mamun Habib. Syed Nasim Manzur, Managing Director of Apex Footwear Limited, attended as Guest of Honor.
 
Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman said, “Exchange of knowledge is central to building what we call a common and shared understanding. The challenges being faced by Bangladesh are not unique. They are being faced across the world – across the global south and also the developed world. There are commonalities, there are differences, and hopefully, this conference will come to grips with many of these specific challenges that should concentrate in the minds of those present here.”

Didar A. Husain said, “Vietnam and China are introducing artificial intelligence [AI] at the school level. They are ready for the 5th Industrial Revolution and we are only trying to graduate from the 3rd. So, there is a long way to go.”
 
Prof. Dr. M. Tamim said, “We have 70 student papers in this conference, which is a great encouragement for us. We have representatives from more than 12 countries who have come here with ideas and will share their research topics and industry experience.That is a great exposure for our students. We are hosting this conference for our students, so that through them, IUB can contribute to the advancement of this country and also the world of course.”
 
Prof. Dr. Daniel W. Lund said,“Events like this are fabulous. Those who have been academics for many years and have attended many conferences may have met someone 10, 15, even 20 years ago who is still a friend or colleague, or someone you ended up helping get a job, got a job with, or are now working with. Therefore, I would encourage all, especially the students, to meet people.”
 
Prof. Dr Raisul Awal Mahmood said, “Our expectation from the conference is that the participation, discussion and sharing of experience will continue among us even after we return to our respective workplaces.”  

Prof. Dr. Md Mamun Habib said, “We first proposed ICEBTM – International Conference on Economics, Business and Technology Management – back in February 2020, aiming to hold the conference in January 2021. Because of the pandemic and other challenges, we had to reschedule it multiple times. I still remember that the theme, ‘Sustainability Focused Industry Trends in Global Research,’ was brainstormed and finalized during that period. And now, after five years and nine months, we are finally here. Thanks to Almighty Allah!”
 
Syed Nasim Manzur said, “Events such as this are critical for Bangladesh’s manufacturing sector. As we transition from a manufacturing system that is based purely on arbitrage of labour to manufacturing based on sustainability and core values, these kinds of industry-academia connections are critical for our future success. Bangladesh is privileged to have some of the youngest people in our workforce, but creating the kind of quality jobs that are needed for these people is the challenge for modern industry in Bangladesh.”

Keynote papers were presented by Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman; Prof. Jonathan Liu of Manchester Business School, UK; and Prof. Dr. Maniam Kaliannan of the University of Nottingham Malaysia. Sessions were chaired by Prof. Dr. M. Tamim; Prof. Dr. Farid A. Sobhani, Vice-Chancellor of Eastern University; and Dr. Derek Westfall of Oregon State University, USA.

Industry leaders joined academia leaders in panel discussions titled “Industry Talk” and “Academia-Industry Discussion”. 

The Academia was represented by; Dr. Ferdous Saleheen of Sharjah Maritime Academy, UAE; IUBAT Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Abdur Rob; Chittagong Independent University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. M.M. Nurul Absar; AIUB Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Md Abdur Rahman; and Prof. Dr. Rajah Rasiah of Malaysia.

Industry leaders included Syed Nasim Manzur, Apex Footwear Managing Director; Amer Salim, Director of Knit Asia Ltd. and Aurum Sweater Ltd.; A K M. Shahnawaj, Managing Director (Current Charge), Dhaka Bank PLC; Niaz Rahim, Group Director, Rahimafrooz; Dr. Ahmad Ahsan, Director, Policy Research Institute; Mirza Sajeeb Rayhan, AmCham representative; Kamran T. Rahman, President, MCCI; Dr. Md Mosharraf Hossain from icddr,b; Dr. Ben Bvepfepfe of CITL (UK); and Emeka Henry Egson (Canada).
 
Throughout the day, two parallel sessions featured 80 research paper presentations by faculty, students and scholars from local and international universities and institutions. A “PhD Colloquium and a Paper Producing Workshop” was conducted by leading International academics, who provided important tips on PhD journey and publishing papers.
 
More than 300 academics, researchers, students and industry professionals from over 12 countries –including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, India, Poland, Thailand and the UAE – are taking part in ICEBTM 2025.