Md Royhanur Islam has an extensive academic background in marine sciences, specializing in applied marine ecology and conservation, as well as several years of experience in extracting seaweed agar, developing industrial production lines for commercial use, and formulating agar-derived products for industrial purposes, specifically for food, feed, and cosmeceuticals. In spite of this, he possesses extensive experience in coastal eco-engineering, as well as in marine biological and genetic resources. He graduated from the prestigious ERASMUS IMBRSea program (International Master of Science in Marine Biological Resources: Applied Marine Ecology and Conservation) as an ERASMUS Scholar in the European Commission, followed by a mobility at Ghent University in Belgium, Roscoff & Banyuls Marine Station in France, Pierre Marie Curie University (UPMC)/Sorbonne University in France, and Gothenburg University in Sweden (Tjarno Marine Biological Laboratory). Mr. Islam has previously obtained another Master of Science degree (MSc) in Marine Science and a Bachelor of Science degree (B.Sc) in Marine Science from the University of Chittagong, Bangladesh, achieving the top 1% and 2% among his peers respectively.
There have been several projects on which Mr. Islam have collaborated with national and international institutions, including ABSint (The Netherlands and Belgium), IMS (CU), WorldFish Bangladesh and South Asia, eCOAST (Belgium), Jan de Nul NV (Belgium), DEME Group (Belgium) etc. In addition to his work experience in the area of Marine Genetic Resources (MGR), he also has experience in marine biodiversity assessment, taxonomy (particularly on shells), environmental DNA, climate change and adaptation, ecosystem-based adaptation, science-based fisheries management, adaptive co-management, and Building with Nature Design Solutions (BwN) integrated with sustainable aquatic food production.
Mr. Islam was serving as a research scientist (deputy Program Head) at ABSint, Belgium and the Netherlands in the field of Marine Genetic Resources (MGR). His research was focusing for sustainable use of MGR to develop natural products or product components can strengthen the economic value of biodiversity. Currently, Mr. Islam holds a faculty position as a lecturer at the Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS), University of Chittagong, Bangladesh. Mr. Islam has published a number of articles in his area of expertise, and he continues to do his best to publish articles in this area. At present, he is focusing on collaboration between academia and industrial arena in the field of MGR.