Since its launch in 2023, the Power and Energy Lecture Series: Moving Forward has developed into a notable capacity-building initiative of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Power and Energy Study, aimed at strengthening analytical capacity and interdisciplinary understanding among emerging professionals in Bangladesh’s power and energy sector. Implemented twice annually, the programme is designed to support informed engagement with the evolving policy, technological, and institutional challenges shaping the country’s energy transition.
Each cohort comprises 30 selected students and young professionals from diverse academic and professional backgrounds, including economics, engineering, environmental science, finance, business, and public policy. The selection process is intentionally structured to ensure disciplinary diversity, reflecting CPD’s recognition that contemporary energy challenges cannot be effectively addressed through single-sector or siloed perspectives. A central objective of the lecture series is therefore to counter déformation professionnelle, the tendency to interpret complex sectoral issues narrowly through one’s own professional training by fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and systems-level thinking.
The lecture series consisted of 8–10 structured sessions delivered over eight weeks, facilitated by nationally and internationally recognised experts from academia, government, industry, and research organisations. The curriculum is designed to bridge theoretical knowledge with practical policy and implementation challenges, with particular attention to energy transition dynamics, renewable energy deployment, sectoral governance, and financing mechanisms.
A defining strength of the lecture series is the diversity and depth of its resource persons, who represent a wide spectrum of expertise across the power and energy sector. Each cohort featured contributions from leading academics, policy practitioners, researchers, and industry professionals, ensuring a comprehensive and multidimensional learning experience.
Resource persons include scholars and experts from institutions such as the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), and East West University, alongside experienced professionals from sectoral institutions and private enterprises, including the Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development (IESD), Bangladesh Power Management Institute (BPMI), Confidence Power Plant, and SOLshare. Their engagement provides participants with direct exposure to both theoretical perspectives and operational realities.
Across cohorts, Professor Dr Khosru Mohammad Salim, Syeda Afzalun Nessa, Md. Shahriar Ahmed Chowdhury, Engr. Naznin Akhter, Professor Dr A. K. Enamul Haque, and Dr Farseem Mannan Mohammedy, among others, guided the participants with their knowledge. Through structured lectures and interactive discussions, these experts contribute to strengthening participants’ understanding of sectoral dynamics, policy processes, and emerging challenges.
To enhance experiential learning, the CPD Power and Energy Study has progressively introduced interactive components across cohorts. These include multistakeholder role-playing simulations, in which participants assume the roles of key actors such as regulators, investors, financiers, government agencies, civil society organisations, the National Board of Revenue, and the central bank. The simulations provide participants with practical exposure to coordination challenges, institutional constraints, and trade-offs inherent in real-world energy policy and investment processes.
Recent cohorts have incorporated the 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) component, encouraging participants to undertake focused mini-research projects on power and energy-related topics. Developed throughout the programme and presented upon completion, these projects strengthen participants’ research, analytical, and communication skills while reinforcing the importance of evidence-based policy engagement. This addition marks a deliberate shift from knowledge transfer toward knowledge generation, consistent with CPD’s broader research-oriented mandate.
Another interactive element, the “Turn the Coat” policy debate, has been introduced to enhance analytical rigour and critical thinking. By requiring participants to argue both for and against contested policy positions, the exercise promotes a balanced understanding of complex sectoral issues and highlights the value of considering multiple stakeholder perspectives in policymaking.
A core component of the lecture series is the post-lecture power plant visit, primarily to utility-scale solar facilities. These visits enable participants to directly observe the interaction between policy frameworks, technological choices, and operational realities. By linking classroom discussions with on-site observations, the programme strengthens participants’ understanding of project lifecycle challenges, implementation bottlenecks, and operational considerations within Bangladesh’s power sector.
In 2025, CPD successfully implemented both the fourth and fifth cohorts of the lecture series. The fourth cohort was conducted from April to June 2025, while the fifth cohort commenced in September 2025 and concluded with a power plant visit and closing ceremony on 29 November 2025. Across cohorts, the programme has benefited from the engagement of a wide range of distinguished resource persons, including leading academics, policy practitioners, and industry experts.
Through its evolving structure and emphasis on interdisciplinary learning, applied research, and stakeholder engagement, the Power and Energy Lecture Series: Moving Forward continues to contribute to capacity development in Bangladesh’s power and energy sector. The initiative reflects CPD’s commitment to fostering informed policy dialogue and supporting the development of a skilled professional community capable of addressing the country’s long-term energy and climate objectives.
