Lecturer, Bachelor of Aquaculture Program

Dr. Sadiqul Awal has been teaching in NMIT’s Bachelor of Aquaculture Program since the 2006 academic year, when he begin teaching selected subjects in the program before becoming a member of the full time lecturing staff in February 2007.

His employment at NMIT was a piece of good fortune for the Institute, as Sadiqul (or Sadiq for short) had previously developed curriculum at other universities, spending a total of 7 years in various roles as a lecturer, Associate Professor and Head of Department at Khulna University in his native Bangladesh. Prior to this time, he spent five years working as a fisheries research officer and was able to conduct pioneering work on Artemia (brine shrimp) culture: the first time that this work had been done in Bangladesh.

In line with the truly global nature of the aquaculture industry, Sadiq is well travelled and has attained Honours (in Fisheries) and Masters of Science qualifications (in Fisheries Biology and Limnology) in Bangladesh, another Masters of Science qualification (in Environmental Impact Assessment) in Wales in the United Kingdom, and a PhD qualification (in Estuarine Planning and Management) in Australia. He has also obtained numerous aquaculture-related certificates from countries such as Belgium and China, and has attended conferences in Thailand and the United States of America, and has also spent time in Hong Kong, The Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, Singapore, and Malaysia.

Prior to engaging in the teaching programs at NMIT, Sadiq worked as an analytical chemist for four years in Clayton: an area that has huge implications for those wanting to embark in a career in aquaculture or environmental sciences. “There are so many different streams in the fields of aquaculture and environmental sciences that job seekers can be employed in if they are prepared to obtain degree qualifications”, he says, at a time when competition for such places is hotting up due to the global financial crisis and rising levels of unemployment.

Sadiq is currently teaching several subjects in the Bachelor of Applied Aquaculture degree program, including Applied Algology and Zooplankton, Aquatic Ecology and Aquatic Science, Applied Mollusc and Crustacean Aquaculture, Aquatic Environmental Management and Aquaculture Project and Research Methods. He is renowned around the Institute for having an excellent relationship with his students, and has supervised students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Sadiq’s current interests and research activities at NMIT today include the utilisation of inland saline water in aquaculture, obtaining biodiesel from microalgae, government policies related to coastal and marine resource management, and analysis of the impacts that aquaculture has on aquatic ecosystems.

“The use of microalgae to develop biodiesel is a potentially massive growth area and we are therefore factoring this into our teaching and research programs”, he says.

When he is away from the Institute, Sadiq enjoys reading, watching cricket, travelling and, you guessed it, fishing!

Selected Publications

• Awal, S. 2006. The Barwon estuary – an example of estuarine management situation in Victoria, Australia. The Victorian Naturalist, 123(2): 84-90. - Read Abstract
• Awal, S. 2002. Concept of Estuarine Management. Proceedings Coastal Zone Asia-Pacific Conference. Bangkok, Thailand, 2002. - Read Full Paper (PDF)
• Awal, S. and Wescott, G. 2001. Does Australia need a new approach in managing its estuaries? Paper presented at the Second Symposium on Marine Conservation Biology, held at the State University of San Francisco, USA. June 22-25, 2001.
• Awal, S. 1999. The Derivation of Integrated Estuarine Management Program (EMP): Hybrid Program from Coast and Catchment Management. Paper presented at Australian Marine Science Association National Conference (AMSA’99). The University of Melbourne, Australia 6-9 July, 1999.
• Awal, S. 1996. The Environmental Impacts of Shrimp Aquaculture. Journal of the University of Wales Agricultural Society. 76:63-74.
• Awal, S. and Rahman, S M. 1995. Control of copepodes in Artemia ponds by salinity shock. Bangladesh Journal of Agricultural Science, 25(1).
• Ahmed, S.U., Rahman, M.N., Islam, M.N and Awal, S. 1995. Observation on the hatching performance of the first produced Artemia cysts. Bangladesh J. Life Sci., 7(1&2), 69-74.
• Ahmed, S.U. and Awal, S. 1994. Development of Artemia culture in Bangladesh. Final Report. Core Research Project. Fisheries Research Institute, Bangladesh.46pp.
• Awal, S., Wahab M.A., Ahmed G.U., Rahman M.N. and Ahmed Z.F. Economics of different polyculture systems involving exotic and native carps. Bangladesh Journal of Fisheries. 15.

See also list of publications for Sadiqul Awal on Ocean Expert.