Dr. Mohammad Zahirul Islam Kochi (born 1974) has built a career distinguished by sustained leadership across public health, development cooperation, cinema, and cultural policy in Bangladesh. Raised in both Old and New Dhaka, he demonstrated early organisational initiative at BAF Shaheen School and later at Notre Dame College, where he served as President of the Notre Dame Science Club and received an Honourable Mention in 1991 for his combined academic and leadership contributions.

Dr. Islam’s formal training spans medicine, population sciences, development studies, and international public health. After completing his MBBS at Sir Salimullah Medical College, he pursued a Master of Development Studies and a Master of Population Sciences at the University of Dhaka, followed by a Master of International Public Health (MIPH) at the University of Sydney. His leadership capacity was recognised internationally when he received the Australian Leadership Award in 2008, granted to emerging global leaders. He further strengthened his strategic and policy skills through professional training at the World Bank Institute (Washington DC), WHO Barcelona, the University of Indonesia, the University of Hong Kong, and University of New South Wales, Australian Human Rights Commission.

A defining aspect of his professional formation is his broad international exposure. Having travelled to over 60 countries, Dr. Islam has gained direct insight into varied cultures, geographies, and populations, shaping his cross-cultural leadership perspective.

Across the development and diplomatic sectors, Dr. Islam has occupied roles involving institutional coordination, policy influence, and organisational stewardship. At the Embassy of Sweden in Dhaka, he was elected President of the Staff Association, currently serves as Health Advisor, guiding strategic health cooperation. He has also served as President of the HPN Consortium of development partners and President of the Bangladesh Urban Health Network, both platforms requiring negotiation, consensus building, and policy alignment among government bodies, NGOs, academic institutions, and development partners. He contributes to several committees under the Ministry of Health, providing leadership on Universal Health Coverage ( UHC), urban health, primary care, and health systems reform.

In the arts and cultural domain, Dr. Islam has been consistently placed in senior, decision-making positions. He has served as Chairman of the Bangladesh Oscar Committee, President of Bangladesh Short Film Forum, President of the Bangladesh Federation of Film Societies and President of the Dhaka Film Society. His organisational roles extend to serving as Chairman of the Centre for Asian Arts and Cultures (CAAC) and General Secretary of the Ahmed Sofa Rashtra Sabha.

He is also a Trustee Board Member of the Artists’ Welfare Trust under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and serves in several advisory committees of the Ministry of Information. He was a key organiser of the 16th and 17th Short and Independent Film Festivals in Dhaka, one of the country’s most significant platforms for alternative cinema.

As a filmmaker, Dr. Islam has directed several short films, including Nishi, which received the Environmental Media Award (EMA) in Los Angeles—recognised internationally as the “Green Oscar.” His leadership in film education includes serving as Course Director of the Film Appreciation Course organised by the Shilpakala Academy, Bangladesh’s national arts institution.
Dr. Islam’s contributions to scholarship include publications in international peer-reviewed journals, including Nature. His research is indexed on ORCID and ResearchGate. His edited publications include Slum Health in Bangladesh, Bangladesh Marching Forward (Prothom Alo), and Film Appreciation (Prothom Alo / Shilpakala Academy). He has also co-edited several journals with Professor Salimullah Khan, contributing to intellectual discourse in Bangladesh.

Across these domains, Dr. Islam’s career is characterised by a sustained pattern of leadership—organisational, intellectual, and creative—spanning community development, health systems, cultural institutions, research networks, and national policy platforms.