Dr Akhtar Zaman

Dr Akhtar Zaman is a Principal Academic Staff Member in the School of Te Kura Māori, Pathways, Business and IT at Toi Ohomai. 

He earned his PhD in Economics from the University of Otago, New Zealand, following an international academic journey that includes an MA in International and Development Economics from Berlin, Germany, as well as MSS and BSS degrees in Economics from Bangladesh. 

His academic career spans in different continents—from researcher at the John F. Kennedy Institute in Berlin, to tutor at Otago University, and lecturer through to Associate Professor at Shah Jalal University of Science and Technology in Bangladesh. 

At Toi Ohomai, Akhtar teaches a number of Business and Management papers at postgrad and supervises master’s students.

Akhtar has made significant contribution to academia and research, working as an economist on two externally funded projects—one commissioned by the Ministry for the Environment and another by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). The MBIE project focused on Māori Health Research and was supported through the National Science Challenge initiative. 

Akhtar’s research focus is on sustainable business management, international macroeconomics, and community action research. His work has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals such as Business Strategy and Environment, European Journal of Political Economy, China Economic Review, and Applied Economics. 

Akhtar is keen to build and foster relationship between Toi Ohomai and local community and industry stakeholders, aligned to Toi Ohomai’s commitment and values: Kotahitanga, Whanaungatanga.  

Currently, Akhtar is leading a community engagement project developed in collaboration with Linton Park Community Centre (LPCC) in Rotorua, which has secured funding from the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) and is now in operation. 

Akhtar is an affiliated Research Associate of Crawford Public School at the Australian National University. Akhtar also served as a Visiting Scholar at KIEP, South Korea.

Outside of work, Akhtar enjoys playing badminton and cricket, watching rugby. He also enjoys fishing in Rotorua’s lakes, gardening, and long drives to discover new places.