Pratibha Jain, PhD student, IFMR GSB, presented a research paper at the IMPeC 2025 Conference held at IIM Sambalpur. The paper, titled The Retention Puzzle: A Comprehensive Review of Non-Profit Employee Dynamics, was co-authored and developed under the guidance of Dr Pallavi Pandey, Assistant Professor, OB & HR, IFMR GSB. The conference was conducted from 30 January, 2025 to 1 February, 2025.
Dr Debankar Saha, Assistant Professor & Area Chair – Marketing, IFMR GSB recently presented a research paper, ‘Birdwatching and Ecotourism: Exploring the Motivations for Participation in Eco-Avitourism’, at the Indian Academy of Management (INDAM) Conference held at IIFT, Kolkata. The conference brought together a diverse group of academicians, policymakers, and industry professionals, fostering a rich intellectual exchange.
Dr Saha explores the key factors that motivate individuals to participate in birdwatching tourism within an ecotourism framework, emphasising its alignment with sustainability principles and contribution to responsible tourism practices. The response to the presentation was overwhelmingly positive, sparking insightful discussions with both the panel and the audience.
Krea University recently hosted a Symposium on Biodiversity and Wetland Conservation as part of the Flamingo Festival, organised by the Andhra Pradesh Government in association with Bombay Natural History Society and Sri City.
As part of the symposium, Dr Debankar Saha, Assistant Professor & Area Chair – Marketing, IFMR GSBdelivered a talk on ‘Ecotourism as a Pathway to Sustainable Development at Pulicat Lake.’ His presentation highlighted the role of ecotourism in fostering conservation efforts, supporting local communities, and promoting sustainable practices in the region.
The symposium attracted participants from various leading organizations involved in biodiversity conservation, sustainable tourism, and environmental research. Experts, policymakers, and academicians engaged in discussions on strategies to protect Pulicat Lake’s fragile ecosystem, enhance community-based conservation efforts, and promote responsible tourism.
IFMR GSB, Krea University has launched the students’ chapter of the National Human Resource Development Network (NHRDN), marking a new milestone in fostering human resource development and industry-academia collaboration.
Launching the chapter virtually, Dr TV Rao, Founder President of NHRDN and Chairman of TV Rao Learning Systems Pvt Ltd, highlighted the importance of prioritising human resource development through skill-building and competency enhancement, especially for students and young professionals. He described HRD as a journey of discovering and amplifying one’s inner strengths, capabilities and talents to create a meaningful impact on others. He encouraged students to leverage NHRDN for knowledge sharing and dissemination to create a meaningful impact.
Delivering the inaugural address virtually, Prem Singh, National President of NHRDN and President, Group HR, JK Organisation, expressed confidence that the NHRD Krea Chapter would significantly contribute to professional growth in the region. He emphasised the nationwide presence of the NHRD Network and highlighted how a collaborative approach could unlock numerous opportunities. Encouraging IFMR GSB students, he urged them to actively engage with NHRDN.
Professor Sridhar Narayanan, Founder, Grand Alliance for Management Excellence (GAME), led delegates in pledging to uphold NHRDN’s ‘Code of Conduct’, which ensures high standards of integrity, competence, and continuous development.
Dhananjay Singh, Director General, NHRDN and an experienced management professional, participated virtually and highlighted the collaboration’s impact on strategic planning, change management, leadership development and innovative initiatives.
The event also featured insights from Dr Aquil Busrai, Chief Executive Officer, Aquil Busrai Consulting and former National President of NHRDN and J Kabilan, President, Chennai Chapter, NHRDN, and VP & HR Leader, L&T Construction, who highlighted the impact of this collaboration on leadership development, strategic HR planning, and industry best practices.
The session opened with a welcome address by Professor Lakshmi Kumar, Dean, IFMR GSB, and concluded with a vote of thanks by Nagarani M, Associate Professor, OB & HR, IFMR GSB. The launch was attended by students, faculty members and NHRDN professionals.
The NHRD Krea Chapter will enable students to engage with industry leaders, gain exposure to evolving HR trends and sharpen their professional skills. Established in 1985, NHRDN is a premier non-profit organisation with over 20,000 members across 54 chapters in India and Singapore, serving as a knowledge hub for HR professionals across diverse industries. This new chapter strengthens IFMR GSB’s commitment to bridging the gap between academia and industry, creating a dynamic platform for learning, networking and career advancement.
PC: The Media Lab
Dr Srajana Kaikini, Assistant Professor, Philosophy, SIAS recently penned her experience, awe and inspiration, listening to Jane Goodall at the Mumbai LitLive Festival in the article The goodness of Jane Goodall in the Deccan Herald. Dr Kaikinideep dives into an interesting question by Goodall—if apes are in fact as angry, as violent, as caring, as loving, and as communicative as human beings, then why not see us in them and why not see them in us?
Professor Shanti Pappu, Visiting Professor of Archaeology and History, SIAS has co-authored a paper titled Breaking it Down: Ethnographic Studies on the Manufacture of Basalt Grinding Stones in India, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. Her co-authors include Sutonuka Bhattacharya, PhD student and Professor Naama Goren-Inbar from Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Dr Prachi Joshi, Senior Research Scholar and Dr Kumar Akhilesh, Director from Sharma Centre for Heritage Education and Professor Gideon Shelach-Lavi from Department of Asian Studies, The Louis Frieberg Chair of East Asian Studies, Hebrew University.
The latest essay ‘Spiral Epistemologies: New Forms for the Public’ (2024) by Dr Srajana Kaikini, Assistant Professor, Philosophy, SIAS is part of the annual anthology Projects / Processes published by the Serendipity Arts Foundation. The essay explores new curatorial forms for the commons reflecting on the Public Art Grant Commissions for 2023 gathered under the project The Island that Never Gets Flooded.
A recent publication by Professor Shanti Pappu, Visiting Professor of Archaeology and History, SIAS in collaboration with various other researchers is one of the pilot projects to explore skill acquisition and pedagogy in the context of the forgotten craft of making stone tools. The paper titled Flakes, Feelings, and Finesse: Experiential Studies of Skill Acquisition in Novice Knappers deals with the stone tool technologies used from around 2.6 Ma to around 300 ka (Lower Palaeolithic).
Dr Srajana Kaikini, Assistant Professor, Philosophy, SIAS was invited as a resource person to address over 250 registered participants from various university across the country for the Faculty Development Programme themed around “Critical Humanities and the Futures We Imagine” organised by the Centre for Theory and Criticism, Central University of Kerala and the UGC Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Centre. Dr Kaikini’s session was titled ‘The Curatorial Turn in Education: Notes from Relational Arts Practices’ where she shared insights from the field of curatorial studies and its possibilities within education and pedagogy based on her work around embodiment and learning.
Dr Shikha Rajpurohit, Assistant Professor, Philosophy, SIAS has been awarded the Tagore National Scholarship, given for a period of two years by the Ministry of Culture, GOI. Dr Rajpurohit will be working under the aegis of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune to critically edit the Nidarśana commentary of Rājānaka Ānanda on Kāvyaprakāśa. The commentary was written in the 17th century of which eight manuscripts are known to exist till date. The edition will be useful for researchers working in the fields of Sanskrit poetics and Indian philosophy.
