Take Two- Diversity Dialogues

Take Two- Diversity Dialogues

A veteran from the area of Strategy and Management, Prof Shobha Das,  Area Chair – Strategic Management, IFMR GSB, got on a Zoom call with an Ethnomusicologist, Prof Sumitra Ranganathan, Senior Assistant Professor of Music, SIAS. What followed was an exchange from worlds intersected, in stark contrast yet drawing the parallels.

Prof Shobha and Prof Sumitra got together for a special exchange of ideas and perspectives on the occasion of International Women’s Day, tracing the similarities and differences in their lives as academics and as women from diverse fields. Paving the way for an interesting dialogue, Prof Shobha Das drew attention to how arts and management are considered to be siloed as two different worlds but yet share deep commonalities. In agreement Prof Sumitra explained how this is innate to the consciousness at Krea, how habits of the creative mind come together in almost all domains.

Drawing on her life as an academic, Prof Shobha spoke about how academia is synonymous with her identity, more so than being a woman. Academia has allowed her to explore, interact with different people and learn about things, about how it affirmed there is no ‘me’ in academics.  While Prof Sumitra pondered on her identity at the intersection of arts and academics, her journey from being a theoretical physicist to the  world of IT and finally to the shift in academics, and how it made the most sense in a space such as Krea University. She expressed how she felt closest to home in academia, where the active churning rarely stops, and spills over.

“The artist in me expresses it in this way, my shift into academics happened following a song, it was a beautiful dhrupad I learnt from the Maharajas of Bettiah, composed by them. And following that song is how I decided I will do my PhD in music and then I made a transition and there I have stayed ever since.”

Prof Sumitra expressed her amazement at women artists from traditional communities who have always had to manage their time and demands made at them as a person. Prof Shobha drew the analogy to the field of management, to what is labeled ‘The Great Resignation’ in the post pandemic era.

“More women have resigned than men because women have realised if now they go back to the workplace, all things they have adapted to will feel astray. The onus is on them to now continue the new role but apparently the men aren’t that affected by the change in role because they probably were able to partition it still and continue to do so. The Great Resignation is greater for the women, post pandemic. We will have even fewer women in the workforce.”

Continuing the thread, Prof Sumitra spoke about the pressure women face as caregivers and how it comes into play when she seeks employment, cloaked as questions and qualms. Prof Shobha pointed out how the top 500 Fortune Companies in the United States had 8 percent women as CEOs and the top 500 companies of NSE had 5 percent as CEOs and the buck didn’t stop there, a study by IIM-A showed that the gender pay gap increased as women climbed the ladder instead of the other way round. This led to contemplation over the takeaways from the pandemic on how to bring women back to the workforce, of the awareness and the solutions.

Prof Shobha stressed on the fact of inability to delve deeper into metrics, incentives and motivation to keep higher education equally excitable for men and women. On how if one lesson from the pandemic is accessibility, the other is a question on digital divide. In Prof Shoba’s words, “A chakravyuh we need to emerge from.”

Retracing a Mnemonic for woman empowerment, something she had coined for an event in the year prior, Prof Shobha expanded STREE- Support The People Who Are Around You, the women and community members. Talk about the people and what hardships they have, stories are never hidden. Raise awareness in every forum you can. Educate yourself and others of opportunities available for women. Empower women, put power back in their hands.

Prof Sumitra added how there is a huge opportunity to bring the quality of a woman that is associated with the aspect of ‘care’ to the classroom. A need to feminise the workplace, to bring in the idea of care to the classroom where everyone cares for the other, making space differences and acknowledging that they come from various backgrounds and do not face the same challenges, to inculcate the ethics of care into enabling students, workers and colleagues.

The short conversation concluded with a pause, refraining from a full stop. With a promise for future collaborations, exchange of novel ideas and building of continuous bridges.

Please click here to view the engaging dialogue.

Nobel Laureate Dr. Esther Duflo joins Krea University’s Governing Council

Nobel Laureate Dr. Esther Duflo joins Krea University’s Governing Council

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Nobel Laureate Dr. Esther Duflo as a Member of our Governing Council.

Dr. Esther Duflo is an economist and professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She is also Co-Founder and Co-Director at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). She was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize for Economics (the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel) along with Dr. Abhijit Banerjee and Dr. Michael Kremer for developing an innovative experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.

Welcoming Dr. Esther Duflo to the Governing Council, Mr. Kapil Viswanathan, Chairman of Executive Committee & Member of Governing Council, Krea University said, “As a path-breaking scholar who has brought scientific method and rigor to the social sciences, Dr. Esther Duflo personifies Krea University’s interwoven approach to research and learning. It is a great privilege to welcome her as a member of Krea University’s governing council.”     

Commenting on her appointment, Dr. Esther Duflo said, “It is fair to say that we would not have received a Nobel prize had it not been for all the research we could do in India, thanks in large part to the support we received from Krea University’s sponsoring body since 2008.  I look forward to helping Krea University realize its mission to help humanity prepare for an unpredictable world.”

Recognising this appointment, Vice Chancellor of Krea University Dr Mahesh Rangarajan, stated “Professor Duflo is exceptional as a scholar, researcher and teacher not only for her outstanding work but equally so for the impact of her ideas on the larger world.  Her leadership and interventions also set a standard for scholars, policymakers and the public at large.”

IFMR GSB PhD scholars present papers co-authored by Prof Madhuri Saripalle at 17th CAED Conference

IFMR GSB PhD scholars present papers co-authored by Prof Madhuri Saripalle at 17th CAED Conference

We are delighted to share that Aditya Kumar and Manasi B – two PhD Scholars at IFMR GSB (Batch of 2019) – presented their individual papers at the recently concluded 17th Comparative Analysis of Enterprise Data (CAED) Conference organized by the Faculty of Economics – University of Coimbra, Portugal. 

Aditya’s paper was on “Determinants of Export Intensity in the Indian Food Industry”, and Manasi’s paper delved into the “Growth of the Indian Pharmaceutical Firms: An Empirical Analysis”. Both the papers were co-authored by Prof Madhuri Saripalle (Associate Professor at IFMR GSB). Congratulations to them!

Professor Sudip Roy elected as Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry for his contribution to the Chemical Sciences

Professor Sudip Roy elected as Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry for his contribution to the Chemical Sciences

Dr Sudip Roy, Visiting Associate Professor of Chemistry, has been elected as a Fellow to the prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry. This honour is in recognition of his significant contribution to the Chemical Sciences and extensive work with Industry and promoting industry-academia collaborations. Dr. Sudip Roy has 20 years of experience in research and innovation. Dr. Roy obtained his Ph.D. in chemical sciences from the University of Saarland in Germany followed by post-doctoral work at Technical University Darmstadt, Germany. He is a Chevening fellow 2019 and studied management of research, science, and innovation at the University of Oxford.

‘Krea Lecture Series: Environmental Studies’ with Dr R Brawin Kumar | 28 Sept, 6.30 PM IST

‘Krea Lecture Series: Environmental Studies’ with Dr R Brawin Kumar | 28 Sept, 6.30 PM IST

In the world of mammals inhabiting the Indian subcontinent, the Madras Hedgehog is very poorly studied. Did you know that, unlike porcupines, the hedgehog’s spines are not easily detachable, and it rolls its fur-clad face and abdomen into a complete ball of spines in defence?  

Join Dr R Brawin Kumar (National Post Doctoral Fellow – School of Biology, IISER Tirupati) for an insightful and ‘edgy’ lecture — titled “The untold story of my spiny neighbour – The Madras Hedgehog!” — exploring the few species of hedgehogs in India, sharing interesting facts about them, and explaining why efforts need to be doubled towards studying these fascinating creatures.

The ‘Krea Lecture Series: Environmental Studies’ is a forum to share research and ongoing work in the broad domain of environmental issues and climate change. The series invites speakers to explore these themes from multiple dimensions including but not limited to climate science, conservation, policy, culture, social movements and more. 

This lecture is open to all. Register here: https://krea-edu-in.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMscu-gpzooGtRWQu3ulqF1OmZPFSrnPqgm

Prof Chirag Dhara to share insights on education for climate action at the ‘International Conference on Sustainable Development 2021’ | Today @ 10.30 PM IST

Prof Chirag Dhara to share insights on education for climate action at the ‘International Conference on Sustainable Development 2021’ | Today @ 10.30 PM IST

Prof Chirag Dhara, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Krea University, will present at the ‘International Conference on Sustainable Development 2021’ along with Prof Vandana Singh from Framingham University, USA. In line with the theme of the conference – ‘Education for Climate Action: Towards an SDG 4.7 Roadmap for Systems Change’ – their presentation (titled ‘Why Transformative Education Must Address the Problem of Endless Exponential Economic Growth’) aims to provide a conceptual scaffolding around which learning frameworks may be developed to make room for diverse alternative paths to truly sustainable social-ecological cultures. Their presentation is based on a book chapter that they have contributed to an upcoming edited volume on the same theme, to be published by UNESCO.

For more information about the conference, visit: https://ic-sd.org/

‘AIMA India Case Research Centre’ publishes marketing management case study by IFMR GSB professor in their latest issue

‘AIMA India Case Research Centre’ publishes marketing management case study by IFMR GSB professor in their latest issue

The AIMA India Case Research Centre, a well-known portal focusing on developing and publishing industry based India-focused research cases, has published a marketing management case study by Prof Sathya Saminadan, Assistant Professor at IFMR GSB – Krea University. The case study titled ‘Sustaining the Market Share Against the Branded Firms in an Unorganized Sector’, explores several unorthodox marketing and relationship strategies used by an entrepreneur against branded firms. The case study also highlights the realities of the market, a perspective that would serve well for management students. 

Read the case study here: https://www.caseresearchaima.in/frontend/product_display/390

How effective is the ‘net-zero’ concept when it comes to tackling carbon emission and climate change? Prof Soumyajit Bhar explores the repercussions of increased technology-dependence

How effective is the ‘net-zero’ concept when it comes to tackling carbon emission and climate change? Prof Soumyajit Bhar explores the repercussions of increased technology-dependence

Net-zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere. While this has been incorporated by governments and corporations to keep the rising global temperature under 1.5 degrees Celsius, the concept has been critiqued by multiple climate scientists for a number of reasons.

Addressing the possible outcomes of this concept, Prof Soumyajit Bhar – Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Krea – pens an important piece for ‘Down to Earth’ Magazine on the importance of collectively charting pathways to reduce our consumption demands and the need to adopt non-materialistic ways to seek human fulfilment.

Read the full article here: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/climate-change/is-net-zero-concept-zeroing-in-on-climate-change-a-sustainable-consumption-critique-78252

How and Why India’s Climate will Change in the Coming Decades: Prof Chirag Dhara explores the impact and risks of climate change in an article for ‘The India Forum’

How and Why India’s Climate will Change in the Coming Decades: Prof Chirag Dhara explores the impact and risks of climate change in an article for ‘The India Forum’

Prof Chirag Dhara, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Krea University, co-authored an important article on climate change and its effect on India for ‘The India Forum’ – a journal-magazine known for covering contemporary issues. Placing an emphasis on regional climate assessments, the authors look at the findings released by the Department of Science and Technology and analyse the potential impacts that await the country.

Read the article here: 

https://www.theindiaforum.in/article/how-and-why-india-s-climate-will-change-coming-decades

The state of Sundarbans amidst a pandemic, calamity, and ecological crisis – Prof Kalpita Bhar Paul pens a thought-provoking article for ‘Mongabay’

The state of Sundarbans amidst a pandemic, calamity, and ecological crisis – Prof Kalpita Bhar Paul pens a thought-provoking article for ‘Mongabay’

Prof Kalpita Bhar Paul, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Krea University, has authored a powerful piece on how Covid-19, cyclones and conservation programmes, in the past 18 months, have altered the economy, ecology and occupations of people in Indian Sundarbans. Highlighting the biodiversity conservation and the developmental activities that have changed the livelihood patterns there, this article was published as an opinion piece on ‘Mongabay’ – a US-based conservation and environmental science news platform. 

Read the article here: https://india.mongabay.com/2021/07/commentary-challenges-of-conservation-cyclones-and-covid-19-in-the-lives-of-sundarban-residents/