Invited Speakers

Prof. Gita Surie

Adelphi University, New York, USA

Dr. Gita Surie is a Professor of Strategy and Innovation at Adelphi University's Robert B. Willumstad School of Business. She has served as Associate Dean, Chair of the Department of Management, and Director of the Don Center for Innovative Technologies. A Senior Fellow at the Mack Institute, Wharton School, she holds a PhD from Wharton and an MA from Columbia University. Her research spans globalization, innovation ecosystems, and renewable energy, with a Fulbright-Nehru grant to study rural energy in India. Dr. Surie has worked with the UN, Control Data Corporation, and The Economist Group.

Prof. Alexander Brem

University of Stuttgart, Germany

Prof. Alexander Brem is Endowed Chaired Professor of Entrepreneurship in Technology and Digitalization, funded through the Mercedes-Benz Foundation of the Stifterverband, and Director of the Institute of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Science (ENI) at the University of Stuttgart. He is also an Honorary Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Southern Denmark. His research on technological innovation and entrepreneurship is acknowledged with being listed in various rankings as one of the most research-intensive business and management professors worldwide. He has been Vice Rector for Science Transfer and International Affairs since October 2024. Further information is available at www.eni.uni-stuttgart.de/en

Dr. Kostadin Kolarov

Institute of Entrepreneurship, UNWE, Bulgaria

Dr. Kostadin Kolarov is the Acting Director – Institute of Entrepreneurship, University of National and World Economy, Bulgaria. The University envisages itself as a leader among higher schools in Southeastern Europe educating students and conducting research in the field of economics, management and administration

Prof. Avvari Mohan

Monash University, Malaysia

Dr. Avvari V. Mohan is a Professor of Innovation and Strategy and Deputy Head (Engagement & Impact) at Monash University Malaysia. His research focuses on innovation systems and sustainable development. He has published in international journals and reports for agencies like UN-ESCAP and UNESCO. Dr. Mohan is Associate Editor-in-Chief of the *Asian Journal of Technology Innovation* and serves on editorial boards of other innovation-focused journals. He has also contributed as a resource person for workshops on entrepreneurship and innovation.

Dr. Taslimarif Saiyed

Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), Bangalore

Dr. Joanna Stryjek

Warsaw School of Economics, Poland

Joanna Stryjek is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of International Studies at SGH Warsaw School of Economics (SGH) in Poland. Her education covers degrees in: Political Science (bachelo’s, Uppsala University, Sweden); Economic and Political International Relations (master’s, double diploma – SGH and Sciences-Po Paris); Finance and Banking (master’s, SGH); economics (PhD, SGH). She specializes in innovation policy, national innovation systems, start-up ecosystems, and the economic, political and security aspects of the problem of air pollution. Dr. Stryjek participated in research and educational projects funded e.g. by the European Commission, the National Bank of Poland, and Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education. In the years 2016-2020, she was the Vice-Dean of Undergraduate Studies (SGH).

Dr. Nirmalya Bagchi

ASCI Business School

Dr. Nirmalya Bagchi is the Director General (I/c), Director for PGDM, Professor and Director Centre for Management Studies at Administrative Staff College of India. He holds a PhD in Business Management and a master’s in business management. He has been working with the Administrative Staff College of India since September 2006, first as an Associate Professor till October 2012 and after his promotion in November 2012, as Professor. Dr Bagchi has worked on important assignments sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Defence Research and Development Organisation, EU, UNICEF, RBI, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Commonwealth Secretariat, among others. Dr Bagchi’s current research interests are in the areas of innovation and its management, R&D management, economics of R&D and innovation, and strategic management of technology.

Dr. Bhaskar Bhowmick

IIT Kharagpur

"Prof. Bhowmick is presently working as Associate Professor in Rajendra Mishra School of Engineering Entrepreneurship, while as Associated faculty in Center of Excellence for Safety Engineering and Analytics IIT Kharagpur. He is working as Rector Nominee at Technology Student Gymkhana, while also worked as Convener of Institute Innovation Council. He is instrumental in few important National level projects for Innovation, Technology Development & Transfer at IIT Kharagpur. Prof. Bhowmick has industry experience of 13 years, in Indian Multinationals in building new products, marketing, and managing new businesses. He has published in several journals of repute with his students. "

Prof. Charan Singh

CEO and Founder Director, EGROW Foundation

Dr. Charan Singh is the CEO and Founder Director, EGROW Foundation. He is also the Non-Executive Chairman of Punjab & Sind Bank. He continues to pursue his academic interests by regularly teaching courses on Macro, Monetary Policy, Global Economics (International Finance) and contemporary issues on Indian Economy at IIM Visakhapatnam and IIM Rohtak.

Earlier, he was the RBI Chair Professor of Economics at the prestigious Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, India; Senior Economist at the IMF, Washington DC (August 2009-December 2012); and Research Director (Economic Policy, Debt Management; 1997-2009) at the RBI where he joined as Research Officer in the economics department in 1984. He started his career in 1983 as management trainee in Punjab National Bank. Among other positions, Dr Singh served on the Board of NHB and NABFINS.

Prof Jagannadha Pawan Tamvada

Kingston Business School, UK

Professor Jagannadha Pawan leads the Responsible Innovation Sustainability Entrepreneurship (RISE) research excellence hub at Kingston Business School, London. His interdisciplinary research spans entrepreneurship, strategy, innovation, AI/digitalization, and sustainability. For his research, he has received the Kauffman Foundation Best Paper Award at the Academy of Management, the Otto-Hahn Medal from the Max Planck Society in Germany, and the DRUID Best Dissertation Award in Denmark. He is also co-founder of iPowerz, an enterprise platform for micro and small business growth, and serves as a Steward at the Council for Inclusive Capitalism.

Dr. Lakshmi Jagannathan

IIIT Bangalore

Dr. Lakshmi Jagannathan is currently the CEO of IIIT Bangalore Innovation Centre a not for profit Technology Business Incubator, hosted by IIIT B Bangalore . She has been instrumental in envisioning the Incubation Programs in multiple incubation centres across the country and has supported close to 250 startup across various stages of their lifecycle. A passionate startup ecosystem and incubation professional who firmly believes that ideas have to be nurtured, fostered to build businesses of tomorrow. A seasoned professional in the incubation ecosystem, her expertise is in establishing processes, metrics and scaling up the incubation activities.

Dr. Amitendu Palit

Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS, Singapore

Dr. Amitendu Palit is Senior Research Fellow and Research Lead (Trade & Economics) at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. An economist specializing in international trade, FTAs, supply chains, and the Indian economy, he previously served in India's Ministry of Finance. He is also a Senior Associate Research Fellow at ISPI (Italy) and Adjunct Faculty at the Centre for WTO Studies, IIFT (India). Dr. Palit is a columnist for *Financial Express* and a regular expert for Channel News Asia, BBC, and Bloomberg.

Prof. Arun D Upadhyay

Florida International University, Miami, USA

Prof. Arun Upadhyay is the Knight Ridder Eminent Endowed Chair and Professor of Finance at Florida International University. His expertise lies in corporate finance and governance, with a focus on leadership, board structure, financial reporting, and executive compensation. He has published extensively in top journals like *The Accounting Review* and *Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis*. Prior to academia, he worked in commercial banking and holds a Ph.D. from Temple University. He has also received teaching and research awards at previous institutions and served on the Investment Advisory Commission of Anchorage.

Prof. Rekha Rao-Nicholson

Essex Business School, UK

Rekha Rao-Nicholson is a Professor of Management at the University of Essex. She holds degrees in Electronics & Telecommunication, Software Engineering, and a PhD in Economics and Management. Her research focuses on business strategy, cross-border acquisitions, and public-private partnerships in emerging economies. Prior to Essex, she held academic roles at Newcastle University, Bristol Business School, and the University of Bath. She has received several grants, including from SPARC (India), BA-Leverhulme, and ESRC. Before academia, she worked in large MNCs and startups, including Siemens and Metaware Spa, and consulted on business development in emerging markets.

Dr. Sujit Bhattacharya

CSIR - NIScPR

Prof (Dr.) Sujit Bhattacharya is Chief Scientist and Dean Policy Research at CSIR-NIScPR and Professor in AcSIR and Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Scientometric Research. He has PhD from IIT-Delhi and MSc (Physics) from Delhi University. His main area of work is in STI Policy Studies, Scientometrics, and IPR. He has more than twenty nine years of research experience and was also Professor in Jawaharlal Nehru University. Authored over 100 research papers and co-authored/coedited 13 books and presented in important conferences globally including the Science Summit at UN78 General Assembly. Has led national and international projects, and is key member of major global STI networks

Dr. Rajeev Kamineni

Adelaide Business School, Australia

Academic Director
Adelaide Business School
Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics

Passionate about Movies and Education, fortunate to work in both the industries. Proven leadership and senior management skills in higher education and movie industry. Dynamic, mature, self-starter with outstanding communication and people skills. Unique blend of international experience in Australia and India, with start up businesses, teaching, retail, education, theatre, media and entertainment experience. Teaching experience across several international markets including Australia, Dubai, India, Japan, Singapore and South Africa. Phd in movie entrepreneurship, demonstrated ability to provide high quality academic leadership through the support and mentoring of academic staff. Instrumental in launching a MBA program and redesigning another MBA. Networking and business development are major strengths with excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills including cross-cultural communication abilities

Prof. Arun Kumar G

IIT Madras, Chennai

Prof. Arun is a Professor in the Department of Management Studies at IIT Madra. Presently, his research focuses on evidence-based impact evaluation for international development. He collaborates with various developmental organizations on these issues. His research interests include corporate governance and valuation, particularly e-business. He teaches Accounting, Corporate Valuation, Project Finance, and Governance to Master's and doctoral students. Arun has co-authored three books, including one on Management Accounting with Atkinson and Robert Kaplan. He is the recipient of the "Best Teacher" award at IIT Madras.He has completed numerous consulting and training assignments for clients in India and abroad. He served as Head of the Department from 2019 to 2022. He has also spent few years at School of Management, AIT, Thailand.