RESEARCH
SPECIALIZATIONS

At Vidyashilp University, there are three schools that have been established with an interdisciplinary framework. Explore the areas of research under each of these schools, supervised by our faculty community of Leaders and Luminaries.

SCHOOL OF COMPUTATIONAL AND DATA SCIENCES

SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS AND DESIGN STUDIES

SCHOOL OF COMPUTATIONAL
AND DATA SCIENCES

Explainable and Interpretable AI

Auto Neural Network Architecture

Context Extraction for Hierarchical Organization of Videos in the Educational Domain

Semantic Textual Similarity

Visible Light Drive Efficient Catalytic Dye Degradation

Hydrogen Evolution by Water Splitting

Toxic / Irritant Gas Sensors

Fractional Calculus

Wavelets

Combining Data From Different Sources and Making Robust Inferences

Typically, an organization makes strategic decisions based on various information/ data that exist internally as well as data obtained from other external resources. The Big Data tools/ platforms such as Hadoop, Storm, HPCC Systems etc., help in putting these data together in a form that can be used for analysis. For example, information related to the performance of a product may be pulled from various sources such as proprietary and syndicated surveys (structured data), report/ reviews, field incidence data (repair data), and through unstructured sources such as web blogs, social media etc. In order to get a holistic understanding of the product’s field performance, we need to use the data from different sources differently. The existing data science methods cannot as yet handle combining multiple, heterogeneous sources of data to build a single, accurate model (see “Ten Research Challenge areas in Data Science” by Wing J M published in Harvard Data Science Review, Sep 30, 2020). Bounding the uncertainty of a data model is exacerbated when built from multiple, possibly unrelated data sources. More pragmatically, standardization of data types and data formats could reduce undesired or unnecessary heterogeneity. In this work, we plan to develop Data Science methodologies including data cleansing, standardizing and estimating the desired parameters based on the combined data by minimizing bias induced by the external and internal sources so that organizations can draw robust inferences and take appropriate decisions.

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Prof. R. P. Suresh

Prof. R.P. Suresh is an award-winning Data Scientist and highly distinguished expert with over three decades of experience in the industry and academia. He is currently the Principal Director in Supply Chain Analytics at Accenture Applied Intelligence. He is also a consultant with numerous organisations like the Department of Telecommunications (Govt. of India), WIPRO, Kirloskar Cummins, TATA Tea, Hindustan Newspapers and IES Officers Training, among many others.

Prof. Suresh holds a Ph.D. in Statistics and was bestowed the ‘Young Statistician Award’ by the Indian Society of Probability and Statistics. During his academic and professional journey, he wore many hats. He was a faculty at IIM Kozhikode for over a decade and also a researcher at General Motors R&D Centre, India. He has been a visiting faculty and guest lecturer at institutes including Victoria University of Wellington, Indian Institute of Science, and Indian Statistical Institute.

Prof. Suresh is a two-time gold medallist and has received awards including GM India President’s honour. He has refereed over 27 professional journals and contributed to several conferences and trade inventions.

Prerequisites

Essential: Master’s degree in Statistics/ Computer Science

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Predicting Failures Beyond Warranty

In the automotive and high-tech industries, it is of interest to predict failures of products and components to help engineers, financial managers and supply chain managers to take appropriate warranty decisions (e.g., extension of warranty), determine warranty reserve fund and stock levels of spare parts, provide alerts to customers, and arrive at bulk replacement or recall decisions. For most components, the manufacturers have the failures data only until the warranty period, and the data that exist beyond warranty period are not very reliable or largely incomplete. Hence the prediction of failures beyond warranty period needs to be based primarily on failure data during warranty period. Some parametric based prediction models (see, e.g., “Weibull Prediction Intervals for a Future Number of Failures by Nordman and Meeker, Technometrics, 2002, Vol 44, p 15-23), Ebrahami E (Reliability Engineering and System Safety, 2009) exist in the literature by estimating the parameters based on the data till the warranty period. However, since typically, only 3-4% of items / parts fail in the warranty period, such parameter estimates may not be reliable.

In this research, it is proposed to develop new methodologies to estimate the failures beyond the warranty by considering a number of variables as well as more sophisticated Machine Learning Methodologies.

Methods: Literature Survey, Data Collection, Data Analysis and Statistics, Simulation and Computation

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Prof. R. P. Suresh

Prerequisites

Essential: Master’s degree in Statistics/ Computer Science

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Research Portfolio: Chaos and Synchronization of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems

Study of Reliability of AI systems

Artificial Intelligence is now seen in every activity, and has been playing a major role in everyday life. These systems have allowed one to go beyond limited human cognitive ability into understanding the complexity in the high dimensional data. For example, medical sciences have seen a steady use of these methods but have been slow in adoption to improve patient care (see, e.g., Balagurunathan, Mitchell and Naga (2021) “Requirteemnts and Reliability of AI in medical context” Physica Media, Vol 83, p 72-78). There are some significant impediments that have diluted this effort, which include availability of curated diverse data sets for model building, reliable human-level interpretation of these models, and reliable reproducibility of these methods for routine clinical use. Similar is the case in other application areas as well, such as Finance, Operations etc. Maintaining high reliability of the components of the AI systems, and of the AI system itself, are needed, so as to increase the usability and to increase the confidence among the users/ customers of the products/ services delivered by AI systems. This project aims to identify various components of Reliability of AI systems and develop methods to ensure highly reliable AI systems.

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Prof. R. P. Suresh

Prerequisites

Essential: Master’s degree in Statistics/ Computer Science

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Intelligent Supply Chain models with social media and other external inputs

SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS
AND DESIGN STUDIES

International Economics

Development Economics – Health, Labour, Environment, Women, Rural & Urban

Dr. Amrita Ghatak is an Associate Professor of Economics in the School of Liberal Arts and Design Studies at the Vidyashilp University (VU). Before joining VU, she was an Assistant Professor at the Gujarat Institute of Development Research (GIDR), an ICSSR and Govt of Gujarat supported research institute in Ahmedabad. She also worked as Research Associate at various organizations such as Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), New Delhi and Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore. She submitted her PhD thesis in 2012 to the Mysore University through Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore. She received the doctoral degree in 2013. Her PhD topic was "Health, Labour Supply and Wages: A Study in West Bengal". Her Ph.D thesis was adjudged to be the best and subsequently conferred with the prestigious V.K.R.V. Rao award for the best thesis submitted during the period 2009-14 at ISEC, Bangalore. After her Ph.D degree, she worked on the topic of low carbon growth path in Kolkata city as part of a Postdoctoral fellowship at the Global Change Programme, Jadavpur University.

Given her training, experience and expertise in the field of inclusive development focusing on economic well-being, health, environment, labour and women in both urban and rural contexts. Recently she developed interest in the behavioural economics and capability approach of inclusive human development. She believes that both these subjects have a huge scope in making contribution not only to academia, but also to public policy and social parlance. While theoretically and methodologically she is inclined to include behavioural aspects and capabilities using both quantitative and qualitative techniques, the contexts of her interest include inclusive development emphasising economic wellbeing, health, environment, labour and women in both city or its hinterland and villages.

Her research and consultancy projects are supported by various government, non-government and international organisations including the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE), Departments of Rural Development and Department of Women and Child Development, Foundation of Ecological Securities (FES), Gujarat Institute of Development Research (GIDR) and the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). The reports were well-received by the funders. The research and consultancy projects have been culminated in the research articles, published in reputed journals, books and the print media. They also have provided inputs to the government for policy formulation.

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr. Amrita Ghatak

Economic and welfare implications of health, nutrition, sanitation and capabilities in rural and/or urban contexts.

Pre-requisite degrees in Economics / Statistics / Biostatistics Development Studies / Development Economics / Quantitative Economics / Population Sciences / Engineering / Community Medicines / Public Health.

Candidates are expected to be interested in supply side or demand side factors of health/nutrition/sanitation using theoretical concepts from health economics, economics of welfare, capability approaches and so on with the help of data from various secondary and primary sources. The candidate is expected to work in the areas of economic implications of occupational/environmental health, or nutrition or sanitation. The candidate should be willing to learn and apply how health is conceptualised in economic welfare. S/he should be willing to use data from both the primary and secondary sources; and hence should be willing to take- up primary survey/field works as part of the Ph.D study. S/he should be willing to apply both quantitative and qualitative techniques of research as and when necessary. So, familiarity with quantitative techniques is an added advantage.

Labour process in agriculture, plantation, gig and platforms and the informal sector in rural and/or urban contexts.

Pre-requisite degrees in Economics / Political Sciences / Political Economics / Statistics / Development Studies / Development Economics / Quantitative Economics / Engineering / Management Sciences / Law – Labour laws.

Candidates are expected to be familiar with/interested in the labour process theories of not only neoclassical economics but also the Marxian and other approaches of labour. They should be willing to learn and use the data available with secondary sources and also to take- up field works/primary survey as part of the study. S/he should be willing to apply both quantitative and qualitative techniques of research as and when necessary. So, familiarity with quantitative techniques is an added advantage.

Management of Common Properties and Common Resources, particularly land in rural and/or urban contexts.

Pre-requisite degrees in Economics / Statistics / Development Studies / Development Economics /Quantitative Economics / Institutional Economics / Ecological Economics / Environmental Economics/ Political Economics.

Candidates are expected to be familiar with/interested in the theories of common property resource management/natural resource management. S/he should be interested in the concepts of institutions and behaviour in economics. S/he should be familiar with/interested in learning and applying concepts of stated preference, revealed preference, payment for ecological services, travel-cost methods, etc. suitably. S/he should be willing to undertake primary survey/field work and use both qualitative and quantitative approaches of research. Familiarity with quantitative techniques is an added advantage.

Linking economic well-being and occupancy pattern or transformation of urban public spaces

Pre-requisite degrees in Economics / Statistics / Development Studies / Development Economics / Architecture / Design Studies / Sociology / Anthropology / Urban Studies / Engineering / Planning and Public Policy / Political Economics.

Candidates are expected to be familiar with the concept of urban public spaces going beyond the functional paradigm. The recent settlement patterns in the cities are often observed to generate homogenous urban public spaces. The candidate is therefore expected to be willing to explore the links between transformation of urban public spaces through occupancy patterns and other parameters with the economic well-being of city dwellers. S/he is expected to learn and apply concepts of behavioural economics and well-being and willing to gather information through the field work. Familiarity with both qualitative and quantitative techniques is an added advantage.

Social securities and economic welfare of marginalised sections including women, third gender, elderly, children, Adivasi and so on.

Pre-requisite degrees in Economics / Statistics / Development Studies / Development Economics / Sociology / Anthropology / Engineering / Planning and Public Policy / Political Economics / Political Sciences.

Candidates are expected to be familiar with the concepts and rationale of social security in India and other countries. They are expected to learn and apply the role of social security in wellbeing of, particularly marginalised section, in both developing and developed countries in rural and urban contexts. They should be willing to use data from both secondary and primary sources and should be familiar with both qualitative and quantitative of research.

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Indian Economy: Assessment of Foreign Market Entry Options for Small Businesses in Rural India

The Relation Between Perceptual Grouping and Visual Attention

Perceptual Grouping and Counting

Perceptual and Visual Working Memory

Sociology / Anthropology of Marriage and Kinship

Migration and South Asian Diasporas

Phenomenology of Religion

Urban Studies

English Literature, with a focus on Interdisciplinary Studies

Ethnic American women’s fiction: Cultural studies about the United States have always focused on covert racial overtones that “non-white” ethnic sections have historically faced and still face while adjusting to a new life in the U.S. Thanks to social media, those of us who are not living in mainland U.S.A. are quite knowledgeable about incidents that take place on a daily basis that can be categorized as “race” or “hate” crimes. Such incidents are also captured in the domain of literature. After the overhaul of the immigration system in 1965, the influx of diverse ethnic and national groups in the U.S. has given rise to a section of authors who do not identify as mainstream and generally do not wish to be categorized as “canonical”. This research project focuses on the work of such contemporary women authors (1980-present) who are pushing back against the staunch system of canons in the United States and carving a niche for themselves. The driving questions of this research project are broadly: (i) what are the main themes of the works of such authors? (ii) are there any similarities (stylistic and thematic) between the works of these women authors? (iii) do these women identify as “American” or “hyphenated Americans”, and what does this sort of identification do for their works? (iv) how do their works portray the American society? Is there a sense of alienation?

Transnationalism: Generally, transnationalism refers to a social phenomenon where migrants are operational in social fields that cross geographic and cultural borders. This process takes into account the receding rigidity of geographic borders and dismantles the concept of nation states. Transnationalism has also gained importance in the field of Literature. It is hard to come up with a definition for Transnational Literature, but it can be broadly said that this is a particular type of literature which focuses on a set of themes associated with decolonization, hybridity, globalization, postmodernity, cosmopolitanism, diaspora, History, identity, migration, and technology (this is not an exhaustive list by any means). Renowned authors like Jhumpa Lahiri, Derek Walcott, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Wole Soyinka and many more focus on issues and themes that are associated with the Transnational sphere. This research project focuses on such Transnational writing with the broad aim of investigating ways in which Transnational authors engage with the sense of “belonging” and the pivotal question of “where is home?”

Trauma and Memory Studies: According to Michelle Balaev, “psychological trauma, its representation in language, and the role of memory in shaping individual and cultural identities are the central concerns that define the field of trauma studies.” Trauma, both individual and collective, has far-reaching effects in the field of literature. This research project looks closely at the representation of mass trauma arising from major wars, such as WW I and II, the Balkan War, the Afghan War, and others, not excluding the many civil wars that the world has seen over the past century or so. The main thrust of this research project is an investigation of the ways this specific set of mass trauma is represented in literary works and the different ways narrative techniques are used to invoke these deep-set emotions. The project is premised on the overlap between trauma and memory and the myriad ways in which the cyclical recall of traumatic memory is the driving force of a narrative. The main research questions of this project are (i) in what ways does the representation of trauma by different authors differ? (ii) apart from the overarching theme of trauma, are there any stylistic or thematic similarities between these works, (iii) what sort of narrative techniques are used to represent these complex set of emotions, and finally, (iv) what are the interconnected ways through which representation of this specific type of mass trauma leads to remediation.

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr. Tania Islam

tania.i@vidyashilp.edu.in

Assistant Professor, School of Liberal Arts and Design Studies

Dr. Tania Islam is an Assistant Professor in the School of Liberal Arts and Design Studies at Vidyashilp University. She received her Ph.D. in English from Temple University (Philadelphia, U.S.A.) in 2022. Even though she earned her Doctorate in the field of English Literature, her research interests have always been diverse and interdisciplinary in nature. Her doctoral thesis titled “Things Left Unsaid: Historical Silences and Multiethnic Women’s Fiction” looked at the interconnections between immigrant trauma and narratology. While at Temple University, Dr. Islam taught diverse courses on academic writing, popular and contemporary fiction, food culture, and the detective novel. She received the highly-competitive Center for the Humanities (at Temple University) Advanced Scholar fellowship for the 2021-22 academic year for her doctoral research project. At Vidyashilp, Dr. Islam plans to expand upon her doctoral thesis and do more research on the interconnections between oral storytelling and memory.

Dr. Islam taught diverse courses on academic writing, popular and contemporary fiction, food culture, and the detective novel. She received the highly-competitive Center for the Humanities (at Temple University) Advanced Scholar fellowship for the 2021-22 academic year for her doctoral research project. At Vidyashilp, Dr. Islam plans to expand upon her doctoral thesis and do more research on the interconnections between oral storytelling and memory.

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Cultures and Literatures in English from Northeast India

As a social, political and cultural category, the Northeast of India is a deeply contested discursive terrain. At once removed from and, simultaneously, a hypervisualised “other” to the mainstream, the Northeastern region of the country elicits moments of subliminal awe (such as is the case of the NE as a tourist destination) and on-ground realities of resource extraction, indigenous land rights and ethno-nationalist politics. Such perspectives of the Northeastern region of India—as evinced in the work of scholars such as Sanjib Baruah, Bengt G. Karlsson, Dolly Kikon and others—offer insights into the modernisation of the region with literatures in English being one of the key manifestations of modernity in the Northeast. The questions that research in this area would hope to engage in are:

what is the impact of modernity—propagated through law, policies and politics—on the cultural production in the region?

what has changed, since British rule, to how the Northeast is viewed as a cultural category?

how do literatures and cultures from the Northeast address the idea of the “universal”?

Gendered Narratology

While Paul Ricoeur had famously declared that stories map the human experience of time, topics for research in this area will intend to show how women disrupt historical time and patriarchal narratives through their recourse to memory, affect and body-centred storytelling. Beginning with Hélѐne Cixous’ écriture féminine, research in this area would extend to cultural forms that are transgressive, cyclical and woman-centred in their approach to storytelling. Additionally, the research will also address the negotiations that women make with the historical processes that form the undercurrent to how their stories/narratives are heard and why.

African American Culture and Literature

Using the epistemological, phenomenological and ontological approaches to the study of African American cultural production, this area of research intends to examine the interchanges between African American art forms such as music, fine arts and performance with literature. Taking after the critical insights of Houston A. Baker, Jr., Angela Y. Davis, Tricia Rose and Ralph Ellison, among others, research in this area will address the continued relevance of African American cultural production and literature within the current, global context.

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

JOBETH ANN WARJRI

jobeth.a@vidyashilp.edu.in

Jobeth Ann Warjri holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from the Department of English, University of Hyderabad. She is a two-time recipient of the Zubaan-Sasakawa Peace Foundation Grant for Young Researchers from the Northeast in 2018-2019 and 2022-2023. Her doctoral thesis examined how cultural, linguistic and historical losses encourage kinship affiliations and belonging in the writings of Maya Angelou. Apart from literature, she is interested in how other cultural forms—music, performance, storytelling, art and films—communicate belonging through their appeal to intersectional racial, gendered and national identities in ways that are also universal.

Pre-requisites:

A background in humanities and/or the social sciences and a research proposal under the preferred area of study.

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Religiosity and Well-being: An inter-disciplinary exploration of personal and social perspectives
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Religiosity and Well-being: An inter-disciplinary exploration of personal and social perspectives

This research project explores the relationship between religiosity and well-being, broadly conceived. It adopts a comparative and inter-disciplinary approach by weaving psychological and social-anthropological perspectives. In particular, the research seeks to document diverse religious practices and experiences, and their relationships to people’s sense of well-being. The research intends to explore such practices across diverse religious traditions in India. Within the broad fields of Psychology, religious and spiritual practices and faith have been indicated to influence well-being directly and indirectly. Gratitude, forgiveness, purpose, meaning and social support have been identified by research studies as mediating factors for well-being. However, the defining features of these factors remain understudied, especially in the Indian context. Additionally, this study also aims to understand personality dispositions of the participants, their coping behaviours and the efficacy of existing subjective well-being scales. Although many research studies show a positive relationship between religiosity and well-being, the mechanisms remain poorly understood because of the participant groups and methods they employ. Also, psychiatrists are turning to this research as the dimension of religious practice can be explored for therapeutic purposes (especially for those who already hold religious beliefs). Studies on religiosity and spiritual practices have a long history within anthropology of religion. In the broad area of scholarship in religious studies, scholars have repudiated monotheist conceptions of religion and highlighted that it is not a sui generis category, but a shorthand to encapsulate multiplicity of practices that underpin people’s everyday worlds. Studies have highlighted the entanglements of these everyday worlds with ritual, social order and group politics, or have explored the phenomenological experiences of devotion, rituals and intimacies. In particular, ritual healing through trance or divine possessions have highlighted the social and cultural elements of well-being. The anthropological inquiry of this research project is located in people’s everyday experiences. While the relationship of devotion between the deity and devotee has been explored within phenomenology of religion, the relations in the everyday religious worlds through communities, rituals and intimacies are under-explored in the urban contexts of Karnataka, which this study seeks to explore.

Research approach:

The research is currently located in the state of Karnataka, India. It adopts qualitative social research methods such as ethnographic fieldwork, participant interviews and historical analyses. The Principal Investigators of this project are Dr Setu Havanur and Dr Ranjana Raghunathan, whose academic backgrounds are in Psychology and Sociology/Anthropology respectively.
PhD Candidate profile:

We are seeking doctoral candidates to work on this research project. The ideal candidate will have at least a master’s degree in Psychology, Sociology/Anthropology, Social work, History or allied fields in the social sciences and humanities. Research interests or experience in qualitative research methodologies is required.

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr. Ranjana Raghunathan

Ranjana Raghunathan is an Assistant Professor in the School of Liberal Arts and Design Studies at Vidyashilp University, Bangalore. Her research interests are in Anthropology of Kinship & Relatedness, Phenomenology of Religion, Everyday Life, and Urban Ethnography. She received her PhD in 2020 from the National University of Singapore (NUS), where she also taught undergraduate courses. Ranjana has conducted ethnographic field research in Singapore and Mumbai, where she explored issues of home/belonging, intimacies, religion and marginalization. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes. Her doctoral thesis won the Ground-breaking Subject Matter Accolade at the International Convention of Asia Scholars Book Prize 2021 and the Best PhD Dissertation in South Asian Studies award in NUS for 2020.

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr. Setu Havanur

Dr. Setu Havanur is an Assistant Professor in the School of Liberal Arts and Design Studies at Vidyashilp University. She comes with over 5 years of teaching experience mainly at undergraduate level but also briefly at postgraduate level. Throughout her career, her focus has been on enriching the classroom experience, especially in the context of teaching Psychology. Her most recent experience comes from working in a dementia research project at the prestigious National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS). Dr. Setu Havanur completed her masters in cognitive science from Centre for Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences (University of Allahabad) and earned her PhD from University of Birmingham, UK. Her broad research interests lie in the areas of cognition, pedagogy and mental health. When she is not teaching or doing research, she loves reading, embroidering, cooking, trekking and singing.

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Urban Ethnography around Neighbourhoods in Bangalore
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Urban Ethnography around Neighbourhoods in Bangalore

Areas of Bangalore (or any town/city) are rich with historical and anthropological insights. Barring a few research projects, Bangalore has predominantly been a case study for understanding globalisation, unchecked development, and the consequent exacerbation of urban problems. Consequently, literary writings on the city through fiction and conservation of heritage have gained recent attention. What are the imaginaries of the city for its inhabitants? How does one write about the city beyond the problems of urban development and infrastructure problems? By placing the neighbourhood at the centre of this inquiry, Dr Ranjana Raghunathan, the principal investigator has begun working on this research by attending to the everyday moments in the life of the city neighbourhood.

Research approach:

This research is an urban ethnography and ethno-history project of select neighbourhoods around Bangalore. It traces the social and cultural histories of these neighbourhoods through the experiences, memories and personal histories of its inhabitants. It examines the different aspects of urban neighbourhoods, such as histories of social change, religious communities, educational institutions, heritage sites, and key places of interest. It adopts ethnographic research methods (such as field observation, interviews, oral histories) and historical analyses.
PhD Candidate profile:

We are seeking doctoral candidates to work on this research project. The ideal candidate will have at least a master’s degree in Sociology/Anthropology, Social work, History, Urban Studies or allied fields in the social sciences and humanities. Research interests or experience in qualitative research methodologies is required.

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr. Ranjana Raghunathan

Ranjana Raghunathan is an Assistant Professor in the School of Liberal Arts and Design Studies at Vidyashilp University, Bangalore. Her research interests are in Anthropology of Kinship & Relatedness, Phenomenology of Religion, Everyday Life, and Urban Ethnography. She received her PhD in 2020 from the National University of Singapore (NUS), where she also taught undergraduate courses.

Ranjana has conducted ethnographic field research in Singapore and Mumbai, where she explored issues of home/belonging, intimacies, religion and marginalization. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes. Her doctoral thesis won the Ground-breaking Subject Matter Accolade at the International Convention of Asia Scholars Book Prize 2021. Prior to her foray in academia, Ranjana has worked for over a decade in the development sector and she has a master’s degree in Social work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

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Financial Economics
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Financial Economics

Financing and investment decisions are two major make-or-break decisions of firms. Access to capital markets in emerging economies is often hindered by weak institutions, concentrated ownership, and information asymmetry. Understanding how firms navigate these constraints to raise capital is a key puzzle demanding empirical investigation. Furthermore, considering that a nation's economic health hinges on business investment, analyzing the factors influencing these choices is equally important. More research is required to provide valuable insights into both financing methods and investment decision-making processes, ultimately contributing to a deeper understanding of this vital economic engine.

Other research interests: Market sentiments and security performance, Asset Pricing, Corporate Finance, Corporate Governance and Fintech

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr. Bipin Sony

Bipin Sony is an Assistant Professor of Economics and Finance in the School of Liberal Arts and Design Studies at the Vidyashilp University. His expertise spans financial economics, corporate finance, financial markets, and macroeconomics.
Dr.Sony's research, published in leading academic journals, sheds light on these areas.

Pre-requisites

MA/MSc in Economics/Financial Economics/Quantitative Economics/MBA in Finance

Desirable

Data analysis skills using R/Python/STATA

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Macroeconomics
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Macroeconomics

Rising prices poses a significant challenge for the Indian economy, impacting individuals and businesses nationwide.There exist a complex relationship between inflation and production in the Indian economy. It is important to disaggregate inflation into its various components and analyze how each component is linked to production issues at both the national and state levels. This disaggregated approach will allow for a more nuanced understanding of the inflationary pressures in India. By employing empirical methods to identify production bottlenecks within specific sectors that contribute to inflation, such a study will ultimately provide valuable insights for policymakers to formulate targeted interventions to stimulate production and achieve price stability. Additionally, the research will analyze state-level variations in inflation and production linkages, offering a deeper understanding of regional disparities and informing the development of tailored solutions for individual states.

Other research interests: Capital formation; Fiscal policy

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr. Bipin Sony

Bipin Sony is an Assistant Professor of Economics and Finance in the School of Liberal Arts and Design Studies at the Vidyashilp University. His expertise spans financial economics, corporate finance, financial markets, and macroeconomics.
Dr.Sony's research, published in leading academic journals, sheds light on these areas.

Pre-requisites

Masters Degree in Economics

Desirable

Data analysis skills using R/Python/STATA

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Bio-psycho-social Pathways to Health and Wellbeing
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Bio-psycho-social Pathways to Health and Wellbeing

The overarching focus of clinical health psychology is the interaction between physical health, illness, and behavior. The holistic approach shifts the emphasis of health from the biomedical to the biopsychosocial model. I’m inquisitive in exploring the areas of health promotion and maintenance, prevention, and treatment of illness, the etiology and correlates of health, illness and dysfunction, and improvement of the health care system. I’m also interested in identifying the determinants of food choice behavior

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr.Gargi S Kumar

Dr.Gargi S Kumar is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Vidyashilp University (VU). Dr Gargi has served as a project coordinator in the Neuro-palliative care project at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in Bangalore. She has an extensive academic background with a Ph.D. in Psychology from IIT Bombay, M.Phil. in Psycho-oncology from the Cancer Institute (WIA), Chennai, and MSc in Health Psychology from the University of Hyderabad. She is a former visiting faculty member at the School of Liberal Arts, R V University, Bangalore, and the Thapar School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala. She has also completed an International Honors Program about Big data in health care held by Taipei Medical University, Taiwan. She currently holds a research consultancy in the Neuro-palliative care project at NIMHANS.

Pre-requisites

Master’s or equivalent degree in Psychology (MA/MSc in any field of Psychology) awarded by a recognized university in India or abroad.

Desirable

M.Phil. in any field of Psychology.

Knowledge of data analysis software, such as SPSS, R, NVivo/Atlas.t

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Psycho-social and Palliative Care for
People Living with Cancer/Chronic Illnesses
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Psycho-social and Palliative Care for People Living with Cancer/Chronic Illnesses

Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in the world, and its many different forms are widespread across the globe. However, while a lot is known about the physical aspects of the disease, there is a pressing need to talk about the psychological implications of this disease. I’m interested in developing and facilitating high-quality, collaborative, and clinically relevant psycho-oncology research that focuses on innovative ways to improve the quality of life and psychological well-being of people affected by cancer. The study areas aim to improve outcomes for cancer patients and address the needs of vulnerable populations. I am also intrigued to explore palliative care for people living with serious illnesses and in informed decision-making and enhancing communication between patients, families, and healthcare providers.

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr.Gargi S Kumar

Dr.Gargi S Kumar is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Vidyashilp University (VU). Dr Gargi has served as a project coordinator in the Neuro-palliative care project at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in Bangalore. She has an extensive academic background with a Ph.D. in Psychology from IIT Bombay, M.Phil. in Psycho-oncology from the Cancer Institute (WIA), Chennai, and MSc in Health Psychology from the University of Hyderabad. She is a former visiting faculty member at the School of Liberal Arts, R V University, Bangalore, and the Thapar School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala. She has also completed an International Honors Program about Big data in health care held by Taipei Medical University, Taiwan. She currently holds a research consultancy in the Neuro-palliative care project at NIMHANS.

Pre-requisites

Master’s or equivalent degree in Psychology (MA/MSc in any field of Psychology) awarded by a recognized university in India or abroad.

Desirable

M.Phil. in any field of Psychology.

Knowledge of data analysis software, such as SPSS, R, NVivo/Atlas.t

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History of Economic Thought
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History of Economic Thought

HET is a discipline that, after a few decades of neglect in university curricula, is making a return. India has seen a thin but adequate scattering of high-quality conferences in the last few years. Highlights of these conferences have been their workshops meant for young scholars and their enthusiastic acceptance of student research. This is a heartening trend because HET is an invaluable part of the ecosystem of economics research.

I see economics as a study of the relation between humans and their material surroundings. This gives it a scope much wider than what a standard textbook would lead one to believe. I hold a similar view of the sub-discipline, history of economic thought. Smith, Kautilya, Ricardo, Mill, Mises, etc. are some of the popular scholars whose works are studied, but HET also includes the works of the nameless hundreds who wrote anything at all to express their worldview and generate a discussion on their circumstances. While HET continues to study the famous tomes written in the last three centuries, it considers it equally important to study scraps and snatches scribbled over the last two and a half millennia.

The creation of knowledge in the area of history of economic thought plays two roles in the ecosystem of economics research. First, it holds value by itself. Knowing about the lives and perceptions of women who lived 2,500 years back or 250 years back is valuable for its own sake. It has intrinsic value. Second, such research adds perspective to the lives lived and perspectives held today. It also has instrumental value. Moden policy can be informed by studies of old. An understanding of the process of creation of knowledge can help organise thought in a more meaningful way. Over my years of teaching HET at the undergraduate and graduate levels, I have observed students express excitement for both these reasons.

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr. Sheetal Bharat

Sheetal’s research in the areas of history of economic thought and economic history has brought her immense satisfaction. Importantly, it has helped her gain a better understanding of the discipline of economics even after being part of it for over 25 years. She wishes to share this joy with doctoral scholars who are interested in these areas of research and will be happy to guide them in their journey.
These are demanding areas of study and there are the challenges of understanding the works of earlier scholars in the context of their worldview, perceiving angles not yet identified, being willing to revise our own notions based on fresh readings, etc. I look forward to participating in this process of discovery together with eager young scholars.

Pre-requisites

Postgraduate degree in economics

High level of skill in organisation of ideas and composition

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Economic History
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Economic History

A study of Economic History is rich in themes, geographies, and methods. Themes could range from colonialisation, agriculture, trade, livelihoods, innovation, etc. Geographies – the only restriction is the planet. Methods often used in economic history are of course empirical, but also, narrative, descriptive, phenomenological, ethnographic, archival, to name just a few.

With a canvas as vast as this, the discipline is in fact a colourful place to learn and create knowledge in.

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr. Sheetal Bharat

Sheetal’s research in the areas of history of economic thought and economic history has brought her immense satisfaction. Importantly, it has helped her gain a better understanding of the discipline of economics even after being part of it for over 25 years. She wishes to share this joy with doctoral scholars who are interested in these areas of research and will be happy to guide them in their journey.
These are demanding areas of study and there are the challenges of understanding the works of earlier scholars in the context of their worldview, perceiving angles not yet identified, being willing to revise our own notions based on fresh readings, etc. I look forward to participating in this process of discovery together with eager young scholars.

Pre-requisites

High level of skill in organisation of ideas and composition

Completion of fundamental economics courses in undergraduate and/or postgraduate level

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The Self in Social Context
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The Self in Social Context

The way we perceive ourselves in relation to the rest of the world touches upon our behavior and beliefs. I feel intrigued to understand and improve all aspects of intrapersonal relationships (like emotions, attitudes, the self) and those pertaining to the interpersonal realm (like helping behavior, attraction and close relationships).

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr. Sohinee Ganguly

Dr. Sohinee Ganguly is currently Assistant Professor in Psychology in the School of Liberal Arts and Design Studies at Vidyashilp University, Bengaluru. Her MPhil and doctoral research were from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Her post doctorate is in the area of Educational Technology from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. She was faculty at Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala. She has published her research work in peer reviewed journals and has presented in several international conferences.

Pre-requisites

Master’s or equivalent degree in Psychology (MA/MSc in any field of Psychology) awarded by a recognized university in India or abroad.

Desirable

Knowledge of data analysis software, such as SPSS, NVivo/Atlas.t

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RESEARCH SPECIALIZATIONS

At Vidyashilp University, there are three schools that have been established with an interdisciplinary framework. Explore the areas of research under each of these schools, supervised by our faculty community of Leaders and Luminaries.

SCHOOL OF COMPUTATIONAL AND DATA SCIENCES

SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS AND DESIGN STUDIES

SCHOOL OF COMPUTATIONALAND DATA SCIENCES

Explainable and Interpretable AI

Explainable and Interpretable AI

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Prof. Smitha Rao

Prerequisites

Auto Neural Network Architecture

Auto Neural Network Architecture

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Prof. Smitha Rao

Prerequisites

Context Extraction for Hierarchical Organization of Videos in the Educational Domain

Context Extraction for Hierarchical Organization of Videos in the Educational Domain

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr. D. C. Kiran

Semantic Textual Similarity

Semantic Textual Similarity

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr. N. Mehala

Visible Light Drive Efficient Catalytic Dye Degradation

Visible Light Drive Efficient Catalytic Dye Degradation

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr. Anupama A. V.

Prerequisites

Desirables

Hydrogen Evolution by Water Splitting

Hydrogen Evolution by Water Splitting

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr. Anupama A. V.

Prerequisites

Desirables

Toxic / Irritant Gas Sensors

Toxic / Irritant Gas Sensors

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr. Anupama A. V.

Prerequisites

Desirables

Fractional Calculus

Fractional Calculus

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr. Bijil Prakash

Prerequisites

Wavelets

Wavelets

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr. Bijil Prakash

Prerequisites

Combining Data From Different Sources and Making Robust Inferences

Combining Data From Different Sources and Making Robust Inferences

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Prof. R. P. Suresh

Prerequisites

Predicting Failures Beyond Warranty

Predicting Failures Beyond Warranty

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Prof. R. P. Suresh

Prerequisites

Research Portfolio: Chaos and Synchronization of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems

Research Portfolio: Chaos and Synchronization of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems

Essentials

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Dr. Priyambada Tripathi

Proposed Area of Research:

Study of Reliability of AI systems

Study of Reliability of AI systems

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Prof. R. P. Suresh

Prerequisites

Intelligent Supply Chain models with social media and other external inputs

Intelligent Supply Chain models with social media and other external inputs

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

Prof. R. P. Suresh

Prerequisites

SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTSAND DESIGN STUDIES

International Economics

International Economics

RESEARCH
SPECIALIZATIONS

SCHOOL OF COMPUTATIONAL
AND DATA SCIENCES

SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS
AND DESIGN STUDIES