Honorary Chair

Professor Lakhmi C. Jain,
PhD | ME | BE(Hons)| Fellow (Engineers Aust),
Founder KES International

Short Bio-data:

Professor Lakhmi C. Jain, PhD, Dr H.C., ME, BE(Hons), Fellow (Engineers Australia), is affiliated with the KES International UK. He was formerly with the University of Technology Sydney, the University of Canberra and Bournemouth University. Professor Jain founded the KES International for providing a professional community the opportunities for publications, knowledge exchange, cooperation and teaming. Involving around 5,000 researchers drawn from universities and companies world-wide, KES facilitates international cooperation and generates synergy in teaching and research. KES regularly provides networking opportunities for the professional community through one of the largest conferences of its kind in the area of KES.

General Chair

Prof. Prabha Shankar Shukla,
Vice-Chancellor
North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong.

Short Bio-data:

Prof. Prabha Shankar Shukla, the Vice-Chancellor of North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), entered upon the Office of the Vice-Chancellor on 27th July 2021. An eminent scientist in the field of Agriculture, Prof. Shukla specialized in Seed Science and Technology and has a track record of advancing social, economic, and cultural development in various capacities. He is deeply committed to providing students with holistic education by implementing NEP 2020. Prof. Shukla formerly held the position of Professor at the G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in Uttarakhand before appointment as Vice-Chancellor at NEHU in Shillong. He has been teaching and conducting research for more than 29 years. His responsibilities there included Teaching, Research and Extension, student affairs, and ground level societal welfare activities. He also played a significant part in the university's overall strategic leadership and direction by participating in a number of Committees. He has published 42 research papers, 50 articles, 17 book chapters and 5 books and manuals. He has also served as the resource person and editor in 7 bulletins and journals. As a Principal/Co- Investigator, he has successfully carried out seven adhoc/extramurally-funded projects. For his outstanding contributions in the field of Agricultural sciences, Prof. Shukla has received various awards and fellowships viz. Fellow of Indian Society of Seed Technology, IARI; Effective communication in Science & Tech Award, Scientific & Applied Research Center, Meerut; Shatabdi Samman by Vignan Parishad Prayag; Outstanding scientist in Agriculture by Scientific & Applied Research Center in Kasetsart University, Thailand; Outstanding Scientist in Agriculture by Scientific & Applied Research Centre, Meerut and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore to name a few. Of his many achievements, Prof. Shukla is best known for introducing and developing high yielding six varieties of soybean in Uttarakhand. He held a number of administrative positions in addition to his work as a teacher and researcher, including BOM at the JNKVV in Jabalpur, DSW and Chairman of the Admission Committee at the MGCGV, Chitrakoot. During his tenure as General Manager at the UKS & TDC in Haldi, Pantnagar, the Organization saw a significant rise in profit to the tune of Rs.11.92 crores. He also served as the Joint Director, Breeder Seed Production Centre in G. B. Pant University. Prof. Shukla has served as EC & Court Member, JNU, New Delhi. He has guided more than 20 Masters students and 6 PhD scholars. In addition to strengthening the links between education and research in his previous roles, Professor Shukla has led large change programmes, worked to further equality, diversity and inclusion and is a strong proponent of driving the digital and online learning agenda. He has a clear vision for how research and education should work in tandem in a Central university with strong civic roots. Among other responsibilities, Prof. Shukla is the Chair of the University’s principal academic body, the Court and the University Executive Council.

General Co-Chair

Shri. Atul Shah,
Corporate Coach, Life Skills Trainer & YAHA Founder
National President, Indian Society for Training & Development.

Short Bio-data:

An all-India double gold medalist in ISTD’s Training and Development course, he has been awarded the Trainer Icon award by the Trainers Association. He holds a Mechanical Engineering Degree, Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management & a Post Graduate Diploma in Psychotherapy and Counselling. After an initial stint with Mukund Ltd, Mumbai and GSP he served in MPT, under the Ministry of Shipping, and headed the HRD cell. After taking his special VRS from the Govt service, he was the Director of IMTR-Institute of Management Training & Research for 10 years. He is also the Founder & Chairman of GITS India. He has piloted over 3500 workshops and seminars attended by a range of Corporate & Govt bodies including MRF, Vedanta, Adani Renewables, Saint Gobain, Sanofi, Leela Kempinski, CIPLA, Pentair, Pharmacy Council of India-Delhi, Geist, Glenmark, ISRO, Pentair-Water, Nestle, GSL, MPT, JSSAHER, JSW-Goa & Paradeep, TSPL-Punjab, Ministry of Textiles, JW Marriott, Nuclear Fuel Corporation, M&S Logistics, Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF), Zydus Cadilla, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Fujirah Gold-UAE, National Aerospace Limited (NAL)-Bangalore, IGNFA-Dehra Dun, IOK-Vizag, ESL-Bokaro, Vedanta-Lanjigarh/Orissa and many more. He is also the Founder of the 4.59 am Club and of Global YaHa6. At present he is also the National President of the Indian Society for Training & Development.

Publication and Program Chair

Prof. (Dr) Srikanta Patnaik,
Chairman I.I.M.T., Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.

Short Bio-data:

Prof. Srikanta Patnaik is Chairman of I.I.M.T., Bhubaneswar, India. He has received his Ph. D. (Engineering) on Computational Intelligence from Jadavpur University, India in 1999. He has supervised more than 30 Ph. D. Theses and 100 Master theses in the area of Computational Intelligence, Machine Learning, Soft Computing Applications and Re-Engineering. Dr. Patnaik has published around 100 research papers in international journals and conference proceedings. He is author of 2 text books and 55 edited volumes and few invited book chapters, published by leading international publisher like IEEE, Elsevier, Springer-Verlag, Kluwer Academic, etc. Dr. Srikanta Patnaik is the Editors-in-Chief of International Journal of Information and Communication Technology and International Journal of Computational Vision and Robotics published from Inderscience Publishing House, England and, Editor of Journal of Information and Communication Convergence Engineering and Associate Editor of Journal of Intelligent and Fuzzy Systems (JIFS), which are all Scopus Index journals.
He is also Editors-in-Chief of Book Series on “Modeling and Optimization in Science and Technology” published from Springer, Germany and Advances in Computer and Electrical Engineering (ACEE) and Advances in Medical Technologies and Clinical Practice (AMTCP), published by IGI Global, USA.
He is a member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE) and Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). He is also Fellow of IETE, Life Member of ISTE, and CSI. Dr. Patnaik has visited more than 20 countries across the globe and visiting professors to some of the universities.

Publication Co-Chair

Prof. Padmalita Routray,
Department of Business Management
Fakir Mohan University

Short Bio-data:

Padmalita Routray is working as Professor in the Department of Business Management, Fakir Mohan University. She started her career as JRF, UGC and has been associated with various reputed B-Schools prior to her joining Fakir Mohan University in 2004. In a career spanning 20 years, she has guided 8 Ph.Ds and 13 M.Phil scholars and several others are actively doing research work under her guidance at M.Phil & Ph.D level. More than 50 research papers contributions in international and national seminars and conferences, 85 numbers of research publications in national and international journals, conference proceedings and book chapters are the highlights of her research credentials. She is a regular resource person for training programmes to senior scientists of DRDO,PXE and ITR Chandipur besides to various other organizations of national repute. She has authored five books and the highly acclaimed books “HRD & Organisational Effectiveness” and “Inclusive Growth in New Market Regime”. She is also the recipient of best research paper award in the Eastern Regional Convention of ISTD, 2011and Shyamabandhoo Misra Gold Medal for HR Excellence from NIPM, Utkal Chapter for the session 2015-16.She has successfully completed a research project “Effectiveness of Training & Competency Mapping” awarded by DRDO. She is very active in professional association like NHRD,ISTD,ISLE and OCA. She was the founding Chairperson of ISTD Balasore Chapter and at present representing ISTD, Balasore Chapter as National Council Member. She has organised several national and international seminars. Her teaching proficiency includes SHRM, HRD, OB, Research Methodology, HR Analytics and Business Ethics. Dr. Routray has discharged several administrative responsibilities in Fakir Mohan University. She is well known in academic and corporate circles for her teaching, research and training skills.

Program Chair

Dr. Marco Valeri,
Faculty of Economics, Niccolò Cusano University

Short Bio-data:

Marco Valeri received is Ph.D in Strategic Management and Organizational Behavior from "Tor Vergata" University (Italy). He is a Senior Lecturer in Organizational Behavior (Master Degree and Doctoral Course), Faculty of Economics, Niccolò Cusano University, Rome (Italy). He’s teaching and consultancy areas include strategic management, leadership development, hotel/lodging management, cross-cultural management, international hospitality management. His research areas include competitive advantage, sustainability and green practices, strategy implementation, knowledge management, hotel/lodging management, crisis management, destination marketing, information technology and developing countries, network analysis. He chaired/co-chaired and served on numerous PhD dissertation and master thesis committees. He was a visiting professor in several Universities: University of Eichastaett – Ingolstadt (Germany), Universitè Jean Moulin, School of Management – Lyon, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Faculty of Economics – Lebanon, University of Pannonia, Faculty of Business and Economics – Hungary, University of West Attica, Faculty of Business and Economics – Greece, TBS Business School, Faculty of Business and Economics – Toulouse. He is member of several editorial board of international tourism journals and co-editor of several handbooks on entrepreneurship and tourism and hospitality management (Emerald Publishing). He is Research Notes Editor of Journal of Tourism, Heritage & Services Marketing (ISSN is: 2529-1947). Project experience: “Sustainable, intelligent and inclusive regional and city models” (project nr. EFOP-3.6.2-16-2017-00017) - the consortia of University of Pannonia, Veszprém, HU, University of Pécs, Pécs, HU, Corvinus University of Budapest, Székesfehérvár, HU.

Program Chair

Mrinal Kanti Barman,
Former Executive Director (Pers & Admn) Steel Authority of India Ltd.

Short Bio-data:

Mrinal Kanti Barman has had a distinguished career spanning 38 years at the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), where he worked in three integrated steel plants (BSP, RSP, and ISP), the R&D Centre, and the Commercial Directorate in Delhi. He held various leadership roles, culminating in his position as Executive Director (P&A) at Bhilai Steel Plant from November 2016 to February 2018. Mr. Barman's career highlights include managing HR, talent acquisition, employee development, and CSR initiatives across SAIL's Central Marketing Organization. His expertise extends to leadership training, conflict management, and organizational development. He holds advanced degrees in Social Welfare, Personnel Management, and Economics and is an active member of the Indian Society for Training and Development and the National Institute of Personnel Management.

Program Co-Chair

Dr. Paresh Chandra Mohanty,
Director at Talent Sigma Professional Pvt. Ltd. & Secretary- ISTD-BBSR Chapter.

Short Bio-data:

Dr. Paresh Chandra Mohanty was a banker for 25 years and has worked in various capacities in India and abroad. Currently, he is the secretary of the ISTD- Bhubaneswar Chapter. He was a corporate trainer for 17 years having expertise in management, banking and finance. He is a motivational speaker and has been conducting career counseling sessions for students of various management and technical colleges. As a guest faculty he has been taking sessions on OB, management and banking for various management colleges and guides job seekers to participate in GD and how to face the Interview Board. He is an author of several books and has published various articles in reputed magazine in India and abroad. He is a you-tuber and gives radio talks for improving personality of rural students and youths in urban slums. He is also the editor of the e-magazine ‘The mirror’ of ISTD Bhubaneswar chapter.

Organising Chair

Prof. B. P. Sahu,
Professor, Department of Adult and Continuing Education
North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong.

Short Bio-data:

Professor B. P. Sahu, a distinguished academician in the field of Social Work and Adult Education, boasts an impressive educational background and extensive professional experience. His qualifications include earning a B.Sc. (Engg.) in Civil Engineering from Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra University, in 1988. He has attended an MSW (Master of Social Work) from Kurukshetra University with specializing in Personnel Management, Industrial Relations, and Labour Welfare in 1992. He has obtained a PhD Degree in Social Work (Human Resource Development) from Kurukshetra University in 1999. He qualified for UGC (JRF) in the subject of Labour Welfare and Industrial Relations in 1994. Currently, he is serving as Professor in the Department of Adult and Continuing Education, NEHU, Shillong. In addition to his academic roles, Professor Sahu has actively contributed to professional activities, including guest lectures and academic administration. His commitment to education and administration is evident through his leadership roles, such as heading departments and serving on various boards and committees. Notably, he has been the NSS program Coordinator at Assam University Silchar and has played a pivotal role in shaping the academic landscape at NEHU, Shillong.

Organising Chair

Prof.(Er.) Jayadev Kar, PhD,
Director, I.I.M.T, Bhubaneswar

Short Bio-data:

JAYADEV KAR (Member IEEE) was born in 1965. He received B.Sc Engg. (Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering) with HONOURS from UCE, Burla (at present VSSUT) in 1987, MBA in Personnel & Marketing in 1990 from Utkal University, LLB in 1995(UU) and M. Tech in Computer Science (Image Processing) from Fakir Mohan University, Balasore in 2009. He obtained Ph.D. (MIS &HR) degree from Utkal University, Vanivihar, Bhubaneswar in 2006. He was a former Professor, MCA and Dean, PGDM in Regional College of Management, Chakadolavihar, Bhubaneswar, the oldest Management College of the state (Odisha).
He was the former Technical Head of Pathani Samanta Planetarium, Bhubaneswar, the only R & D Institute of Science and Technology Department, Government of Odisha. He has guided many Ph.D. Theses. He has over 20 papers in National Journals and conferences. Dr. Kar is the co-author of 9(nine) books for Vocational Education in the area of Basic Foundation Course, Repair & Maintenance of Radio & TV Engineering and Electrical Engineering Maintenance including Basic Foundation Courses. Prof. Kar is having 37 years of experience dealing with academics, curriculum development, administration, examination, end-to-end management. Dr. Kar is a versatile academic leader with an extensive multidisciplinary background in Engineering, Human Resource Development, Computer Science, Management and Law. Ph.D. in HRD with a specialization in MIS & HR, complemented by 34 years of leadership at a Government Institution(Planetarium), demonstrating exceptional capacity to manage, innovate and educate across various levels. Dr. Kar has conducted thousands of outreach programmes. He is passionate about student-centred curriculum design, informed by ongoing study of student psychology, observational methods, and adaptive pedagogy, contributing better outcomes and institutional growth. Currently, he is working as Director in Interscience Institute of Management & Technology, Kantabada, Bhubaneswar-752054, the state of art in STEM.

Organising Co-Chair

Ms. Smita Ray,
MBA (HR), Ph.D. in Human Resource Management (Pursuing)

Short Bio-data:

Ms. Smita Ray is a seasoned HR professional with over 10 years of experience spanning HR operations, recruitment, training, and corporate strategy. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Human Resource Management, she serves as Assistant Professor and Head of Department, having held key academic positions at institutions such as IIMT Bhubaneswar, Astha School of Management, and BJB Autonomous College. Her corporate experience includes roles as HR Executive at Orimark Technology, Business Analyst at GLeaf Solutions, and SAP HCM Consultant at Magna InfoTech. A skilled trainer and researcher, she has contributed to national and international seminars, published scholarly articles, and organized numerous skill-building initiatives. Ms. Ray is known for her strong leadership, people-centric approach, and ability to bridge academia and industry effectively.

Finance Chairs

Shri Nabaghana Pany,
Business, HR Consultant
Hon Treasurer, Indian Society for Training & Development, New Delhi.

Short Bio-data:

Shri Nabaghana Pany serves as the National Treasurer for the Indian Society for Training & Development (ISTD) in New Delhi. With a deep commitment to advancing professional development and training across India, he brings extensive expertise in financial management and strategic planning to the organization. Under his stewardship, ISTD has strengthened its financial stability, enabling the society to expand its outreach and impact. Shri Pany's leadership ensures the continuous support of training initiatives that enhance skills and knowledge among professionals, fostering growth and innovation in the training and development sector nationwide.