Alumni

M. Mayilvaganan, PhD is an Associate Professor at the International Strategic & Security Studies Programme (ISSSP), School of Conflict and Security Studies (SCSS), National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), in Bangalore, India, where he leads ISSSP’s work on Indo-Pacific, South and Southeast Asia, Borderland studies and foreign analysis of major powers. His research interests focus on political, strategic and security issues concerning India and its neighbourhood (South and Southeast Asia in particular), Indo-Pacific, foreign and security policies of China, the US, Japan and India, Northeast India Borderland and the Non-Traditional Security challenges. Also, he is currently a BOBP Fellow at the inter-governmental agency of FAO (UN).

Before joining NIAS, Mayil worked with the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur as a Visiting Senior Lecturer, where he taught South Asia in International Relations, Modern Warfare and International Politics; Associate Fellow at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA), New Delhi specialising on Sri Lanka and Research Associate at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS), New Delhi, focusing on Kashmir, among other professions. He also spent some time as a researcher in Canada and the US. He holds a PhD degree from the School of International Studies in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi in India.

K G Sreeja's thesis titled “Emergent non-agrarian livelihoods and resource linkages in the agroecosystems of a river basin: A case study of Chalakudy river basin, Kerala” has been awarded the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D) by the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE).  He worked under the guidance of P.K. Shetty. 

Mr. S. Vignesh’s thesis titled Interactions of Consent: Human-Bovine Relations in Tamil Nadu has been evaluated and he is declared eligible for the Award of Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D) by  the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE).  He worked under the guidance of Prof. Sindhu Radhakrishna. 

Ms. Ashni Kumar Dhawale's  thesis titled  Monkey on a Hot Tin Roof: Ecological and Behavioural Adaptations of Lion-Tailed Macaques to  Rainforest–Anthropogenic Habitat Matrix in the Western Ghats Mountains of Southern India has been evaluated and she is declared eligible for the Award of  Degree of  DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D) by  The University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology (TDU).  She worked under the guidance of Prof. Anindya  Sinha. 

Dr. Arijit Pal worked as a Post-Doctoral Associate in the School of Natural Sciences and Engineering, specifically in the Animal Behaviour and Cognition program at NIAS.

Mr. Rakesh Kumar,  who was a Research Associate under the Tata Trust supported project conducted by the Consciousness Studies Programme at NIAS, has successfully defended his PhD thesis titled Indigenous Knowledge of Healing among the Tribes of Nilambur Valley: A Study of Cross-cultural landscape across ethnic boundaries, during the Viva Voce examination held on 16 May 2024. The University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences & Technology (TDU) has declared him eligible for the Award of Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D).  
 
He worked under the guidance of Prof. Sangeetha Menon, who was the Principal Investigator of the project.