Gillian Caldicott

Gillian Caldicott is Counsellor (Cultural Affairs) and Director Operations for the British Council in India,

based in Delhi. She arrived in post last October and has oversight of British Council work in northern

India, as well as for a range of work related to the British Council’ s developing portfolio in English,

Education and the Arts, and in Libraries and Information services.

Prior to arriving in India, Gill was Director British Council Portugal for five years from 2008 to 2013

where she led a team in delivering programmes in the arts, education and English language, and

managed relationship with Government and private sector.

Gill has worked for the British Council for over 25 years in many countries including Hong Kong,

Egypt, Italy, Greece, Kuwait and Syria. She has worked in London where she has held posts with

responsibility for development of teaching, learning and examinations worldwide. In her early career

she was a teacher and trainer and is passionate about all aspects of education, and for the arts.

As well as qualifications in teaching, she has a post graduate degree in applied Linguistics, and an

MBA.

Dr H.B. Singh

Dr HB Singh, Senior Scientist in the Department of Science and Technology, did his MSc Botany from

University of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh and PhD from CSIR lab - Institute of Genomics, New Delhi. Dr

Singh has published 42 research papers in national and international journal of repute. Besides, he

had also published more than 32 technical articles and some State-of-the-art Reports of Government

of India. He is still active in research and his current interest is “rapeseed”, one of the leading oilseed

crop of the country. He has guided 4 PhD scholars. Also for 8 years, Dr Singh had been Editor-in-

Chief of an International Journal, "Brassica" till 2009.

Dr Singh has almost served 25 years in the Department of Science and Technology (DST). He had

handled Program Advisory Committees (PACs) - Plant Sciences and Animal Sciences of erstwhile

SERC (now SERB) in the initial years. Presently, for almost 13 years, he is looking after Women

Scientist Scheme of DST.

Dr Singh is also Officer-in-Charge of Cognitive Science Research Initiative (CSI) of DST from its

inception - 11th Five Year Plan of Government of India. This program has been recognized as 4th

Pillar of Modern Indian Science after Information Technology (IT), Biotechnology (BT), and

Nanotechnology.

He looks after CURIE Program of DST for ensuring state-of-the-art infrastructure in Women

Universities. Besides all these, Dr Singh is also handling 3 major Centres of the Department.

Dr Manju Sharma

Dr Sharma is the former secretary of the Department of Biotechnology of India and current president

and executive director of the Indian Institute of Advanced Research. She is a renowned leader in

promoting bioscience and technology in India and around the world.

Beginning in 1974, she held various positions in the Indian government, including in the Department

of Science and Technology, the Planning Commission, the Office of Scientific Adviser to the Prime

Minister, and the Department of Biotechnology. She has played an important role in promoting

science and technology in general and biosciences in particular.

Her contributions to the field have been honored with numerous awards, among them the Padma

Bhushan, National Senior Woman Bioscientist Award, NASI Platinum Jubilee Gold Medal, and the

Norman E. Borlaug Award. In 2004, she received a lifetime achievement award from BIOSPECTRUM.

Dr Amanda Dickins

Amanda Dickins is head of the Science and Society programme in the UK Government's Department

for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). The Science and Society programme works to ensure

society as a whole benefits from advances in science and technology. The programme's core

elements include public engagement with science to inform policy making as well as support for

diversity and developing the STEM workforce.

Amanda previously worked as an academic in the UK and US, researching international policy issues

including the governance of biotechnology and international research collaborations. Since joining the

civil service in 2008, Amanda has worked in a wide range of policy areas including innovation,

learning technologies, employment law, apprenticeships and engineering skills.

Dr Barbara Crossouard

Dr Barbara Crossouard is a Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Sussex, UK and a

member of the Centre for Higher Education and Equity Research at the same university.  She is a

sociologist of education who has researched different aspects of doctoral education as well as

postdoctoral careers.  She is particularly interested in structures of inequality such as gender and

social class and the ways these contribute to differential opportunities for male and female

researchers.

Prof Rohini Godbole

Prof Godbole is an Indian physicist and an academician. She is a Professor at the Centre for High

Energy Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. She is an elected fellow of all the three

academies of Science of India and also the Science Academy of the Developing World (TWAS).

Prof Godbole is part of the International Detector Advisory Group (IDAG) for the International Linear

Collider in the European research lab, CERN. The International Detector Advisory Group monitors the

ILC detector research and development of the Research Directorate and the detector design groups.

She is the Chair of the Panel for Women in Science initiative of the Indian Academy of Sciences.

Mark Sinclair

Mark Sinclair is based in New Delhi where he leads the India team, with particular responsibilities for

the government to government relationship and setting the strategy and direction of Indo-UK science

and innovation collaboration.  He has had an extensive career in science and technology across a

number of UK Government departments, having worked in research, programme management,

science policy, and as private secretary to the Defence Chief Scientific Adviser. Prior to arriving in

India Mark led the UK Science & Innovation Network in western Europe and before that the Science &

Innovation Network in north-eastern USA.  

Dr Rajeshwari Raina

Rajeswari is a Principal Scientist with the National Institute of Science, Technology and Development

Studies (NISTADS-CSIR), New Delhi. She has a background in the sciences and economics and is a

keen student of the interface between development policy and scientific knowledge.

Her current research and advisory work focuses on (a) the agriculture-environment interface, (b) bio-

innovation systems, and (c) poverty relevant and inclusive innovation – focus on China and India.

Drawing upon an institutional economics theoretical framework, she explores the institutions or

norms that govern agricultural as well as environmental knowledge systems, the evolution of specific

branches/disciplines or concepts in scientific knowledge,and the knowledge-policy interactions or

impact of specific policy instruments (such as government schemes).

Dr Sudha Nair

Dr Sudha Nair majored in Botany and was awarded a doctorate in Microbial Biotechnology in the year

1990. She served at the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation for more than 18 years in various

capacities and stepped down in 2011 as a Senior Director. She is currently the CEO of the Golden

Jubilee Biotechnology Park for Women, Society, in Chennai, India - the first Park set up for women

entrepreneurs in the area of Biotechnology. She also is an advisor in the area of S&T and innovation

for Society to various organizations. She is a member for the Gender Advisory Board of the UN

Commission for Science and Technology for Development and an Executive Board member of the

Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World, Asia Pacific Region. She is recognised

at the National and International level for her work in the area of Gender, Science and Technology -

both at Policy and Program implementation level at the grass root level in rural areas.

Prof Minakshi Bhardwaj

Prof Bhardwaj has a multidisciplinary background with academic training in biological sciences, public

health medicine, and biomedical ethics. She graduated with PhD in Biological Sciences from the

University of Tsukuba, Japan in 2003 as a prestigious Monbukokagakushou scholar. Since then she

have had academic appointments at Lancaster University, UK to lead on Human Genetics Research

Databases project (2003-07), Cardiff University, UK on nutritional genomics project (2007-2013). She

has led projects as Principal Investigator with funding from EU, British Academy, Sasakawa

Foundation and Daiwa Foundation on different projects exploring ELSA (ethical, legal and social

aspects) and policy issues arising from new biomedical technologies in Asia with comparison to

developed countries.

Prof Shobhana Narasimhan

Shobhana Narasimhan is Professor of Theoretical Sciences, and Dean of Academic of Affairs, at the

Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bangalore. She obtained her BSc in

physics from St. Xavier's College, University of Bombay, and her MSc in physics from IIT Bombay,

where she was the Institute Silver Medallist. She has a PhD in theoretical physics from Harvard

University, and has done postdoctoral research in the USA and Germany. She has been on the

faculty at JNCASR since 1996.

Prof. Narasimhan is strongly committed to promoting the cause of women in science, and has been

working on issues related to this since her student days at Harvard. She has served on many

committees convened to foster this agenda. She was a member of the Working Group on Women in

Physics of IUPAP (the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics). She

was also a member of the National Task Force on Women in Science of the

Government of India.

Dr Shashi Bala Singh

Dr Singh, Sc ‘H’ has the distinction of serving in the immensely difficult terrain like Leh- Ladakh. She

served as Director, Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR), Leh, from 1st Sep 2007 to

30 Nov 2010 before taking over as Director, Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Science

(DIPAS), Delhi on 1st Dec 2010.

She obtained her Ph.D. degree in Human Physiology from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New

Delhi in 1986 and started her career in DRDO at DIPAS, Delhi. She was conferred the “Scientist of the Year Award” by Hon’ble Prime Minister in 2010. She is also the recipient of Surg Rear Admiral M.S Molhotra Prize-2012 & 2007, CSIR Award for S&T Innovations for Rural Development-2011, Marico Innovation Award-2010, Titanium Trophy-2009, DRDO Scientist of the year Award-2009,

Technology Spin off award-2008, Prof. Baldev Singh Oration award- 2007, DRDO Laboratory

Scientist of the year Award-2006, Dr JN Maitra Memorial Oration Award-2003 and Bharat Nirman

Talented Ladies Award-1995 amongst the various awards and honours to her credit. She also has

more than 100 publications in national and international journals.

Dr Shailja Gupta

Dr. Shailja Vaidya Gupta has been handling International Collaborations in the Department of

Biotechnology for the last ten years and has been instrumental in establishing active bilateral

collaborations with Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, UK

and US; and with EU at a multilateral level. Dr. Gupta is also responsible for DBT’s collaborations with

Non-Governmental organisations such as Wellcome Trust and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Dr Sunil K Agarwal

Dr. Sunil K. Agarwal is Principal Scientific Officer in Science for Equity, Empowerment &

Development (SEED) Division, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India,

New Delhi. At present he is handling two important schemes of DST having societal relevance i.e.

Technology Advancement for Rural Areas (TARA) & Technology Interventions for Tribal

Empowerment (TITE). He is having M. Phil degree in environmental science and holds Ph.D. degree

from Forest Research institute (FRI), Dehradun for which he worked at HFRI, Shimla and IIT, Delhi on

action research to evolve technology intervention models for sustainable rural livelihoods in mountain

areas. He has also got trained as a fellow in Biodiversity Conservation from Development and Project

Planning Centre, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK.

Dr Nafees Meah

Nafees Meah is the Director of Research Councils UK India. Until recently, Dr Nafees Meah was

Head of Science, Department of Energy and Climate Change. He was educated as a chemist at the

Universities of Manchester, Toronto, London and Cambridge and joined the Chief Scientist’s Group at

the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in 1988. There he managed research programmes on

food safety, nutrition and environmental contamination of food. Before that, he was a senior policy

maker in Defra working on the environmental impact of food production and on climate change and

food security.

Mr Patrick Johnson

Patrick Johnson is the Head of Equality and Diversity, University of Manchester since 2007. Patrick

leads on the development of equality and diversity strategies, policies and practices at the University

and works very closely with senior academics/managers on equality related issues.

Patrick is a director and board member of the Equality Challenge Unit who promotes equality for staff

and students in higher education in the UK. He is also the former Chair of the Higher Education Equal

Opportunities Network which is a network of equality and diversity practitioners working in the higher

education sector in the UK.

Patrick has a degree in Business Management, a Postgraduate Diploma in Careers Guidance and is

a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).

Lynne Heslop

Lynne is the Senior Education Adviser for the British Council in India, based in Delhi. Her work

involves researching the future of higher education in India and developing international cooperation

in education between India and the UK.  She started this position nearly three years ago, having spent

the previous five years as the British Council’s Regional Director Education for Central and South

Asia, based in Kathmandu, and responsible for the British Council’s education work in Bangladesh,

Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Iran. Lynne has over twenty years’

experience in international education across South Asia and East Asia.

Concurrent to her work, Lynne has research interests in the area of higher education in regions

emerging from conflict and affected by social unrest.

Manjula Rao

Manjula Rao leads on Internationalising Higher Education programme for the British Council in India.

In her current role as Assistant Director, she contributes to British Council’s strategy for higher

education in India, advices the UK sector on latest developments in India, plans and designs student

and faculty mobility programmes between the UK and India to build a talent pipeline and enhance

teaching and research. She is responsible for creating platforms for knowledge exchange between the

two countries to inform policy, share market insights and trends in the sector.

Leena Arora

Leena Arora heads the Newton Programme at British Council India. In her current role, she leads the

partner discussions, planning and initial implementation of the British Council Newton Fund

programme in India. Prior to that, she was working with the British High Commission where she was

Senior Advisor, UK Science and Innovation Network. Leena has a B Tech in Biotechnology and MBA

in International Business.

Purti Kohli

Purti Kohli is the Senior Project Manager – Newton Programme at British Council, India. In her current

role she manages projects which are part of the Newton Fund programme in India. Prior to that, she

was working as a Project Manager for Connecting Classrooms Programme at British Council. Under

the Connecting Classrooms initiative she has worked upon many projects that encourage students to

use their creativity, express their concern for the environment and work towards a cleaner, greener

harmonius world.