BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//CiviCRM//NONSGML CiviEvent iCal//EN X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20260428T100000 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:CiviCRM_EventID_780_c1ec699f7b9af3c31b962e2084dfe9d6@srhe.ac.uk SUMMARY:Bridging knowledge gaps: Rural serving HEIs as equ ity catalysts in India X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

SRHE Members must log-in ~~to access member registration rates~~ ~~~~

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Facilitated and chaired by: ~~Dr Nidhi Sadana Sabharwal who is the co -convenor of the Equity\, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Network. For more details about the network and its activities\, please~~ click ~~here~~ ~~~~ ~~~~.
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Overview
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This session will examine the critical yet often overlooked rol e of faculty members (FMs) in rural-serving state universities and government colleges in advancing equity and social justice within Indian HE. Despit e significant expansion of the HE sector in India\ , first-generation learners from rural and semi-ur ban communities continue to face substantial barri ers to access\, primarily due to limited knowledge about HE opportunities\, processes\, and pathways . The Indian National Education Policy acknowledge s these challenges and emphasises the potential of local institutions to address them. Drawing on on going international research work\, the session wi ll explore how FMs in these institutions can serve as knowledge bridges between HE systems and commu nities with limited HE exposure. The session will analyse faculty engagement practices and policy fr ameworks that enable or constrain outreach efforts . The presenters will include faculty members from HE institutions located in various provinces acro ss India who are involved in relevant research. Th e insights will offer valuable perspectives on the challenges and opportunities in implementing equi ty-focused outreach initiatives within specific na tional and regional contexts.
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Schedule
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~~10.00 – 10.10~~ ~~~~
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SRHE welcome and housekeeping
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Introduction to Research P roject by Dr. Nidi S. Sabharwal and Professor Emil y Henderson
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10.10 – 10.15
\n \n Arokia Mary: Methodology
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~~10.15 – 10 .25~~
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Professor Polly Vauquline: North-East Region Perspectives from Assam\, India
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10.25 – 10.35
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Professor Abdul Gafoor K: South Region Perspect ives from Kerala\, India
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10.35 – 10.45
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Professor Ra jeshwari: North Regional Perspective from Haryana\ , India\n
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10 .45 – 10.55
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Professor Dhanashri Jayant Mah ajan: West Region Perspective from Maharashtra\, I ndia
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10.55 – 11.05
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Professor Lukeshwar Gajpal Singh : Central- East Region Perspective from Chhattisga rh\, India
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11.05 – 11.25
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Q&A
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11.25 – 11.30
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Professor A nn Stewart: Concluding remarks
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Speaker bios
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Nidhi Sabharwal is a Natio nal Fellow\, National Institute of Educational Pla nning and Administration\, New Delhi\, India\, and Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Warwick\, UK. She has also served as the Directo r at the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies\, New D elhi. She is a recipient of the SRHE Accolade for Contribution to the Field of Higher Education Rese arch from The Society for Research into Higher Edu cation (SRHE). Her research focuses on access and equity in HE\, including college readiness\, diver sity\, social inclusion and academic success of st udents from disadvantaged groups. She has extensiv e experience leading multi-state and multi- instit utional mixed-methods studies on equity. Her recen t projects include a national study on student div ersity and social inclusion and an evaluation of p ublicly supported coaching programmes in HE. She has published extensively\, with nearly 100 public ations. She is Co-PI (India Lead) of the project ' Widening Access to Higher Education in India: Inst itutional Approaches'.
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Emily F. Henderson is a Professo r and Director of the Doctoral Education and Acade mia Research Centre (DEAR)\, Education Studies\, University of Warwic k\, UK. Her research and approach to teaching are inherently international and interdisciplinary. Sh e founded the MA programme ‘Global Education and I nternational Development’ at the University of War wick in 2017. She won the Warwick Research Awards Doctoral Supervision Award (Faculty of Social Scie nces) in 2024 and the ‘Warwick Wonders and Wows’ A ward in 2023 for fostering a positive research cul ture among PGRs and ECRs. She is a founder and man ager of the web platform ‘Diary Method Community’\ , sharing resources and advice on using diary meth ods in social sciences and a monthly international reading group. She is Co-editor of the academic b log ‘Conference Inference: Blogging the World of C onferences’. She is the Co-PI (Overall Project Lea d) of the project “Widening Access to Higher Educa tion in India: Institutional Approaches”.
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~~Ann Stewart~~ is Professor of Law at the School of Law\, Un iversity of Warwick\, UK. She has held the positio n of Ford Visiting Professorial Fellow at Jawaharl al Nehru University\, New Delhi. She specialises i n issues relating to gender justice and human righ ts\, with long-standing research interests in East ern & Southern Africa and India. She is a mentor for Early Career Researchers within the School of law. She has held a range of positions within the University including co leading the Global Resear ch Priority on International Development. She is a member of the Centre for the Study of Women and G ender\, Warwick’s Africa Hub and Warwick India Net work. She is the Co-I of the research project “Wid ening Access to Higher Education in India: Institu tional Approaches”.
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S. Arokia Mary\, Doctoral Sch olar\, ESRC-UKRI (1+3) years funded PhD\, Departme nt of Education Studies\, University of Warwick\, UK. Her doctoral research examines gendered proces ses of doctoral socialisation within the political ly contested context of Kashmir. She has completed an empirical diary-based study exploring the acad emic socialisation of doctoral students in India. Her work documents the higher education experience s of Transgender students in India and implementat ion of sexual harassment law in HE institutions. S he also has over five years of teaching experience at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in Kashm ir and across India\, including in/pre-service tea chers and teacher educators.
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~~~~Rajeshwari~~~~ is Professor & Chairperson of Department of Geography \, Kurukshetra University\, Haryana. She has worke d at JNU and NCAER (National council of applied ec onomic research)\, New Delhi\, before joining teac hing at Kurukshetra University. With 28 years of t eaching experience\, she specialises in the field of human\, social geography and application of geo spatial technology in various aspects of geography . Her research publications are in the field of Hu man and Social Geography and applications of geo-s patial technology in various aspects of geography. She has about 80 research papers published in jou rnals of national and international repute. She ha s co-authored an edited book “Reflections on 21st Century Human Habitats in India” published by Spri nger. Recently\, she has completed a collaborative research project of NIEPA and University of Warwi ck\, UK on “Widening Access to Higher Education in India”.
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~~Polly Vauquline~~ is Professor and Head of the Dep artment of Women’s Studies at Gauhati University\, Guwahati\, Assam. Her areas of specialisation inc lude Gender Geography and Women’s Studies. She was the Principal Investigator of a UGC Major Researc h Project titled Prevention\, Prohibition and Redr ess of Sexual Harassment at Professional and Publi c Places in Assam and Meghalaya: Post 23 April 201 3. She was also the PI of a collaborative project with the North East Network\, Workplace: A Site of Sexual Harassment of Women. She was also involved in a Project Puchki\, as a Joint Investigator of a collaborative initiative with earth&us and ONGC\ , focusing on sanitation\, hygiene\, menstrual hyg iene management\, and sustainable living.
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Abdul Gafoor K is Senior Professor of Education and Dean of the F aculty of Education at the University of Calicut. He formerly served as Head of the Department of Ed ucation and Project Head of the Teaching Learning Centre (PMMMNMTT)\, as well as State Project Leade r for the WAHEI International collaboration with N IEPA and the University of Warwick. A specialist in educational research method ology\, Outcome-Based Education (OBE)\, teacher ed ucation\, educational psychology\, and research to ol development\, his expertise spans cognitive and non-cognitive assessment\, curriculum design for B.Ed./M.Ed. programs\, and state-level educational initiatives. His research focuses on psychologica l and affective factors in learning—particularly i n mathematics and science education—self-regulated learning\, pedagogy\, learning difficulties\, par enting styles\, academic self-efficacy\, concept m apping\, inclusive education\, and teacher empower ment. He has authored around 100 cited publication s\, presented at numerous conferences\, and contri buted to enhancing teacher training and modern edu cational practices.
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Dhanashri Jayan t Mahajan is Senior Pr ofessor of Economics in the Department of Economic s at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University and Director of the UGC Human Resource Development Centre (HRDC). She was also Dean of the Faculty o f Humanities and also was head of Department of Ec onomics. She holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics\ , with academic specialisation in Industrial Econo mics\, International Economics\, and Public Econom ics. She was awarded the Gold Medal in English Lit erature and the Chancellor’s Gold Medal in M.A. Ec onomics. She has published extensively in areas re lated to economic development\, industrial perform ance\, trade policy\, globalization\, and regional economics\, with research outputs including books \, journal articles\, and conference papers. She h as completed several research projects.
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Lukeshwar Singh Gajpal is Professor and Head of the School of Regional Studies and Research at Pt. Rav ishankar Shukla University\, Raipur\, Chhattisgarh \, India. He specialises in sociology with researc h interest in rural agricultural labour and migrat ion\, including work with tribal communities in Ch hattisgarh. He has received the Teacher of the Yea r Award from the University Teaching Department\, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University\, for Social Sci ence\, and the State Award from the Department of Higher Education\, Government of Chhattisgarh\, fo r his outstanding service as Best NSS Programme Of ficer in the state.
DESCRIPTION:SRHE Members must log-in to access member registra tion rates \n \n \n \n Facilitated and chaired by: Dr Nidhi Sadana Sabharwal who is the co-convenor of the Equity\, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Netw ork. For more details about the network and its ac tivities\, please click here.\n \n \n \n Overview\ n \n \n \n This session will examine the critical yet often overlooked role of faculty members (FMs) in rural-serving state universities and governmen t colleges in advancing equity and social justice within Indian HE. Despite significant expansion of the HE sector in India\, first-generation learner s from rural and semi-urban communities continue t o face substantial barriers to access\, primarily due to limited knowledge about HE opportunities\, processes\, and pathways. The Indian National Educ ation Policy acknowledges these challenges and emp hasises the potential of local institutions to add ress them. Drawing on ongoing international resear ch work\, the session will explore how FMs in thes e institutions can serve as knowledge bridges betw een HE systems and communities with limited HE exp osure. The session will analyse faculty engagement practices and policy frameworks that enable or co nstrain outreach efforts. The presenters will incl ude faculty members from HE institutions located i n various provinces across India who are involved in relevant research. The insights will offer valu able perspectives on the challenges and opportunit ies in implementing equity-focused outreach initia tives within specific national and regional contex ts.\n \n \n \n Schedule\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 10.00 – 10.10 \n \n \n \n \n SRHE w elcome and housekeeping\n \n \n \n Introduction to Research Project by Dr. Nidi S. Sabharwal and Professor Emily Henderson\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 10.10 – 10.15 \n \n \n \n \n Arokia Mary: Methodology\n \n \n \n \n \n \ n \n 10.15 – 10.25 \n \n \n \n \n P rofessor Polly Vauquline: North-East Region Perspe ctives from Assam\, India\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 10.25 – 10.35 \n \n \n \n \n Professor Abdul Gafoor K: South Region Perspective s from Kerala\, India\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 10.35 – 10.45 \n \n \n \n \n Prof essor Rajeshwari: North Regional Perspective from Haryana\, India\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 10.45 – 10.55\n \n \n \n \n Professor D hanashri Jayant Mahajan: West Region Perspective f rom Maharashtra\, India\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 10.55 – 11.05 \n \n \n \n \n Pr ofessor Lukeshwar Gajpal Singh: Central- East Regi on Perspective from Chhattisgarh\, India\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 11.05 – 11.25\n \n \n \n \n Q&A\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 11.25 – 11.30\n \n \n \n \n Professor Ann Stewart: Concluding remarks\n \n \n \n \ n \n \n \n \n Speaker bios\n \n \n \n Nidhi Sabha rwal is a National Fellow\, National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration\, New Delh i\, India\, and Honorary Associate Professor at th e University of Warwick\, UK. She has also served as the Director at the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies\, New Delhi. She is a recipient of the SRH E Accolade for Contribution to the Field of Higher Education Research from The Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE). Her research focuses on access and equity in HE\, including college re adiness\, diversity\, social inclusion and academi c success of students from disadvantaged groups. S he has extensive experience leading multi-state an d multi- institutional mixed-methods studies on eq uity. Her recent projects include a national study on student diversity and social inclusion and an evaluation of publicly supported coaching programm es in HE. She has published extensively\, with ne arly 100 publications. She is Co-PI (India Lead) o f the project 'Widening Access to Higher Education in India: Institutional Approaches'. \n \n \n \n Emily F. Henderson is a Professor and Director of the Doctoral Education and Academia Research Centr e (DEAR)\, Education Studies\, University of Warwi ck\, UK. Her research and approach to teaching are inherently international and interdisciplinary. S he founded the MA programme ‘Global Education and International Development’ at the University of Wa rwick in 2017. She won the Warwick Research Awards Doctoral Supervision Award (Faculty of Social Sci ences) in 2024 and the ‘Warwick Wonders and Wows’ Award in 2023 for fostering a positive research cu lture among PGRs and ECRs. She is a founder and ma nager of the web platform ‘Diary Method Community’ \, sharing resources and advice on using diary met hods in social sciences and a monthly internationa l reading group. She is Co-editor of the academic blog ‘Conference Inference: Blogging the World of Conferences’. She is the Co-PI (Overall Project Le ad) of the project “Widening Access to Higher Educ ation in India: Institutional Approaches”.\n \n \n \n Ann Stewart is Professor of Law at the School of Law\, University of Warwick\, UK. She has held the position of Ford Visiting Professorial Fellow at Jawaharlal Nehru University\, New Delhi. She sp ecialises in issues relating to gender justice and human rights\, with long-standing research intere sts in Eastern & Southern Africa and India. She i s a mentor for Early Career Researchers within the School of law. She has held a range of positions within the University including co leading the Gl obal Research Priority on International Developmen t. She is a member of the Centre for the Study of Women and Gender\, Warwick’s Africa Hub and Warwic k India Network. She is the Co-I of the research p roject “Widening Access to Higher Education in Ind ia: Institutional Approaches”.\n \n \n \n S. Aroki a Mary\, Doctoral Scholar\, ESRC-UKRI (1+3) years funded PhD\, Department of Education Studies\, Uni versity of Warwick\, UK. Her doctoral research exa mines gendered processes of doctoral socialisation within the politically contested context of Kashm ir. She has completed an empirical diary-based stu dy exploring the academic socialisation of doctora l students in India. Her work documents the higher education experiences of Transgender students in India and implementation of sexual harassment law in HE institutions. She also has over five years o f teaching experience at undergraduate and postgra duate levels in Kashmir and across India\, includi ng in/pre-service teachers and teacher educators.\ n \n \n \n Rajeshwari is Professor & Chairperson o f Department of Geography\, Kurukshetra University \, Haryana. She has worked at JNU and NCAER (Natio nal council of applied economic research)\, New De lhi\, before joining teaching at Kurukshetra Unive rsity. With 28 years of teaching experience\, she specialises in the field of human\, social geograp hy and application of geospatial technology in var ious aspects of geography. Her research publicatio ns are in the field of Human and Social Geography and applications of geo-spatial technology in vari ous aspects of geography. She has about 80 researc h papers published in journals of national and int ernational repute. She has co-authored an edited b ook “Reflections on 21st Century Human Habitats in India” published by Springer. Recently\, she has completed a collaborative research project of NIEP A and University of Warwick\, UK on “Widening Acce ss to Higher Education in India”.\n \n \n \n Polly Vauquline is Professor and Head of the Department of Women’s Studies at Gauhati University\, Guwaha ti\, Assam. Her areas of specialisation include Ge nder Geography and Women’s Studies. She was the Pr incipal Investigator of a UGC Major Research Proje ct titled Prevention\, Prohibition and Redress of Sexual Harassment at Professional and Public Place s in Assam and Meghalaya: Post 23 April 2013. She was also the PI of a collaborative project with th e North East Network\, Workplace: A Site of Sexual Harassment of Women. She was also involved in a P roject Puchki\, as a Joint Investigator of a colla borative initiative with earth&us and ONGC\, focus ing on sanitation\, hygiene\, menstrual hygiene ma nagement\, and sustainable living.\n \n \n \n Abdu l Gafoor K is Senior Professor of Education and De an of the Faculty of Education at the University o f Calicut. He formerly served as Head of the Depar tment of Education and Project Head of the Teachin g Learning Centre (PMMMNMTT)\, as well as State Pr oject Leader for the WAHEI International collabora tion with NIEPA and the University of Warwick. A s pecialist in educational research methodology\, Ou tcome-Based Education (OBE)\, teacher education\, educational psychology\, and research tool develop ment\, his expertise spans cognitive and non-cogni tive assessment\, curriculum design for B.Ed./M.Ed . programs\, and state-level educational initiativ es. His research focuses on psychological and affe ctive factors in learning—particularly in mathemat ics and science education—self-regulated learning\ , pedagogy\, learning difficulties\, parenting sty les\, academic self-efficacy\, concept mapping\, i nclusive education\, and teacher empowerment. He h as authored around 100 cited publications\, presen ted at numerous conferences\, and contributed to e nhancing teacher training and modern educational p ractices.\n \n \n \n Dhanashri Jayant Mahajan is S enior Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada Uni versity and Director of the UGC Human Resource Dev elopment Centre (HRDC). She was also Dean of the F aculty of Humanities and also was head of Departme nt of Economics. She holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Ec onomics\, with academic specialisation in Industri al Economics\, International Economics\, and Publi c Economics. She was awarded the Gold Medal in Eng lish Literature and the Chancellor’s Gold Medal in M.A. Economics. She has published extensively in areas related to economic development\, industrial performance\, trade policy\, globalization\, and regional economics\, with research outputs includi ng books\, journal articles\, and conference paper s. She has completed several research projects.\n \n \n \n Lukeshwar Singh Gajpal is Professor and H ead of the School of Regional Studies and Research at Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University\, Raipur\, C hhattisgarh\, India. He specialises in sociology w ith research interest in rural agricultural labour and migration\, including work with tribal commun ities in Chhattisgarh. He has received the Teacher of the Year Award from the University Teaching De partment\, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University\, for Social Science\, and the State Award from the Dep artment of Higher Education\, Government of Chhatt isgarh\, for his outstanding service as Best NSS P rogramme Officer in the state. \n \n CATEGORIES:Conference CALSCALE:GREGORIAN DTSTAMP;TZID=Europe/London:20260428T100000 DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260428T100000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260428T113000 LOCATION:Online event - link will be provided\n United King dom\n URL:https://srhe.ac.uk/civicrm/event/info/?reset=1&id=780 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR

\n < span style="font-family:Calibri\, sans-serif\;">~~10.00 – 10.10~~ ~~< /span>~~ \n	\n SRHE welcome and housekeeping \n \n Introduction to Research P roject by Dr. Nidi S. Sabharwal and Professor Emil y Henderson \n
\n 10.10 – 10.15 \n	\n < p>Arokia Mary: Methodology< /span> \n
\n ~~10.15 – 10 .25~~ \n	\n Professor Polly Vauquline: North-East Region Perspectives from Assam\, India \n
\n 10.25 – 10.35 \n	\n Professor Abdul Gafoor K: South Region Perspect ives from Kerala\, India \n
\n 10.35 – 10.45 \n	\n Professor Ra jeshwari: North Regional Perspective from Haryana\ , India< /p>\n
\n 10 .45 – 10.55 \n	\n Professor Dhanashri Jayant Mah ajan: West Region Perspective from Maharashtra\, I ndia \n
\n 10.55 – 11.05 \n	\n Professor Lukeshwar Gajpal Singh : Central- East Region Perspective from Chhattisga rh\, India \n
\n 11.05 – 11.25< /span> \n	\n Q&A \n
\n 11.25 – 11.30 \n	\n Professor A nn Stewart: Concluding remarks \n