Faculty Profile

Teaching Experience

• 12 ½ Years
  

Ph.D. Supervisor

• Dr. Sunny Firozbhal Wadhwania has been awarded a Doctoral degree for his thesis titled “Political Participation of Women Elected Representatives in North Gujarat: An Assessment” under the guidance of Dr. Ambati Nageswara Rao from Gujarat Law Society University Ahmedabad on 21st September 2020.
  

Research Projects 

Ongoing Projects

• Resolving pending cases through Alternative Dispute Resolution under Section 89 of Civil Procedure Code: A Case Study” from Department of Justice, Government of India (As a co-investigator). 
  
• The Role of Social Entrepreneurship in Promotion of Inclusive Development: A Case study of Selected Organisations in Central Gujarat funded by the Government of Gujarat, Gandhinagar. 

Completed Projects 

• Completed a research project on “Perceptions of Students with Disabilities on Support Services provided in Higher Education Institutions in Cities of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar” funded by Pondicherry University under PMMMNMTT Scheme, MHRD, Government of India, August 2020.
  
• Completed a research project on “Role of Special Education Teacher Educators in Creating an Inclusive Environment for Children with Disabilities”  funded by IUCTE, Regional Institute of Education Mysore (NCERT), March 2020.
  
• ‘Young Women Social Entrepreneurship Development Programme’ funded by British Council in partnership with Diageo.
  
• Compilation, Categorization and Analysis of High Court and Supreme Court Cases concerning Right to Education of Children as Envisaged under RTE Act, 2009 and Advice for Institutional, Legislative and Administrative Agencies funded by NCPCR, New Delhi (As a co-investigator).
• Change in Occupational Patterns: Its Impact on Health-Seeking Behaviour and Status of De-notified tribal women’ funded by GNLU, Gandhinagar.
• Paradigm shift in German Disability Policy and its impact on educational experiences of students with disabilities’ funded by DAAD, Germany.

Areas of General Interest

• Social Entrepreneurship,
  
• Disability Studies,
• Women Empowerment
• Tribal Development

Current Research Interest

• Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development
  

New Course(s) Designed/Introduced

• Social Entrepreneurship

Book 

• Students with Disabilities in Higher Education Institutions, Red Shine Publisher, Gujarat, 2018

Book Chapters

• The Role of Women in Social Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development. In In Misra, S, Shukla, S and Batthini, G (Ed.,) Twelfth Biennial Conference on Entrepreneurship, EDII, Bookwell publisher, Delhi, 2017.
  
• Successful Women Social Entrepreneur: A Case study of Aditi Gupta’s Menstrupedia. In Naang, Naveen, Jain Charul (Ed) Innovative Strategies in Transitional Economy, Shroff Publishers, New Delhi, 2017.
• Educational Experiences of Students with Disabilities in Higher Education: A Case Study of a Germany University. In Wulf Christoph (Ed.,) Exploring Alterity in a Globalized World, Routledge publication, 2016.
• Poverty, Disability and Social Exclusion in India. In Chattopadhyay, A (Ed.,) Poverty and Social Exclusion in India: Issues and Challenges, Rawat Publication, 2013.
• Research on students with disabilities at higher education. In Making Difference edited by Sheila Christopher, Excel India publisher, 2008.
• E-Learning And Learning Resources for Supporting Visually Challenged Students in Higher Education Institutions in Andhra Pradesh. In e-Resources in Higher Education: Issues, Development, Opportunities and Challenges, edited by Srinivasaragavan, Publication Division - Bharathidasan University, 2010.

Journal Articles

• ‘The Role of Social Entrepreneurship in Youth Development: A Case Study of Nitin Tailor Serve Happiness Foundation’, International Journal of Economic, Commerce and Business Management, Vol. 06, Issue-01, 2019.
• The Role of Social Entrepreneurial Organizations in Promotion of Sustainable Development, Think India Journal, Issue-14, pp. 5931-5944
• Social Innovation Practices in Sustainable Waste Management: Case Study of Successful Social Enterprises in Ahmedabad, International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research, Vol. 8, No. 12, pp. 1978-1985
• Impact of the barriers encountered by students with disabilities on their learning experiences at higher education institutions, Journal of Indian Education, Vol. XLIII, 2017.
  
• Attitudinal Barriers Encountered by Students with Disabilities in Higher Education Institutions, The International Journal of Indian Psychology, Vol. 4, 2017.
• Role of University Management in Creation of Inclusive Environment for Students with Disabilities in Higher Education Institutions, Asian Journal of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol. 7, No. 10, pp. 103-113.
• Social Entrepreneurship: Ideas, Innovation and Enhancement; Contribution towards a Sustainable Development, Journal of Strategic and International Studies, Vol XI, No 4, 2016.
• Perceptions of Students with Disabilities on Support Services provided in Higher Education Institutions, International Journal of Sociological Research, Vol.8 No.1-2 2015.
• Assessing the Life Satisfaction of Elderly Living in Old Age Homes in the City of Ahmedabad, Indian Journal of GERONTOLOGY, Vol. 29 No. 2, 2015.
• Working conditions and Quality of life of Street Vendors in City of Ahmedabad, Int. J of Social Sciences, and Interdisciplinary Research,  Vol. 4 (12), 2015.
• Coping Strategies Used By Students with Disabilities in Managing Social and Higher Educational Experiences, International Journal of Indian Psychology, Volume 2,  No. 4, 2015.
• Paradigm shift in German disability policy and its impact on students with disabilities in higher education, International Journal of Social Sciences & Interdisciplinary Research, Vol. 2, No (4), 2013.
• University Teacher's Attitudes and Experiences of Teaching Students with Visual Impairments, Asian Journal of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol. 3, No (3), 2013.
• Issues Encountered by Students with Disabilities at Higher Education, International Journal of World Universities Forum, Common Ground publisher, Vol. 2, No 4, 2010.
• Policy and Provisional Services for Supporting Student with Disabilities in Higher Education Institution in Andhra Pradesh, Indian Journal of Social Development, Vol. 10, No 1, 2010.
• Poverty and Disability in India, Social Change Journal, Sage Publication, Vol. 39, No 1, 2009.

Research Articles

• Motivating Factors of Social Entrepreneurs: Evidence from Gujarat, India, Materials Today: Proceedings, 37 (2021), 3393-3403
• Mapping of Social Enterprises in Gujarat: Opportunities and Challenges ahead, Journal of Public Affairs, Wiley Online Library, E2468, 2020
• Changes in Occupational Patterns and Its Impact on Health Seeking Behaviour of De-notified Tribal Women, International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24(2), 2020

Books Reviewed

• Disability Studies in India – Retrospect and Prospects. In The Indian Journal of Social Work, Vol. 70, No 4, October 2009.
  
• An Insights into Dementia Care in India. In Asia Pacific Journal of Counseling and Psychotherapy, Routledge Publications, Vol. 2 (2), 2011.

Paper Presentation  

Conferences

• ‘Mapping of Social Enterprises in Central Gujarat’ at the ‘International Conference on Knowledge and Policy for Sustainable Development: Global Lessons and Local Challenges’ held at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University from 25-27 September, 2019
• 'The Role of Social Entrepreneurial organizations in Promotion of Inclusive Development’ at the International Conference on Sustainable Development & Social Innovation in Business held at Chandigarh University from 25th – 26th February 2019.
  
• ‘The Role of Social Entrepreneurship in Youth Development: A Case Study of Nitin Tailor Serve Happiness Foundation’ at the International Conference on ‘Paradigm Shift in Global Business Practices and Socio-Economic Development’ held at Vishisht School of Management, Indore on 8th December 2018.
• Presented a paper titled 'Successful Women Social Entrepreneur: A Case Study of Aditi Gupta's Menstrupedia' in 5th International Conference on 'Paradigm Shift in Innovative Business Management' organized by Vishisht School of Management, Indore, on December 10, 2016.
  
• Presented a paper titled 'Attitudinal Barriers Encountered by Students with Disabilities in Higher Education Institutions' in the National Seminar on 'Innovation in Higher Education' organized by Faculty of Education, Kadi Sarva Vishawavidyalaya, Gandhinagar, on January 7, 2017.
• Presented a paper titled 'The Role of University Management in Creation of Inclusive Environment for Students with Disabilities in Higher Education Institutions' in the National Seminar on 'Innovation in Higher Education' organized by Faculty of Education, Kadi Sarva Vishawavidyalaya, Gandhinagar, on January 7, 2017.
• Presented a paper titled "Role of Teachers in Creating Inclusive Environment for Students with Visual Impairment in Higher Education Institutions" in NAAC sponsored National Conference on Higher Education in Post Globalization Scenario held at Gujarat Law Society, Ahmedabad, from April 12 to 13, 2016.
• Presented a paper titled 'Disclosing Disability of Students in Higher Education Institutions and Its impact on their Education experiences, in National Seminar on "Vision Education: 2025" held at Satyam College of Education, Bharuch, on February 27, 2016.
• Presented a paper titled 'Role of Legal Service Authorities in Implementation of Right to Education Act, 2009, in National Level Discussion meet on Supporting the Justiciability of the RTE, organized by National University of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi on February 22nd - 23rd, 20016.
• Presented a paper titled 'Educational and Occupational Aspirations of Students with Disabilities in Higher Education Institutions' in International Conference on Education - From Neolithic India to Contemporary World held at JG Group of Education College, Ahmedabad, on January 24th - 25th, 2016.
• Presented a paper titled 'Migration and Social problems in urban areas, presented paper at National Conference on Migrant Literature, Culture and Society: A Discourse on Homeland and Destination' was organised by Govind Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad in collaboration with GNLU, Gandhinagar on 3rd & 4th January, 2016.
• Presented a paper titled "Students with Disabilities in Higher Education: A Case study German University' at International Conference on Higher Education and Disability: Issues and challenges" organized by Bangalore University, on Feb 3rd - 5th, 2011.
• Presented a paper titles "Students with Disabilities in Higher Education: A Case study German University" in International Conference on Higher Education and Disability: Issues and challenges" organized by Bangalore University, on Feb 3-5, 2011.
• Presented a paper titled "Research on students with disabilities at higher education: Review presented in International Conference on e-resources in higher education organized by Bharathidasan University, Tiruchy, on Feb 19-20, 2010.
• Presented a paper titled "E-learning and learning resources provided to visually challenged students at higher education institutions in Andhra Pradesh, in International Conference on e-resources in higher education organized by Bharathidasan University, Tiruchy, on Feb 19-20, 2010.
• Presented a paper titled "Issues encountered by students with disabilities at higher education, in 2nd World University Forum, organized by IIT Mumbai, on January 16-18, 2009.
• at Holy Cross college, Trichirappalli, Tamil Nadu, International Rehabilitation Conference "Making Difference" on 10th - 12th December, 2008.
• Challenges faced by differently abled students in Higher education presented at Mother Teresa Women's University, Kodaikkanal, Tamil Nadu, International conference on Globalization and higher education, 2008.
• Presented a paper titled "Poverty and disability in India" International Conference on Eradication of poverty: Policy, issues and challenges, organized by Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, on 1st-3rd Oct, 2008.
• Presented a paper titled "The use of Information and Communication Technology: Students with Disabilities" in National conference on ICT for differently-abled persons, organized by Mahatma Gandhi Labour Institute, Ahmadabad, 2008.

Participation  

Workshops

• Participated in One Day Symposium on ‘Laws Related to Women and Influencing Factors’ organized by GNLU LexTech (Science Technology & Law) Club & Gender Sensitization Committee with support from Gujarat State Commission for Women, January 05, 2019 at GNLU.  
  
• Half-day Workshop on Social Impact Assessment: Policy and Procedure organized by GNLU through its GNLU – Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd. Fellowship on July 27, 2018.
• Attended Three days workshop on Data Analysis using SPSS organized by Department of Management Studies at National Institute of Techonology Tiruchy held on November 25th – 27th 2017.
  
• Attended a three days workshop on "Quantitative Research Methods: Questionnaire & SPSS for Data Analysis" Organized by LISSTAR, Nov 29th- Dec 1st 2012, Loyola College, Chennai.
• Participated in one week Training Programme on "Qualitative Research: Theory and Application", organized by the ICSSR at Centre for Social Studies, Surat, Oct 2-9, 2011.
• Participated in the nine days course on Research Methodology titled 'Social Sciences Research Data Analysis and Writing', organized by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and the SaciWATERs at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, Feb 2-10, 2010.
• Attended advanced Training on (Forced) Migration and Human Rights: Challenges and Approaches for European Citizenship Education, Organized by Network Migration Europea, Germany, Oct 27-31, 2010.
• Participated in the training workshop on "Using internet for Applied Development Research", organized by Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum and ICSSR Western Regional Centre, Mumbai, April 3-5 2009.

Organised 

Training Programmes

• Three Days Workshop on ‘'Me, Us & Them' (September 13-15, 2019)
• Prepared PhD Program Course Outline of ‘Research Methodology ‘and organized PhD Course work (Phase I & II)
• Two Days Workshop on How to Write Research Proposal (August 20-21, 2019)
• Logo Making Competition for GNLU Committee for Persons with Disabilities” 9th October, 2018
• Two-day workshop on Social Entrepreneurship during August 3-4, 2018
• Two Days Advanced Training Programme on Social Entrepreneurship at GNLU from 23rd – 24th September, 2017.
  
• Two days Training Programme on ‘Legal awareness Programme for Rural Women’, funded by National Commission for Women, organized  at GNLU from Jan 21-22, 2016.
• Two Days workshop on Counselling Skills in Collaboration with Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, organized at GNLU from 23rd – 24th September, 2016.
• Two Days Workshop and Competition on ‘Social Entrepreneurship Business Models’ in collaboration with Serve Happiness Foundation, organized at Gujarat National Law University, from 27th to 28th March, 2015.
• Five days Training Prorgamme on ‘Young Women on Social Entrepreneurship Development’, funded by British Council, India organized at Gujarat National Law University, from 31st  August – 4th September, 2015.
• First Annual National Conference on ‘Access to Legal Services’ organized at Gujarat National Law University, from 3rd – 4th October, 2015.

Participated 

Training Programmes

• Five days Training programme on ODF Sustainability and Solid & Liquid Resource Management (SLRM) in Rural Areas held during 27-31 May, 2019 at NIRDPR, Hyderabad.
• Advanced Applied Statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics for Legal Studies organized by GNLU Centre for Law and Economics from 13th -16th September, 2018.

• Training Programme on Applied Statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics for Legal Studies organized by Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar from 3rd – 4th February, 2018.

• Training Programme on ‘Action Agenda 2020’ organized by Change Makersroom from 3rd -09th October, 2016 at Bangalore.

Orientation Programmes

• Participated in 98th UGC sponsored Orientation Programme at Human Resource Development Centre, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad from 17th May - 13th June, 2017.
  

Faculty Development Programmes

• Two-Weeks Faculty Development Programme on “Managing Online Classes and Co-creating MOOCS” organized by Teaching Learning Centre, Ramanujan College, University of Delhi sponsored by MHRD under PMMMNMTT from April 20-May 06, 2020.
• 4 Day Online Workshop on “COVID-19: Resurgence of Entrepreneurship and Strat-ups” organized by Institution’s Innovation Council from May 25-28, 2020.
• 7 Day Online Workshop on ‘Basic Research Methodology’ organized by Association for Research and Advanced Studies from May 12-18, 2020.
• Online Certificate Course in “Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship” organized by Madras School of Social Work from July 03-16, 2020.
• AICTE Training and Learning Online FDP on “Social Enterprise Management” organized by Vivekanand Education Society’s Institute of Management Studies and Research from Jan 19-23, 2021.
• Participated in ‘One Week Faculty Development Programme' organized by Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar, from 16th – 21st May, 2016.
• Participated in Two weeks FDP on ‘Entrepreneurship’ at Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Ahmedabad, December 2014.

Short-Term Courses

• Diploma in Social Entrepreneurship, Centre for Social Initiative and Management (CSIM), Chennai, 2014.

Certificate Courses

• Certificate course on ‘Entrepreneurship Development Programme’, conducted by NIESBUD September 2016.

• Won the second prize for presenting the best ‘Social Business Model on Waste Management for Sustainable Society’ at ‘Being Sociopreneur’ organized by Nirma University in Collaboration with CIIE, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad on 26th November, 2014.
• DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service4) Research Fellowship at Freie University, Berlin.
• Doctoral fellowship from the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) for the year 2009-10 under ‘Open Category’.

Invited as Resource Person

• Session on “Social Entrepreneurship and Types of Social Business Models” by Dr. Ambati Nageswara Rao at Certificate Course on Legal Aspects of Startups in collaboration with GNLU Legal Incubation Council, GNLU Centre for IPR, Gujarat National Law University Gandhinagar, in the month of February 2021.
  
• Delivered a session on “Social entrepreneurship: Prospects & Opportunities for Social Workers” organized by Department of Social Work, Mahatma Gandhi University, Nalgonda, Telangana on 31th Jan 2021.
• Delivered a Session on “Framing Research Questions” and “Designing Mixed Methods Research” along with Prof. S Shanthakumar, Director, GNLU PhD Scholars at Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar on 14th December 2020.
• Session on “Research Onion: A Systematic Approach to Designing Research Methodology” for PhD Scholars at Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar on 25th November 2020.
• Delivered a session on “Social Entrepreneurship and SDGs: Case Study of Successful Social Enterprises in Disability Sector” at Summer School on Disability Studies organized by GNLU Centre for Disability Studies, Gandhinagar on 09th August 2020.
• Invited as Visiting Faculty for Research Methodology Course (Nov-Dec, 2019) at Adani Institute of Infrastructural Management, Ahmedabad.
• Visiting Research Fellow at Freie University, Berlin.

Delivered Sessions on Research Methods/Qualitative/Quantitative/Research softwares (SPSS, JAMOVI/NVivo/ATLAS.ti/SLR, Bibliometric and Meta-Analysis)

• Delivered an expert session on Disability, Higher Education and Sustainable Development Goals: A Bibliometric Analysis at an International Project Workshop on Education, Nation Building, and Social Justice: A Study of Universities in India, South Africa and the USA on 27-28 Jan 2025 at Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, University of Hyderabad. 
• Served as a Resource Person in the One-Month National Level Online Refresher Course on "Teaching Law in the 21st Century – Edition 2 (40 Hrs.)" organized by Law Teachers India and Gujarat Maritime University from 1st January to 3rd February 2024.
• Participated as a panelist in the APAC Academic Hub Research Panel discussion on "Catalysts of Change: Research Insights on Social Entrepreneurship in APAC" organized by Catalyst 2030 on 10th April 2024.
• Conducted a session on "Statistical Tools in Legal Research" at the Three Weeks Online Workshop on Legal Research Methodology organized by SRM University, Delhi-NCR, Sonepat and Law Teachers India (Session held on 26th March 2024) from 11th to 31st March 2024.
• Delivered a session as part of a 5-day e-workshop on "SLR, Bibliometric Analysis and Meta-Analysis" for Meerashpa Learning Solutions from 15th to 19th April 2024.
• Delivered a lecture on "Systematic Literature Review" at the Ph.D. Course Work program organized by the Department of Commerce, Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) on 16th May 2024.
• Delivered a lecture on "Bibliometric Analysis" at the Ph.D. Course Work program organized by the Department of Commerce, Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) on 18th May 2024.
• Invited as a resource person to conduct a pre-conference workshop on "Writing Systematic Literature Review Paper step-by-step" at the 42nd Annual National Conference of the Indian Society of Professional Social Work (ISPSW) on 27th June 2024.
• Delivered a session on "Qualitative Data Analysis Techniques for Empirical Legal Research" in the FDP on "Curriculum Design & Teaching Pedagogy: Emerging Trends in Law" at Birla School of Law, Birla Global University, Bhubaneswar on 4th July 2024.
• Conducted a one-week national-level online faculty development program as a Resource Person on "Using Advanced Tools and Techniques for Quantitative & Qualitative Data Analysis" organized by Gujarat National Law University and Law Teachers India from 6th to 12th September 2024.
• Delivered a lecture on "Role of Universities in Enhancing Social Entrepreneurship Education for SDGs" as a Resource Person in the Refresher Course in Multilingualism and Curriculum Development at Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak (MP) on 30th August 2024.
• Invited as a Resource Person by S.S. Jain Subodh Law College, Jaipur for A Short Course on Socio-Legal Research from 6th to 23rd November 2024.
• Delivered a session on "Data Analysis using Software like NVivo, Jamovi, MS Excel" in A Short Course on Socio-Legal Research organized by S.S. Jain Subodh Law College, Jaipur on 18th and 19th November 2024.
• Delivered a post-conference research methodology workshop on "AI-Powered Qualitative Data Analysis with NVivo 15 for Doctrinal & Non-Doctrinal Research Work" at the International Conference on Lex Bonanza organized by Indore Institute of Law in collaboration with Gujarat National Law University on 8th December 2024.
• Served as a Resource Person in the Two-Week Workshop on Research Writing & Data Analysis organized by HR College of Commerce on 7th January 2025.
• Delivered an expert session on "Disability, Higher Education and Sustainable Development Goals: A Bibliometric Analysis" at an International Project Workshop organized by the Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, University of Hyderabad on 27th and 28th January 2025.
• Served as a resource person and shared expertise on "Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development" at the Center for Studies in Social Management (CSSM), Central University of Gujarat on 26th July 2022.
• Served as a speaker at an EOC event at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A), delivering a session focused on Diversity and Inclusion in October 2022.
• Delivered a lecture on "Mixed Methodology" at the Ph.D. Coursework Phase II program at Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) on 9th November 2022.
• Delivered a lecture on "Phenomenological Research Method" at the Ph.D. Coursework Phase III program at Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) on 23rd December 2022.
• Delivered a lecture on "Ethnography/Grounded Theory" at the Ph.D. Coursework Phase III program at Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) on 23rd December 2022.

Technical Session Chaired/Co-Chaired

• Chaired a session the sub-theme 'Thrust Areas of Researches in Higher Education' in the National Seminar on 'Innovation in Higher Education' organized by Faculty of Education, Kadi Sarva Vishawavidyalaya, Gandhinagar, on January 7, 2017.
  

Other 

Membership of other institutions/professional societies

• Lifetime member of National Association of Professional Social Workers in India
• Lifetime member of Indian Sociological Society 
• Life Member (4068) of All India Association for Education Research (AIAER) 
  
• Life Member of Indian Society of Professional Social Work (ISPSW) 
• Reginal Advisory member of Social Entrepreneurship programme at EDII, Ahmedabad

Membership of Editorial Board

• Ref: EDEV_2018_938, International Journal of Education Development, Elsevier
• Ref: IJAIP-237452, Internal Journal of Advanced Intelligence Paradigms, Inderscience

Other activities/Institutional Responsibilities

• Director of Legal Incubation Centre 
  
• Member of Academic Council at GNLU
• Convener of Committee for Persons with Disability
• Member of Centre for Law and Society
• Co-Convener of the Legal Service Committee 
• Member of Equal Opportunity Cell