A seasoned professional, Dr Archana Mantri has an extensive experience of over three decades in Industry and academia. Prior to assuming office of the Vice Chancellor at Anurag University in May 2024, she has held top offices including that of Vice Chancellor at leading academic Institutes in Punjab and
Rajasthan and earlier at Fibre Optic Communications company in Madhya Pradesh. During her vast and varied tenure, she has spearheaded several initiatives related to strategy, institution development, research, innovation, and entrepreneurship. With a PhD in Engineering and research interests in cutting-edge technologies like Immersive and Interactive Technologies, she brings with her a substantial research track record of over 100 publications
in reputed journals and an h-index of 19. Her outstanding experience is underscored by a commitment to research leadership and she undertakes every opportunity to contribute to the advancement of research excellence and innovation.
She has led 18 research and capacity-building projects, cumulatively amounting to 5 million USD. Her Scopus profile, accessible at https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=25652687100 , showcases a catalog of 108 publications in refereed journals and conferences, with over 1000 citations and an h-index of 19. Additionally, her contributions extend to 43 patents, 7 of which have been granted and have been licensed out to commercial ventures. Most recently, she was involved in a project as Principal Investigator (PI) to develop metaverse experience for architectural heritage sites, and another one to establish Centre of Excellence for agri- waste management. Both of them are high value projects amounting to 600K USD. In the realm of national funding, her other projects include those in the domains of pedagogical innovations, the impact of science and technology on rural communities, and the cultivation of entrepreneurial ecosystems. Her earliest technology project titled "Enhancing Technology-Enabled Learning Experience Through Tablet Usage," was valued at 1.7 million USD. This initiative was among the earliest explorations in its domain. Additionally, she has conceived, defended, and secured funding for several projects focused on technological interventions for learning, the development of mini-MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), vocational education enhancement, and the formulation of technological curricula for K-12
education. The outcomes of these projects have yielded impactful results and contributed to a wealth of
publications. After completing her doctoral research, she had the privilege to contribute to two projects funded by the Swiss National Foundation (SNF) at the CHILI Lab, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland. These projects focused on "Technologies for Vocational Education" and "PBL-Based Communities." Additionally, she has provided mentorship and guidance to a few international capacity-building projects supported by
European Union. Dr Mantri has worked extensively in curriculum development and has coined several new models of education for making it project, skill and apprenticeship based. She has conducted numerous workshops at national and international platforms for educators’ training, specifically in project and problem-based learning.
Listing her recent contributions to education – earlier in 2021, she was on 14 member committee constituted by AICTE to draft recommendations on implementation for NEP and later in Jan 2023, Dr Mantri was nominated to be on the five-member north zone committee constituted by UGC for implementation of NEP. She serves on panels of several international education forums including Indo- Universal Collaboration of Engineering Education and Global Engineering Deans Council. Her story features amongst 30 top and leading Women Engineers from across the Globe in the book titled “Rising
to the Top”. She loves to read books on Indian mythology and philosophy and is a firm believer in and propagator of
Indian value system.