ALUMNI
Dr. Asha Rathina Pandi
PhD (2011), M.A. in Sociology (2005), University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM), USA
Dr. Asha Rathina Pandi, is presently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Center for Culture-centered Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE) at Massey University. At CARE, her research will focus on the health of Plantation and Migrant workers in Malaysia.
Previously, she held teaching and research positions at the Department of Communications and New Media, Center for Culture-centered Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE), and Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore. Asha received her PhD (2011) and M.A. in Sociology (2005) from the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM), USA. She also holds a M.Sc. (2000) and Bachelor’s degrees in Urban Planning (1996) from University Technology of Malaysia, and a Graduate Certificate in Global Health and Population Studies from UHM (2012).
Asha has 18 years of experience in the higher education industry. Her teaching and research interests are in social change and justice, health communication, community engagement, mixed methods and marginalized populations. She has published in journals of International Development Planning, Journalism, Development Studies, Frontiers in Communication, among others.
ALUMNI
Samarendra Das
Samarendra Das is a journalist, bilingual author, filmmaker and political activist. He was trained in mathematics and computer science at the universities of Brahmapur and Indore in India. Samarendra’s books in the Odia language translate as: Rashoman and Other Stories(1998) on the theme of State censorship; From Salunki to St Lawrence (2001), reflective essays on travel; and Identity Quest (2002), a translation with commentary of writings by Nirmal Varma on the relationship between Eastern and Western cultures. He also co-authored Out of This Earth: East India Adivasis and the Aluminium Cartel (2010) with Dr. Felix Padel of the University of Sussex. His main documentary films, with Amarendra Das, are: Wira Pdika or Earth Worm : Company Man (2005), about mining in Orissa; Ladaat Jaare or The Struggle (2006), about forest rights in central India; and Kandhamal 2008 (2011), about the communal violence that engulfed his home district in Odisha. Samarendra is currently a Senior Research Associate at the Centre for World Environmental History, Sussex University, and a co-founder of the grassroots organisation Foil Vedanta. He is currently working on a film on illegal iron ore mining in India and a booklet called Sabu Luha Lokonkoro or Iron ore is for Everyone. ,