Ms Kavisha Pillay
Kavisha Pillay is a social justice activist and the founding director of the Campaign On Digital Ethics (CODE). With a strong background in transparency, good governance, and accountability, Kavisha has built mass mobilisation campaigns, published various research reports, and developed innovative civic tech platforms aimed at improving public engagement in the fight against corruption. Kavisha is also a former member of the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council, an advisory body to the President of the Republic of South Africa. In her current role, Kavisha is working on finding ways to hold Big Tech accountable, for In her current role, Kavisha is working on finding ways to hold Big Tech accountable for the ethical and safety implications of their platforms, ranging from data privacy breaches and unchecked disinformation to algorithmic biases that reinforce inequalities.
Dr. Sayantan Mandal
Dr. Sayantan Mandal is an Associate Professor at the Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies (ZHCES), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. He is recognized for his expertise in higher education policy, critical digital education, and innovative teaching-learning practices. Dr. Mandal holds a PhD in Higher Education Policy (Cum Laude) from the University of Deusto, Spain, and a master’s degree in Lifelong Learning: Policy and Management from Aarhus University, Denmark, supported by prestigious Erasmus Mundus scholarships. Prior to joining JNU, he served IIT Jammu, where he led pioneering research on digital education integration and teacher competencies in AI-enabled higher education. He has also held academic positions at NIEPA and the University of Delhi, and has been a visiting faculty at the University of British Columbia, Canada and University of Deusto. Dr. Mandal has coordinated several national and international research projects, and his scholarly work includes numerous peer-reviewed articles and edited volumes, such as the book “Roadmap for Humanities and Social Sciences in STEM Higher Education” (Springer) and India Higher Education Report 2017 (Sage). He is a recipient of the IIT Jammu Teaching Appreciation Award (2019-21) and has served as a member of the Karnataka Government’s Task Force on higher education reforms. Photo attached