About
The Iron Pillar Initiative in Global Learning (IGL) is a joint effort between Ashoka University and Iron Pillar to build a forward-looking platform for global academic engagement, interdisciplinary learning, and research collaboration. Emerging from recent discussions with faculty leadership and partners, the initiative is envisioned as a platform that brings together leading scholars, institutions, and industry actors to foster sustained intellectual exchange, collaborative research, and transformative student experiences.
Core Objectives
At its core, the IGL Initiative seeks to advance three interlinked objectives.
- First, it aims to reinforce Ashoka’s academic foundations by integrating global perspectives into teaching, research, and student experiences.
- Second, it will bring leading academicians, researchers, and practitioners into sustained engagement with the Ashoka community, moving beyond one-time interactions toward deeper, programmatic collaborations.
- Third, the initiative will enable structured pathways for student mobility, collaborative research, and cross-border intellectual exchange, ensuring that global exposure translates into tangible academic and professional outcomes.
Vision
To build an ecosystem that nurtures leaders capable of bridging disciplines, translating complex knowledge into impactful decisions, and shaping institutions, ideas, and innovations that contribute to a more thoughtful, equitable, and future-oriented society. IGL aspires to become a national and global reference point for leadership rooted not only in technical competence but also in cultural understanding, scientific literacy, and civic responsibility.
Launch
Formal Launch: 24 September 2026 at the Ashoka University Campus
MOU signing ceremony with all founding partners
Inaugural IGL Annual Lecture: by Michael A. Spence (Nobel Laureate)
Partner MOUs: CERN, ADBI, Bhutan, Nobel Institute, Global Dignity
Launch workshop by Prasenjeet Yadav, National Geographic Explorer, on storytelling lab with photography as the major tool
Portfolio of Projects and Partnerships
Prasenjeet Yadav, National Geographic Explorer
Science Storytelling & Visual Communication Workshop
A hands-on workshop led by acclaimed wildlife photographer Prasenjeet Yadav in partnership with National Geographic, aligned with the September 2026 launch. The workshop will immerse Ashoka students as well as students selected from across the country via a highly selective process in the art and science of visual storytelling, equipping them with the skills to communicate complex scientific ideas through compelling imagery and narrative. It is designed to bridge the gap between rigorous research and public understanding.
ANNUAL FLAGSHIP PROGRAMME
IGL Annual Meeting
A high-impact three-day convening bringing together approximately 120 global scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and Ashoka faculty and students. The Annual Meeting serves as the intellectual centrepiece of IGL, a structured forum for cross-disciplinary dialogue, collaborative research development, and the building of long-term academic partnerships. It will feature keynote sessions, working groups, and mentorship roundtables designed to generate substantive outcomes.
CERN — EUROPEAN ORGANISATION FOR NUCLEAR RESEARCH
Research Internship Programme
A competitive internship programme placing three Ashoka students at CERN, Geneva, for an intensive eight-day engagement with one of the world’s foremost scientific research environments. Students will work alongside leading physicists and engineers, gaining exposure to frontier research in particle physics and large-scale international scientific collaboration. The programme aims to inspire careers at the intersection of pure science, technology, and global institutions.
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK INSTITUTE (ADBI)
Academic Publications & Student Internships
A dual-track partnership with the Asian Development Bank Institute, developed in collaboration with Ashoka’s Havells School of Management. The publication strand brings together a project manager, research fellows, one to two Ashoka faculty members, and ADBI scholar Henrik Syse to co-author peer-reviewed work on development economics and policy in Asia. Alongside this, two to three Ashoka students will undertake structured internships at ADBI, gaining real-world exposure to multilateral development research and policy advisory processes.
NOBEL INSTITUTE
Translation Initiative & Library Partnership
A scholarly partnership with the Norwegian Nobel Institute centred on making foundational works in peace studies, ethics, and political philosophy accessible to a wider English-language audience. Henrik Syse will lead the translation of selected Norwegian texts into English, in collaboration with the HDFC Library at Ashoka. As a mark of the partnership, the Nobel Institute will also donate a curated collection of books to Ashoka’s library — enriching the university’s holdings in the areas of conflict resolution, moral philosophy, and international affairs.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT & INNOVATION WORKSHOPS
Science, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Programming
A series of one to two-day workshops bringing together approximately 20 students from across Ashoka’s management and science disciplines to develop ideas at the intersection of research, entrepreneurship, and real-world impact. Participants will be guided through structured ideation processes and given the opportunity to pitch concepts to a panel of practitioners and mentors. The programming draws on Ashoka’s existing strengths in liberal arts education and is designed to build bridges between academic thinking and professional application.
BHUTAN & GLOBAL DIGNITY
Cross-Cultural Engagement & Values-Based Leadership
IGL’s partnership with Global Dignity — an initiative co-founded by HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway — and engagement with Bhutan reflect the initiative’s commitment to values-based, people-centred approaches to global learning. These collaborations will explore themes of human dignity, well-being, and purpose-driven leadership, drawing on Bhutan’s distinctive Gross National Happiness framework. Structured exchanges and dialogue sessions will be designed to broaden students’ understanding of alternative development paradigms and ethical governance.
Leadership
K. VijayRaghavan
Chair, Science Advisory Council
Co-Chair — Initiative in Global Learning
About:
K VijayRaghavan is the DAE Homi Bhabha Professor and former Director of the National Centre for Biological Sciences. He previously served as Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India. His research spans developmental biology, genetics, and neurogenetics — particularly the mechanisms that control the nervous system and muscles during development and their role in locomotor behaviour. He is a Fellow of the Indian Science Academies, a Fellow of the Royal Society (elected 2012), a foreign member of the US National Academy of Sciences, and was conferred the Padma Shri in 2013.
Archish Mittal
Vice-President, Iron Pillar Fund
Chair, Advisory Council — Initiative in Global Learning
About:
Archish Mittal invests in technology companies at Iron Pillar and chairs the IGL Advisory Council at Ashoka University. He is a Board Member of Global Dignity (co-founded by HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway) and a member of the Trilateral Commission. He serves as Special Advisor to the Royal Family of Jaisalmer and has held fellowships at the Norwegian Nobel Institute, MIT, the Bucerius Summer School on Global Governance, the Milken Institute Young Leaders’ Circle, and the Atlantic Council. He writes regularly for Al Arabiya, Fair Observer, and Moneycontrol.
Dr Henrik Syse
Professor, Peace Research Institute of Oslo(PRIO), & Former Vice-Chair, Nobel Peace Prize Committee
About:
Henrik Syse is a Research Professor at PRIO, working on ethical questions related to armed and other societal conflicts. He has also worked on questions related to domestic terrorism, ideology, free speech, and religion. He holds a doctoral degree in philosophy. Henrik has, since 2009, served as Chief Co-Editor of the Journal of Military Ethics (currently with James L. Cook), and he is a part-time Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Oslo New University College (formerly Bjørknes University College).
Before he came to PRIO, Henrik was a Fulbright Fellow at Boston College, USA (1989-91), and a Norwegian Research Council Fellow at the University of Oslo (1992-97). He earned his Bachelor’s (Cand.Mag.) Degree from the University of Oslo in 1989, his Master of Arts Degree from Boston College in 1991, and his PhD (Dr Art.) Degree from the University of Oslo in 1997.
He is the author of Natural Law, Religion, and Rights (St. Augustine’s Press, 2007), based on his doctoral dissertation, and is the editor of The Ethics of War: Classic and Contemporary Readings (with Gregory Reichberg and Endre Begby, Blackwell, 2006); of Ethics, Nationalism, and Just War (with Gregory Reichberg, Catholic University of America Press, 2007); of Religion, War, and Ethics: A Sourcebook of Textual Traditions (with Gregory Reichberg and Nicole Hartwell, Cambridge University Press, 2014), and of Norge etter 22. juli (“Norway after July 22”) (Cappelen Damm, 2018). He has published many academic articles, including in journals such as Ethics and International Affairs, Security Dialogue, Journal of Peace Research, Augustinian Studies, Modern Age, Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics, Corporate Governance, and Journal of Military Ethics. He has also published several books in Norwegian on issues such as faith and reason, free speech, and applied ethics. His most recent monograph, Ord i krise (Cappelen Damm, 2020), deals with the challenges of life in crisis situations, with an emphasis on the Covid pandemic.
In September 2025, Henrik published a book with his daughter, Jenny Helene Syse, on the Apollo Missions to the Moon, and how they led to collaboration between the superpowers and a path towards peace. The book is called Fordi det er vanskelig: Om menneskets utrolige reise til månen (Cappelen Damm, 2025) and is currently being translated into English.
David Beasley
Former Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (2017-2023)
About:
David Beasley, a former Governor of South Carolina, recently served as the Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), having been nominated by two President’s Administrations of two different parties and appointed to that role initially in 2017 by the UN Secretary-General of the United Nations and served until April 2023.
Under Mr Beasley’s leadership, WFP was the largest humanitarian organisation in the world, assisting over 160 million people in 2022 alone and raising over $55 billion USD. In 2020, Mr Beasley received the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the WFP for its efforts to provide food assistance in conflict areas and to prevent food from being used as a weapon of war and conflict. In his acceptance speech delivered in Oslo on December 10, 2021,
Mr Beasley stated that “Working with 115 million people in 80 countries, day-in and day-out, the women and men of WFP have gained a unique perspective. We have learned that there is great richness in those who are seen, in the eyes of the world, as “the poor.” And many of us who are considered “rich” are actually poor in the things that matter most.” Mr Beasley also received the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award for his stand on the Confederate Flag, as well as many other awards. He majored in Microbiology at Clemson University and received a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of South Carolina. He was also a Fellow and taught at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He is married to the former Mary Wood Payne and is the father of four children and three grandchildren.
Mayssoun Azzam
Journalist, Al Arabiya
About:
A seasoned media professional with over 22 years of experience in broadcast journalism and current affairs, contributing to Al Arabiya News Channel as a news presenter. Proficient in delivering impactful news coverage, with expertise in broadcast journalism and politics. Serves as the First Media Advocate for Josour under the United Nations ESCWA, fostering impactful communication strategies. Additionally, provides strategic guidance on media education as an Advisory Board Member at The American University in the Emirates, supporting curriculum development and student success. Aims to empower the next generation of communicators with industry-driven insights.
Dr Michael A Spence
Dean, Emeritus, at the Stanford Graduate School of Business & Chair, General Atlantic Global Growth Institute
About:
Michael Spence, a Nobel laureate in economics, is Professor Emeritus of Economics and a former dean of the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. He is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Senior Adviser to General Atlantic, and Chairman of the firm’s Global Growth Institute. He is Chair of the Advisory Board of the Asia Global Institute and serves on the Academic Committee at Luohan Academy. He is a former chair of the Commission on Growth and Development and a co-author
(with Mohamed A. El-Erian, Gordon Brown, and Reid Lidow) of Permacrisis: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World (Simon & Schuster, 2023).
Dr Lourdes Casanova
Senior lecturer & Director of the Gail and Roberto Cañizares Emerging Markets Institute, Cornell University
About:
Lourdes Casanova is the director of Gail and Roberto Cañizares, Director of the Emerging Markets Institute and senior lecturer at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. Formerly of the strategy department at INSEAD, she specialises in international business with a focus on Latin America and multinationals from emerging markets.
In 2014 and 2015, Casanova was named as one of the 50 most influential Iberoamerican intellectuals by Esglobal. She is a member of the board of directors of Boyce Thompson Institute. Casanova is a Fulbright Scholar who holds a PhD from Universidad de Barcelona and MA from the University of Southern California.
Sushant Plakruthi Rao
Managing Director, Global External Affairs, Agility & Former Head of Asia-Pacific, World Economic Forum
About:
Sushant is a German–American dual citizen as well as an Overseas Citizen of India and resides in Hamburg, Germany. He is the Managing Director of Global External Relations at Agility, a global leader and investor in supply chain services and innovation, as well as the second largest shareholder in DSV, the world’s third largest logistics company. In this capacity, Sushant oversees group public affairs and supports the Agility board and the CEOs of its subsidiary companies in their business development, strategic initiatives, and partnership development.
Before joining Agility, Sushant was the Head of Asia Pacific and a member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum from 2005 to 2015 in Geneva, Switzerland. In that role, Sushant led a significant expansion of the World Economic Forum’s engagement with stakeholders from the private sector and governments in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Korea and Australasia, which more than tripled the Forum’s membership base in those regions within three years. He also developed and oversaw the first-ever major Forum events in Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Early in his career, Sushant held roles with Accenture (Munich) and Sony Europe (Berlin) in management consulting. In 2017, he also supported the office of the CEO of Hannover Re in regulatory affairs. Today, he acts as a Senior Advisor to the investment company General Capital Group (Munich).
Sushant holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University (cum laude), a Master of Public Affairs from Columbia University (summa cum laude) and a Master of Global Leadership from INSEAD in conjunction with the World Economic Forum. During his undergraduate studies, he completed the one-year General Course at the London School of Economics. He is fluent in English and German and can speak conversational French, Korean, and Hindi.
Fellows
Olaug Svarva
Chair, Norfund & Fellow, IGL
About:
Chair of DNB Bank since 2018, Norway’s leading financial services group, with a leading global position within shipping, ocean services, renewables and oil and gas. Chair of Norfund since 2019, the Norwegian Fund for Developing Countries, sustainable investments and ESG.
CEO of Folketrygdfondet for twelve years, manager of the Government Pension Fund Norway.
Experienced Board Chair and CEO with a demonstrated history in the financial industry. Focus on finance and sustainable value creation, through investments, ESG, risk management and active ownership. Investments in finance, energy, including renewable solutions. Building professional teams, organisations, and stakeholder management.
