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Abha Rishi

Designation: Chairperson - Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Development Professor of International Business & Entrepreneurship

Email: [email protected]

Phone Number: +91-120-6843000-10

Extension: 356



Presently, I am the CEO for the Atal Incubation Centre (on sabbatical leave) ( funded by the Government of India) and the Chairperson for the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development (CIED) at Birla Institute of Management Technology. I am also an Professor with 24 years of experience in the field of entrepreneurship and international trade. My qualifications in the field of International business and management are a PhD, PGDIBO, MFT and MIB. I hold an Entrepreneurship Educators Certificate (Honors) from STVP, Stanford University. I am among the few Indians who hold both a Chevening (Chevening Rolls Royce Science and Innovation Leadership Programme- 2014 scholar from Said Business School, University of Oxford, UK) and a Fulbright scholarship (Fulbright Research Fellow from India at Rutgers University, Newark, USA for 2009-10).

I have been the Programme Director from BIMTECH for two states- UP and Orissa, for the BIMTECH ISB Goldman Sachs 10000 Women global project. I have published and presented papers in various domestic and international forums. I have traveled across 4 continents and 21 countries as part of my work and also for research. I was also the managing editor for the South Asian Business Review- a peer reviewed journal from 2008 to 2011. My hobbies include reading and quizzing and I have won the Championship Winners Trophy in 2008 in the All India Women’s Quiz conducted by AIMA. Besides that, I have received the following 5 awards for my contribution in various areas.

  • the ‘Entrepreneurship Education Champion’s’ Award from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), in March 2015
  • the ‘Distinguished Services Award’ from BIMTECH in Oct 2016.
  • the Accenture’s Inclusion & Diversity Recognition Award, in March 2017
  • the ‘NEN ( National Entrepreneurship Network) Entrepreneurship Educator of the Decade’ award in February 2018
  • Silver Award in the Indian Management Conclave Awards 2019 by Sh. Pranab Mukherjee, ex-President of India
  • the Sandvik India Gender Awards (SIGA) in August 2019 in the academic category from Sandvik India and the Embassy of Sweden

Academic

  • B.Sc. (Life Sciences), Panjab University, Chandigarh, India, 1992
  • MIB ( Masters in International Business), Panjab University, Chandigarh, India, 1994
  • MFT (Masters in Foreign Trade), Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, India, 2005
  • PGDIBO (Postgraduate Diploma in International Business Operations), Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India, 2006
  • PhD ( Management- Area: Entrepreneurship ) CMJ University, 2013

Professional

  • Honors certificate in Entrepreneurship Educators Course (EEC) conducted by Stanford University, USA under the aegis of NEN, 2009

International Scholarships

  • Fulbright Research Fellow from India under the United States India Educational Foundation( USIEF) at Rutgers University, Newark, USA for 2009-10
  • British High Commission’s Chevening Rolls Royce ( CRISP) Fellowship at the University of Oxford, UK for 2014

  • Incubation success metrics
  • Women Entrepreneurship
  • Student Entrepreneurship
  • Green Entrepreneurship

  • Basics of Entrepreneurship
  • Entrepreneurial Mindset
  • International Marketing
  • Global Retailing and Franchising ( new course developed for PGDM-IB)
  • Global Retailing ( new course developed for PGDM-RM)
  • Enterprise Lab ( new course developed for PGDM and PGDM-IB )
  • Entrepreneurship Internship Programme

Academic

  • Associate Professor  (Entrepreneurship & International Business), Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India, December 2010 onwards with additional responsibility as CEO- Atal Incubation Centre ( from September 2017 onwards)
  • Associate Professor  (International Business), Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India, December 2010 onwards with additional responsibility as Chairperson, Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development ( from June 2014 onwards)
  • Associate Professor  (International Business), Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India, December 2010 onwards with additional responsibilities as Programme Director of the Goldman Sachs ISB 10000 Women global project for UP and NCR ( from August 2011 to May 2014) and Programme Coordinator – PGDIB ( Dec 2010 – June 2014)
  • Assistant Professor  (International Business), Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India, June 2006 onwards ( with additional responsibility as Programme Coordinator – PGDIB from July 2006- November 2010)
  • Assistant Professor  (International Business) and Head of the Department of Management in LIET, a reputed institute under the University of Rajasthan, at Alwar, Rajasthan, India (September, 2005 – June 2006)
  • Senior Lecturer [International Business]  and Lecturer in Rai University, Bhopal campus, India (14 August 2004- September 2005)

Industrial (handling export administration)

  • Senior Manager with GMPL, New Delhi ( Sep 2002 – June 2004)
  • Project Manager in GMPL, New Delhi (Sep 2000- Aug 2002)
  • Asstt. Administration Manager with GMPL, New Delhi (Sep 1998- Aug 2000)
  • Senior Export Executive with GMPL, New Delhi (Dec 1996- Aug 1998)
  • Export Executive with Electra Exports, Meerut (4thJune1994- Nov 1996)

  • Associate Professor and teaching Entrepreneurship related courses, International Marketing and International Retailing  to senior PGDM/ IB/ Retail students of the Institute
  • CEO, Atal Incubation Centre- BIMTECH, Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India
  • Chairperson, Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development, Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India
  • Institutional Lead, Institution’s Innovation Council (IIC), AICTE & MHRD’s Innovation Cell. Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India
  • Committee Member for AACSB International Accreditation, Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India
  • Treasurer, BIMTECH Foundation, Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India
  • Faculty Coordinator for E-cell in Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India
  • Project Lead for the British Council sponsored Social Enterprise Education Programme ( SEEP) in collaboration with the University of Hull, UK, in Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India
  • Programme Director of the Goldman Sachs ISB 10000 Women global project for UP and NCR ( from August 2011 to May 2013), in Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India
  • Programme coordinator for Centre for International Business & Policy, BIMTECH, from June 2007 to June 2014, in Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India
  • Head of Media Relations in BIMTECH from August 2006 to July 2017, in Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India
  • Managing Editor for the South Asian Business Review- a journal published by the Centre for International Business and Policy till from July 2008 to January 2011, in Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India
  • Editor of the Centre for International Business & Policy’s in-house newsletter, Altius, in Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India
  • Leader-Coordinator for National Entrepreneurship Network ( NEN) from BIMTECH since 2007, in Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India
  • Member – International Relations Committee ( 2009- 2017), in Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India
  • Member MDP and Consultancy cell ( 2008-11), in Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India
  • Member of the Admissions Committee ( 2007-08), in Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India
  • Member of the organizing committees of different events in BIMTECH, Greater Noida
  • Member of the various organizing committees  in LIET, Alwar
  • Member of the working committee responsible for implementing ISO standards in Rai University, Bhopal campus
  • Editor in the campus magazine of Rai University, Bhopal campus

  • Advisory Board member of Institutional Innovation Council for Bennett University, Greater Noida, a probono position from July 2019 onwards
  • Advisory Board member of Institutional Innovation Council for Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University, Gurugram, a probono position from June 2019 onwards
  • Advisory Board member of the Incubation Centre of Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Anantapur (State University), Ananthapuramu, Andhra Pradesh, India, a probono position from August 2018 onwards.
  • Advisor, Sarvaa Phytoceutical and Research LLP – a probono position from 2018 onwards
  • National Board Member and  State Chapter President for Delhi & NCR Region for IWFCI (International Women’s Federation of Commerce and Industry) from August 2016 onwards
  • Advisor, Phyto Specialities (Pvt) Ltd. – a probono position from February 2016 onwards
  • As Resource person in the Ronnie Screwwala owned UpGrad Ventures for their Entrepreneurship program, 2015-till date. My sessions are now part of the StartUp India lessons

  • 2019: Awarded as the winner in the academic category by the Sandvik India Gender Awards (SIGA) in August 2019.
  • 2019 : Received the Silver Award in the Indian Management Conclave Awards 2019 from Sh. Pranab Mukherjee, ex-President of India
  • 2019: Felicitated for my contribution in developing ecosystem for entrepreneurs by DIPP, Government of India, in March, 2019
  • 2018: Conferred the ‘NEN (National Entrepreneurship Network) Entrepreneurship Educator of the Decade’ award in February 2018.
  • 2017: Received the Accenture’s Inclusion & Diversity Recognition Award, for my work in creating micro-entrepreneurs, with the underprivileged in jails and villages on March 8, 2017.
  • 2016: Received the ‘Distinguished Services Award’ from BIMTECH in Oct 2016.
  • 2015: Conferred the Entrepreneurship Education Champion’s Award from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), India, along with NEN in partnership with Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), the British Council and Intel, in March 2015, at New Delhi.
  • 2011: Selected as a semi- finalist in the GDN Japanese Award for Outstanding Research in Development Work by the Global Development Network in January 2011 at Bogota, Colombia
  • 2008: won the Championship Winners Trophy in the All India Women’s Quiz 2008, conducted by All India Management Association (AIMA) in New Delhi, India.

  • Spearheaded the INR 10 crore, 5 year, Government of India’s Niti Ayog led  Atal Incubation Centre grant project, from BIMTECH. One of the ten organizations selected pan-India from more than 3500 plus applications. Received the first tranche in June 2017.
  • Initiated the research project worth INR 20 lakhs on ‘Mainstreaming University – Social Enterprise Ecosystem (MUSEE)’, a British Council sponsored Social Enterprise Education Programme ( SEEP) in collaboration with the University of Hull, UK in Jan 2016.
  • Directed the Goldman Sachs 10000 Women global project worth INR 2.5 crores for seven, 16-week training programs for women entrepreneurs under UP and Orissa, from Jan 2012 to Dec 2013

  • Rishi, Abha & Singh, Nimisha (2015), ‘Open source ERP models- a change maker in emerging countries’, International Journal of Services Technology and Management, Inderscience Publication
  • Rishi, Abha, Verma, Anupam & Singh, Rupali (2013), ‘Pyramid- a case of cyber risk management in India’ in the special issue published by Bloomsbury, for ICMC 2013

  • A proposed normative framework for measuring incubator effectiveness- a study of success metrics ( with Prof A Bose and Prof M Akbar )

  • Rishi, Abha (2017), ‘Louis Vuitton- luxury reigns in India’ published in the ET Case compilation in 2017. Also uploaded on the ET cases website.
  • Rishi, Abha & Singh, Nimisha (2015),  ‘Pyramid: A Case Study of Cyber Security in India’, South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, Sage publication
  • Rishi, Abha, Verma, Anupam & Singh, Rupali (2013), ‘Emmsons International Limited – Scaling Destiny’s Heights’ registered in the Case Centre ( erstwhile ECCH)
  • Rishi, Abha, (2013), ‘SME TO MNE- a schematic for the Growth Creation Model for Small and Medium Enterprises’, South Asian Business Review, Vol III, issue 01, January 2011
  • Rishi, Abha & Anjaly, Bhawna (2009), ‘Rejuvenating the Entrepreneurial Spirit- the case of the E Cell of BIMTECH’ , “Emerging markets Case Compilation’ by Excel publishers

  • Rishi, Abha, Kaur, K & Mahawar, N (2018). ‘The Expansion of Online Travel Portal – MakeMyTrip’, in Sikdar , A & Pereira (Eds.),  Business and Management Practices in South Asia (pp. 185-201). Springer for Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 978-981-13-1398-1; ISBN 978-981-13-1399-8 ( e book)
  • Rishi, Abha & Singh, Nimisha (2014). ‘Open source ERP- Niche areas for young entrepreneurs’, published in an edited book by Bloomsbury in Dec 2014
  • Rishi, Abha & Singh, Nimisha (2014). ‘ How influential is social media marketing- a study of SMM impact on purchase decision behaviour in India’, in, ‘Social Media Marketing- Concepts and Applications’ by Excel Books
  • Rishi, Abha (2011). Summit paper for the SMEs Conclave 2011, “ SMEs to MNEs- Forging  the way Ahead’
  • Rishi, Abha (2008). Summit paper for SMEs Summit 2008, “ Indian SMEs in Exports’
  • Rishi, Abha (2005).  ‘Relevance of Praxis and the Critical Reflexive Framework in Management Communication’. In ‘Communication for management- Teaching and Research in Indian Business Schools’ by LBSIM
  • Rishi, Abha (2004). Course pack on Management of Intellectual Property Rights (MIPR) and a course pack on Export-Import Management for MBA students in Rai University

  • Managing Editor, South Asian Business Review, 2008-2011
  • Editorial Board member, South Asian Journal of Management Cases, 2012-13
  • Reviewer, Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 2019.
  • Reviewer, Asian Journal of Management Cases, 2019
  • Reviewer, Alden G. Clayton Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Competition, Marketing Science Institute, Massachusetts, Boston, USA
  • Reviewer, International Journal of Business and Globalisation (IJBG), 2018-20

  • Rishi, Abha (2017, Feb). ‘BMW- Trailing in the Indian Race’ a case study presented in the Global Summit on Management Cases,  IIM, Raipur, India
  • Rishi, Abha (2017, Feb).  ‘EBay- Losing the race in India’ a case study presented in the Global Summit on Management Cases, IIM, Raipur, India
  • Singh, Rahul & Rishi, Abha (2016) ‘’University – Social Enterprise Ecosystem for creating socially responsible knowledge, practices and graduates’, a paper presented at International Conference on Social Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation in Hanoi, Vietnam
  • Rishi, Abha & Singh, Rahul (2016, Feb). ‘M-Commerce: Creating a Tectonic Shift in Retail for Emerging Markets’ a paper presented in the Indian Retail Conference 2016, New Delhi, India
  • Rishi, Abha (2016, Feb ) ‘Social Media Marketing- An Impact Study of Purchase Decisions Among Urban Youth’ a paper presented in the Indian Retail Conference New Delhi, India
  • Rishi, Abha (2016, Feb). ‘AirBNB-A Breeze of Change in the Indian Hospitality Sector’ a case study presented at the Global Summit on Management Cases, IIM Raipur, India
  • Rishi, Abha (2014, Dec). ‘Tradus.in – Naspers’ internationalization foray in India’ a case study presented at the Global Summit on Management Cases, IIM Raipur, India
  • Rishi, Abha (2014, Sep). ‘E-tailing in India- a comparative study of the business models of national and international e-retailers in India’, a paper presented at the  7th Oxford Asia Retail Conference OARC 2014 ,
  • Rishi, Abha & Singh, Nimisha (2014, July) ‘ How influential is social media marketing- a study of SMM impact on purchase decision behaviour in India’, a paper presented at the International Conference on Social Media Marketing organized by Academy of Indian Marketing ( AIM), Bangalore, India
  • Rishi, Abha & Singh, Nimisha (2014, Dec ) ‘Open Source ERP – Niche area for young entrepreneurs’ a case study presented in the International Conference on Management Cases 2014, Greater Noida, , India
  • Rishi, Abha & Singh, Nimisha (2013, Dec) ‘Pyramid- a case of cyber risk management in India’ presented in the International Conference on Management Cases 2013, Greater Noida, , India
  • Rishi, Abha & Singh, Rupali (2012, Dec), ‘Emmsons International Limited – Winging to New Horizons’ a case study presented in the International Conference on Management Cases 2012, Greater Noida, , India
  • Rishi, Abha, Singh, Rahul and Kasidi, Faraji (2011, Jan). ‘Achieving MDGs and Beyond- an Integrated PPCP model for Financial Mobilization and Inclusion’ a paper presented at in the Twelfth Annual Global Development Conference held at Universidad de Los Andes, Financing Development in a Post-Crisis World: The Need for a Fresh Look, , Bogota, Colombia.
  • Rishi, Abha (2010, June )‘Effect of Religion on the choice of industries for entrepreneurship – a study among minority religion women entrepreneurs’  – a paper presented at the International conference ‘Living Together-  Civic, Political and Cultural Engagement among Migrants, Minorities and National Populations: Multidisciplinary Perspectives at University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
  • Rishi, Abha & Jose, Francis (2010, Feb)‘Perspectives on Nation Branding- The Extent to Which Country Image Affects Consumer Behaviour in the Purchase Price Of Automobiles’, paper presented at the 2nd International Conference- Opportunities and Challenges in the Global Business, IIFTR, Indore, , India
  • Rishi, Abha & Anjaly, Bhawna (2009, June) ‘Rejuvenating the Entrepreneurial Spirit- the case of the E Cell of BIMTECH’ , case presented in International Case Conference in Goa by IMT Nagpur , India
  • Rishi, Abha (2008) ‘Corporate Social Responsibility and Carbon Trading for India in Global Environmental Context’ a paper presented in the national Seminar on environment Pollution and Control Measures ( EPCM- 2008) held in RTU, Kota , India
  • Rishi, Abha (2005, Sep) ‘Innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises in the context of globalization’ a paper presented the South Dakota International Conference, USA under the aegis of the Center for Excellence in International Business, South Dakota, USA
  • Rishi, Abha (2005, July) ‘Communications in Management: Teaching and research in the International context’ a paper presented  in LBSIM, New Delhi , India
  • Rishi, Abha (2005, Aug). ‘Corporate Responsible Competitiveness: reshaping global markets through business practices utilizing social responsibility’ in GIMT, Ajmer, India
  • Rishi, Abha (2005, Feb) ‘WTO and its marketing challenges for India’ a paper presented in a National Seminar on Emerging Trends in LNCT, Bhopal, , India

  • Rishi, Abha (2015, Sep 8). Article on ‘Tradus.in – Naspers’ internationalization foray in India’ featured in the Economic Times, 5 under ET cases column.
  • Rishi, Abha (2008, August). ‘DNA of Responsible Business’ Article published in FICCI Business Digest August 2008

  • Incubation- a shortcut to success’, an interview in the Weekly Television Series “Kar Ke Dikhayenge”  for Startup Founders, telecast on Hindi Khabar  on 18-19th May 2019, Saturday at 9:30 PM and Sunday at 12:30 PM.
  • ‘Exporting from India- ways and means’ a talk on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee Year of Rajasthan Patrika ( a leading Hindi newspaper), in November 2005 in Alwar, Rajasthan, India

  • Invited as a resource person for a series of workshops in Kerala, Ghaziabad and Sonepat on ‘ Creating an entrepreneurial culture on campus’ in 2017, 2018 & 2019
  • Organized an FDP on Institutional Building on 18 March 2015 at BIMTECH
  • Organized an FDP on Rethinking MBA on 03 March 2015 at BIMTECH
  • Organized many workshops on different dimensions of entrepreneurship, for students under the Centre for innovation and Entrepreneurship Development
  • Organized seven, 16-week training programs for women entrepreneurs under the Goldman Sachs 10000 Women global project in Greater Noida, Agra and Bhubaneswar, from Jan 2012 to Dec 2013
  • Organized many panel discussions and colloquiums for the Centre for International Business and Policy from 2006 to 2014
  • Organized an International level SME Summit on ‘ Indian SMEs- possibilities and potential’  on 2nd February, 2008
  • Organized a series of  Management Development Programmes on the ‘ Basics of International Trade’ in Delhi , Mumbai and Kolkatta under the auspices of the Centre for International Business & Policy
  • Organized a Management Development Programme in STC on ‘Shipping & Chartering’ on April 18, 2007under the auspices of the Centre for International Business & Policy in the offices of the State Trading Corporation.
  • Organized a Management Development Programme in STC on ‘International Shipping, Calculation of Lay time, Dispatch and Demurrage’ on May 11, 2007 under the auspices of the Centre for International Business & Policy
  • Faculty trainer for sessions in NIESBUD( National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development) for their week long training programme on Leadership & Team Building Skills for Business Growth on 27th September, 2007
  • And many more

  • National Board Member and  State Chapter President for Delhi & NCR Region for IWFCI (International Women’s Federation of Commerce and Industry) from August 2016 onwards
  • Member on the Board of the International Research Association for LIFA (Licensed International Financial Analyst) since 3rd June 2005.
  • Nominated Institutional member for AIB ( Academy of International Business), Michigan State University, USA,  from September 2007
  • Appointed Secretary of the Indo – Russian Friendship Society, Meerut Chapter (1994-1995).

  • Treasurer, Birla Foundation, June 2018 – onwards.
  • Volunteer, Ranganathan Society, microenterprise capacity building for jail inmates, 2017 onwards
  • Member, GNMA, Greater Noida, August 2010 onwards
  • Member, NSS, Greater Noida, June 2019 onwards