Dr. Smitha Nayak
Associate Director- Alumni Cell, Public & International Relations
Additional Professor & Coordinator, Centre for Marketing Advances
School of Basic Sciences, Humanities and Management
Manipal Institute of Technology- Manipal
Manipal Academy of Higher Education
Dr. Smitha Nayak is an academician and researcher with extensive experience spanning industry, family enterprise, teaching, research, and academic leadership. She holds a Ph.D. in Manipal University and an MBA from T.A. Pai Management Institute (TAPMI), Manipal. She began her professional journey with several years of industry experience, followed by a decade of engagement with her family business, before transitioning into academia.
She is a recipient of the prestigious Erasmus Mundus Scholarship for Post-Doctoral Mobility (2015–2016), which she pursued at the European School of Business, Germany. Dr. Nayak has presented her research at numerous international conferences and has several national and international publications to her credit. She is on the editorial board of international publishers and journals, including IGI Global and Taylor & Francis. Her publication titled ‘Management Education for Global Leadership: Need for a Cross-Functional Perspective’ was published by IGI Global, New Jersey reflects her interest in global leadership and cross-functional management perspectives. Her scholarly output has resulted in an H-index of 13, reflecting sustained academic impact.
As Coordinator of the Centre for Marketing Advances, Dr. Nayak has undertaken several consultancy assignments funded by organizations such as the Asian Development Bank, Suez Corporation, Konkan Railway, and others. She was honoured at the 5th Conference on Business and Social Science in Malaysia with an Academic Achievement Award in recognition of her contribution to academia. She has also initiated simulation-based learning as a pedagogical innovation in the domain of marketing to ensure that students are exposed to real-life business scenarios and industry practices.
Her research interests include Sustainable Consumption, Modelling Consumer Behaviour, and Healthcare Management. Outside her academic pursuits, Dr. Nayak is a sports enthusiast and enjoys listening to music.