Prof. Vedulla Venkata Ramana, Senior Professor, School of Management Studies & Coordinator of Technology Business Incubator at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) has been appointed by Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), Japan as “National Expert” to conduct a research study for a period of 1 year in India on “Research on Youth Employment Issues and Human Capital Development for APO Economies”.

Prof. Venkata Ramana will be visiting Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to attend the coordination meeting between 30 November-2 December 2016, to discuss the framework, methodology, and plan of the research and present preliminary research findings. His assignment consists of undertaking a national study including the collection and analysis of relevant data and information following the template and definition of the subject provided in close coordination with the chief expert and the APO Secretariat.

The Asian Productivity Organization (APO) was established on 11 May 1961 as a regional intergovernmental organization. The APO is non-political, non-profit, and non-discriminatory organisation. APO membership is open to countries in Asia and the Pacific which are members of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). The current membership is 20 economies, comprising Bangladesh, Cambodia, Republic of China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Republic of Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. These countries/economies pledge to assist each other in their productivity drives in a spirit of mutual cooperation by sharing knowledge, information, and experience.

Prof. Venkata Ramana holds a Master’s Degree and a Doctorate in Business Management and has over two and half decades of professional experience spanning academics, research, industry and business consulting in the areas of General Management, Corporate Strategy, Banking, Infrastructure and Services Sector Management. He has also been awarded Best Professor in Marketing Management by CMO Asia in 2012 in Singapore and has recently been appointed as the Member of the First Academic Court of the Central University of Rajasthan by the President of India.

He has vast experience as an Academic administrator and has earlier served as Dean for almost seven and half years and also has been recipient of many awards for his contribution to the field of Higher Education in General and Management Education in particular. He has been a speaker at many National and International Seminars and Conferences. He is on the Board of several Universities and advisor to several academic institutions in India and abroad. He was also on the Board of State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) for four years before being appointed on the Board of IIFCL, New Delhi in 2012 by the Government of India.