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NILANJAN RAGHUNATH

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

Research Interests:
Social Sciences
Discipline: Sociology
Pillar / Cluster: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

I am Assistant Professor of Sociology of Work and Organisations with a sub focus on Science Technology Studies. My research asks pertinent questions about the impact of automation and innovation on people and institutions.

As a social scientist with a deep interest in intersectionality, I have written about the Future of Work and Employability, Proactive Governance, Technological Adaption, Social Credit Systems, Credibility, Crypto Currency, Millennial Workforce, Social Mobility, Disruptive Innovation, Skilled Migration and Algorithms.

I also work on interdisciplinary projects, which look at solving societal problems through paradigms of human behaviour and design thinking. These include topics such as the future of education, sustainability, innovation and creativity.

I have numerous publications and consultancies that span my research interests. I am also featured in the media such as Bloomberg, Channel News Asia and the Straits Times.

Selected Publications

For a full list visit my faculty website.

BOOKS- SOCIOLOGY
2021 Raghunath, Nilanjan. “Shaping the Futures of Work: Proactive Governance and Millennials.” McGill Queens University Press. September 15.
BOOKS- SOCIOLOGY – UNDER REVIEW
2023 Raghunath, Nilanjan, with Korneila Hahn, Christian Klesse (eds). “Culture and Intimacy’.
BOOK CHAPTERS – SOCIOLOGY
2019 Raghunath, Nilanjan. “Automation versus Nationalism: Challenges to the Future of Work in the Software Industry”. In Smets, K., Leurs, K., Georgiou, M., Witteborn, S. & Gajjala, R. (eds.). The SAGE Handbook of Media and Migration. London: SAGE, chapter 44.
PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES – SOCIOLOGY
2023 2023 Raghunath, Nilanjan. “Quantified Credibility as an Exigency of Late Modernity: A Case Study of China’s Social Credit System.” Journal of Chinese Sociology. Under revision.
2023 Raghunath, Nilanjan and Oh Peng Ho. “Responding to Precarity: Continuous Education and Training (CET) Policies on Employability in Singapore.” Research in the Sociology
of Work. Under revision.
2021 Raghunath, Nilanjan. “Technological Adoption as a Social Process in Food Centers in Singapore.” Science Technology and Society, 30 April. https://doi.org/10.1177/0971721821995596
2020 Raghunath, Nilanjan. “Full Employment in the Cryptocurrency Economy: Lessons Learnt from Michael Polanyi.” Tradition and Discovery. The Polanyi Society Journal, 46, 2, 43-56.
2020 Raghunath, Nilanjan. “China’s Social Credit System and its Impact on Credibility and Social Mobility of its Citizens.” Sociology Compass. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/soc4.12783
2020 Raghunath, Nilanjan and Tony Tan. “The Impact of Social Stratification on Morbidity During the COVID-19 Pandemic. “International Journal of Sociology and Social
Policy. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-07-2020-0261
2017 Raghunath, Nilanjan, Aye Myat Khine Win, and Fumiko Nishino. “Why is STEM Unattractive to Women? A Comparison of STEM Education in Japan and the United States.” Heinz Journal of Public Policy, 15, (2) 12-28.
INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL ARTICLES
2023 Raghunath, Nilanjan, Georgios Koronis, Rianne Karthikayen, Arlindo Silva, Christine Yogiaman. “A Hybrid Approach to Stimulating and Measuring Creativity in the Classroom Context.” Design Science. Under revision.
2023 Raghunath, Nilanjan. “Shaping the Future of Work Through Proactive Pedagogy.” Inspiring Minds. Harvard Business Publishing. Forthcoming.
2019 Raghunath, Nilanjan with Georgios, Koronis, Pei Zhi Chia, Jacob Kang Kai Siang, Arlindo Silva, Christine Yogiaman, “An Empirical Study on the Impact of Design Brief Information, Gender, and Gender Diversity on the Creativity of Design Outcomes.” Journal of Mechanical Design 141(7): 071102. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4043207
2016 Raghunath, Nilanjan, Timothy Li. “Unlearning Anxieties of The Unfamiliar: Teaching Advanced Sociological Topics o Engineering Students.” The International Journal of Engineering Education, 32(2), 640-653.

Research Grants

  1. Fulbright Scholar and Grantee (2023)
  2. Social Mobility Foundation (LKY School of Public Policy, NUS) Grant (2023)
  3. SUTD Kickstarter Grant, 2022-2024
  4. SUTD-MIT IDC Grant, 2017-2020
  5. SUTD Start-up Grant, 2017-2020

Consultancy

  1. Singapore Environment Council, 2023
  2. Sotheby’s Institute of Arts, 2010

Visiting Appointments, Fellowships and Award

  1. Columbia University, Department of Sociology and Trust Collaboratory (2023)
  2. Social Mobility Foundation, LKYSPP (NUS) (2023-2024)
  3. University of Cambridge, Department of Sociology (2022)
  4. University of Oxford, COMPASS, Department of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography (2018)
  5. SUTD Teaching Award (2014)
  6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Science Technology Studies (2016-2017)

Teaching Interests

I teach cutting edge social science courses that focus on giving students critical thinking and research skills. These include the following;

  1. Digital Sociology
  2. Who Gets Ahead? Sociology of Social Networks and Social Capital
  3. Gender Sexuality and Society
  4. Shaping Futures: Sociology of Innovation Work and Society

Certifications

  1. SUTD, Research Integrity Train the Trainer Certificate, Singapore 2023
  2. Aalto University, Case Study Method, Singapore 2022
  3. Harvard Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning., USA 2020
  4. AHE Teaching Fellowship, UK 2020
  5. MIT – Teach the Teacher Certificate, USA 2016
  6. MIT – Building, Leading and Sustaining the Innovative Organization, USA 2016

Service (Internal and External)

I serve on several committees which include the following.

  1. Institutional Review Board
  2. CET-SUTD Academy
  3. Interdisciplinary Research Framework
  4. Faculty Hiring
  5. SKAT Awards Committee (American Sociological Association)
  6. Singapore Labour Journal (Ad Hoc)
  7. Academic Editor: Plos One
  8. Reviewer; American Sociological Review, Big Data and Society, Urban Studies
Nilanjan Raghunath