Sanmitra, a polymath by education identifies herself as a Design Innovation Strategist. She currently is a member of CII National Committee on Design. She sits in the Jury of CII national Design awards 2020. She has been chosen as an AIM mentor by the NITI Aayog, Govt of India. Sanmitra is the Global Design Ambassador at Interaction Design Foundation. Sanmitra is a mentor at the Amazing Design People list (ADPlist).

She has a multidisplinary education and is currently an IIM (Indian Institute of Management) scholar and is working on Sustainability. She holds a Masters in Strategic Design Management from National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, a degree in Commercial Arts (BFA) and a degree in Broadcast Journalism. Sanmitra has also studied Pharmacy at diploma level. She is a trained ZMET analyser and interviewer.

Sanmitra is a passionate academician and believes in collaboration versus competition. She runs an Instagram Live thread with the support of her amazing team at School of Management under the Instagram handle – strategyndesign wherein she holds talks with Industry veterans and academicians in the field of Design Strategy, Design Management, Innovation & Sustainability. Sanmitra believes her team of Professors and Students is her strength in creating a vision of action and learning.

Sanmitra has an experience of 19 + years. She has worked in varied sectors, IT, Pharmaceuticals, Publication (POOL, IE), Branding, BFS, Innovation Capacity Building and Startup enablement.

Follow her on strategyndesign on Instagram.

Sanmitra is a trained classical singer and a certified home baker. She enjoys painting, illustrating, reading, writing, driving and listening to her daughter along with everyday work

Aastha Deshpande is an Accessory Designer from NIFT. She has worked as a Visual Merchandiser & Space Planner in prominent retail companies such as Pantaloons, Fabindia & Citylife after pursuing MBA. She has 7 years of industry experience in creating window designs, space layouts, Store Designs for retail sector, integrating design with the retail , marketing & consumer experience.

Ankit Garg brings over 15 years of combined industry and academic experience, blending practical insight with academic depth. His career spans leadership roles in IT, financial services, and startups, including positions as IT Manager, Business Head, and client engagement roles in asset management and private banking. In academia, he has taught and mentored B.Tech and management students, leveraging his interdisciplinary background to connect technical and business concepts. At WUD, he focuses on developing students’ analytical thinking, leadership, and industry readiness.

Shweta Dahiya is a faculty member in the area of General Management at World University of Design. In her career spanning more than ten years, she has worked with premier universities in India including National Institute of Food Technology and Entrepreneurship Management, an Institute of National Importance under Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Govt. of India and affiliated institutes of AKTU. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. from Savitribai Phule Pune University. She is UGC NET-qualified in management. Her areas of research interests include sustainability, entrepreneurship, and sustainable rural employment. Her research papers had been published in ABDC & Scopus-categorised journals such as Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, International Journal of Rural Management, Management of Environmental Quality, World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business. She has presented her research work at prestigious national & international conferences like IIM, JNU, GBU. She has completed numerous MOOCs on life skills offered by AICTE, CEMCA, IMI, University of Hyderabad, MDU, and IIT Kanpur. Her expertise in rural development and entrepreneurship has earned her invitations to give invited lectures at the Women Entrepreneurship Development Programme, sponsored by NSTEDB, DST, and the Govt. of India. She served as Co-Investigator for a National Institute of Food Technology and Entrepreneurship Management-funded project titled "Development of Local-Food Entrepreneurship and Value Chain Model. She has also contributed to the Ministry of Rural Development's MGNREGA live consulting project, which supports rural development by generating employment.

A PhD in Marketing from Business School, Middlesex University, UK, Dr. Khaneja is a leading expert in design research with particular focus on the emotional well-being of consumers. She has published in the domains of physical environment design, consumers’ emotional well-being, branding, consumer behaviour, relationship marketing etc.

Dr. Abhinav Gupta is working as an Assistant Professor in School of Business with World University of Design, Sonipat, Haryana. He is a management professional with more than 10 years of experience in industry and academics in the area of Marketing, Banking etc. He did his Ph.D. from SRM University in the domain of Green Marketing. He has published several papers in reputed academic journals and presented papers in conferences. He has also worked in Banking sector with Axis Bank in Retail Banking operations.