Goa Institute of Management Professor Selected as Japan Foundation Indo-Pacific Partnership Research Fellow

Goa, India: Dr. Divya Singhal, Professor and Chairperson of the Centre for Social Sensitivity and Action (CSSA) at the Goa Institute of Management (GIM) has been selected as a Japan Foundation Indo-Pacific Partnership (JFIPP) Research Fellow for the fiscal year 2025–2026. Prof. Singhal is among only 14 scholars selected globally in the inaugural cohort of the prestigious JFIPP Research Fellowship programme.

The JFIPP Research Fellowship supports collaborative research that addresses key challenges and opportunities across the Indo-Pacific region. As part of this fellowship, Prof. Singhal is undertaking a multi-country study examining women’s leadership in green transitions and sustainable futures across India, Japan, and Australia.

Her research explores how women, both at the community level and as entrepreneurs, are contributing to renewable energy transitions and sustainability initiatives. The study also examines the cultural, institutional, and structural factors that enable or constrain women’s leadership, while identifying lessons from women-led innovations that can inform policies for more inclusive and just energy transitions across the Indo-Pacific.

The fellowship is being conducted in two phases. During the first phase, Prof. Singhal has been based in Japan since March 2026, collaborating with Prof. Rebecca Chunghee Kim, Professor of Business Ethics and International Management at NUCB Business School, Japan. Through interviews, stakeholder dialogues, and field engagements, the research has explored diverse perspectives on women’s leadership, sustainability, and green transitions within the Japanese context. The Japan phase of the fellowship is scheduled to conclude in mid-June 2026.

In the second phase, Prof. Singhal will travel to Australia, where she will collaborate with faculty members at Deakin University to extend the comparative study and explore the Australian experience of women’s leadership in sustainability and renewable energy transitions.

Commenting on the fellowship, Prof. Singhal said, “The transition towards sustainable futures requires inclusive leadership. Through this research, we hope to better understand the experiences, challenges, and contributions of women leaders across different contexts and generate insights that can support more equitable and effective sustainability transitions in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Prof. Singhal’s selection reflects GIM’s continued commitment to internationally engaged research that addresses pressing societal challenges and contributes to global conversations on sustainability, inclusion, and responsible leadership.