The institution actively engages with experienced professionals, practitioners, and thought leaders who contribute to the learning ecosystem beyond the traditional classroom.
As part of this initiative, a panel of external mentors and visiting experts collaborates with the college to guide students through workshops, mentoring sessions, and applied learning interactions. These mentors bring diverse experience from fields such as social entrepreneurship, performing arts for leadership development, community engagement, and academic research. Their interaction with students focuses on bridging theory with real-world practice, strengthening leadership capabilities, communication skills, social awareness, and critical thinking.
Through periodic sessions, discussions, and experiential workshops, these mentors help students gain broader perspectives on leadership, innovation, sustainability, and responsible professional practice.
Founder & Director, Himalayan Geographic Research Foundation
Nikhil Raj Sharma is a social entrepreneur and development practitioner working across the
Himalayan region with a focus on community-led and sustainable development. He is the
Founder and Director of Himalayan Geographic Research Foundation, an organisation working to
strengthen education, livelihoods, environmental stewardship, and cultural resilience in remote
mountain communities.
His work focuses on designing context-specific development models that combine modern
knowledge with indigenous wisdom. Over the years, he has led initiatives in digital literacy, youth
capacity building, eco-tourism development, environmental conservation, and sustainable
livelihood creation across Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and the North-East.
Nikhil collaborates closely with local youth, women, educators, and grassroots institutions,
treating them as partners in development rather than beneficiaries. His work offers management
students exposure to practical aspects of social entrepreneurship, sustainability strategy,
stakeholder engagement, and ethical leadership in complex real-world environments.
Through mentoring sessions and workshops, he helps students understand how leadership,
innovation, and impact can be applied beyond conventional corporate frameworks.
Founder & Artistic Director, Aaina India
Abhinav Goyal is a theatre practitioner, educator, and cultural activist who uses performing arts
as a tool for leadership development, communication training, and social awareness. He is the
Founder and Artistic Director of Aaina India, a performing arts organisation that works with
young people, communities, and educational institutions across India.
His approach integrates theatre, storytelling, and experiential learning to develop communication
skills, confidence, empathy, and critical thinking. Through street theatre, workshops, and
educational programmes, he has worked on issues such as gender equality, education rights,
health awareness, social inclusion, and environmental responsibility.
Within Himalayan Geographic Research Foundation, Abhinav serves as Head of Social
Responsibility Initiatives for the Himalayan region and Advisor to the Founder. He designs
community engagement programmes that make development initiatives participatory and
culturally relevant.
For management students, his sessions focus on leadership presence, public communication,
emotional intelligence, and human-centred problem solving.
Editor | Writer | Academic Content Creator
Poonam Thakur is an editor, writer, and academic content creator specialising in research-driven
and pedagogy-oriented educational content. She is associated with Aaina India and Himalayan
Geographic Research Foundation, where she develops structured academic material that
connects research with practical learning.
A graduate of Himachal Pradesh University, she brings strong analytical and editorial expertise to
curriculum development and knowledge communication. She has previously contributed
academic content for various platforms and created learning resources across multiple
disciplines.
Her work focuses on translating complex ideas into clear, well-structured academic material
while maintaining conceptual depth and intellectual rigour.
For management and business school students, Poonam supports the development of critical
reading, structured thinking, research literacy, and academic writing skills, helping students
engage with ideas systematically and communicate them effectively.
