Regional Research Symposium on PBL

Expertise: PBL, Industry-based Learning, Technology in Education, Academic Integrity, Student Learning Support

Expertise: STEM Education, Accreditation and Quality, Project and Problem-Based Learning, Curriculum Design and Review

Expertise: Inter-disciplinary PBL

Expertise: Digital and Cultural Transformation of Higher Education

Expertise: Biomimicry Education, Innovation, Architecture, Sustainability and Systems Thinking

Prashant Dhawan is a biomimicry educator, innovation consultant, architect and Co-founder of Biomimicry India, the country's pioneering organisation dedicated to biomimicry education, research and innovation.

He is the first Indian—and among the first 18 professionals globally—to earn a Master of Science in Biomimicry from Arizona State University, USA, and the first Indian to be recognised as a Biomimicry Professional by the Biomimicry Institute, USA. He also holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business and a Bachelor of Architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.

Since co-founding Biomimicry India in 2012, he has delivered more than 250 lectures, workshops, keynote talks and university courses, reaching over 25,000 students, researchers, educators, designers, engineers, architects, entrepreneurs and industry professionals.

His mission is to help researchers, innovators, educators and decision-makers learn from nature to create sustainable, resilient and future-ready solutions.

Expertise: PBL, Leadership, Strategy and Entrepreneurship

Dr. Sizwe Errol Nxasana is a renowned South African business leader, social entrepreneur, and education innovator with a distinguished career spanning corporate leadership, entrepreneurship, and social impact.

He earned his PhD in Education from the UNESCO PBL Centre at Aalborg University, Denmark, in May 2025. He founded Sizwe & Co, the first black-owned audit practice in KwaZulu-Natal, and later co-founded Nkonki Sizwe Ntsaluba, now SizweNtsalubaGobodo (SNG Grant Thornton).

He subsequently served as CEO of Telkom SA and later as CEO of FirstRand Banking Group before retiring from corporate life in 2015.

He is the founder of the Sifiso Learning Group, an integrated education ecosystem focused on reimagining African education, with project-based learning at its core.

Expertise: Service Learning

Expertise: Institutional Transformation via PBL

Ms. Pernille Nielsen is affiliated with Aalborg University, Denmark.

Chandan Pramanik is the Education Director at MathWorks based out of Bangalore. Chandan and his team help universities and institutions accelerate the pace of discovery, innovation, research and learning in engineering and science.

Prior to joining MathWorks, Chandan was with Hewlett Packard Enterprise for 19 years where he and his team helped customers be successful in their digital transformation journey.

He has a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Rourkela and a Master’s in business administration in Operations Management from SP Jain Institute of Management, Mumbai.

Ramana Anchuri is a principal customer success engineer within the Education team at MathWorks in Hyderabad, where he collaborates closely with academic institutions across India. Prior to MathWorks, he worked in both academia and industry. Ramana is dedicated to education, teaching, and continuous learning. His expertise encompasses power electronics, control design, Model-Based Design, and code generation. Ramana holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering, and a master’s degree in power electronics from JNTU Hyderabad.

Nikhil Sonavane is a Senior Customer Success Engineer at MathWorks, based in Pune. With approximately six years at MathWorks and over a decade of experience with MATLAB, he partners with academic institutions to advance teaching and accelerate research using MATLAB and Simulink. His core technical expertise includes Biomedical Engineering, Signal Processing, Communications, Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Hardware Integration. Nikhil is deeply committed to improving engineering education and actively supports faculty in modernizing curricula and fostering research-driven learning. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, Pune, and a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.