Ajith Kumar R

Dr. Ajith Kumar R

Assistant Professor and Director - Centre for Digital Innovation and Product Development (CDIPD)

Dr. Ajith Kumar. R holds a full-time faculty position at Digital University Kerala and currently serves as the Director of the Centre for Digital Innovation and Product Development (CDIPD), – A centre of excellence established by Digital University Kerala.  Dr. Ajith obtained his Doctorate in Information Systems Management from Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) and holds master’s degrees in both Information Science and Management. With a wealth of experience exceeding two decades in teaching, research, and development within Digital Sciences and Digital Transformation, his expertise encompasses Information Systems (IS), Database Systems, Data Science, Enterprise Architecture, and Digital Agri Sciences.

In addition to this Dr. Ajith plays a crucial part as the Chief Investigator and Coordinator of the Digital Agri Science lab at the university. Here, he leads the research and development of numerous digital solutions in the domain of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and  Diary. Before his tenure at Digital University and IIITMK, Dr. Ajith had worked with MONSANTO Research Centre, a global Agri Biotech Company, located at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and made significant contributions to the Genome Informatics and research team. Considering his outstanding performance, he has been recognized with MONSANTO Global Above and Beyond Award.

In his capacity as the Director of CDIPD, Dr. Ajith serves as the Principal Investigator and Coordinator for various research, development, and innovation projects funded by State, National, and International agencies. He has conceptualized, designed, and implemented over 30 major projects in the realm of Digital Agri Sciences, Digital Transformation, Decision Systems, and Enterprise systems for State and National level agencies and Departments. In CDIPD, he currently manages substantial research and development projects, leading a team of managers, engineers and researchers.

Dr. Ajith boasts a prolific publication record, with research papers featured in journals, conferences, workshops, and book chapters. He has delivered talks at numerous national and international conferences, serving as a key resource person for workshops and training programs. His remarkable contributions have been acknowledged through awards at the international, national, and state levels, including the Digital India National Award presented by the Honourable President of India for his outstanding work in developing a Digital Innovation Solution.

Major Funded Projects (Project Investigator)

  • “Re-designing the farmer-extension- agricultural research/education Continuum in India with ICT-mediated Knowledge Management”- A consortium project under National Agriculture Innovation Project (NAIP) component – 1, Funded by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), 2009-2010. (Major collaborators, IIT Kanpur, IIT Bombay, ICRISAT)
  • Soil based Plant Nutrient Management Information System for Coffee Funded by Coffee Board, Ministry of Commerce, Govt. of India (2018-Continuing)
  • KISSAN Kerala – A Multi-Modal Agricultural Information System, Funded by Department of Agriculture, Govt. Of Kerala (2003- Continuing)
  • PLANSPACE – An Integrated Online Plan Monitoring System for Govt of Kerala (Implemented across 225 Departments and agencies), Funded by Kerala State Planning Board. (2008- Continuing)
  • Chief Minister Office – Project Management and Monitoring System, Funded by Department of Planning and Economic Affairs, Govt. of Kerala (2018-Continuing)
  • Crop Pest Surveillance System : An intelligent, spatial enabled decision support system for effective crop pest and disease management, Funded by Department of Agriculture Govt. of Kerala. (2017-Continuing)
  • Soil based Plant Nutrient Management Information System : for Kerala , Funded by Department of of Agriculture, Govt. of Kerala (2015-continuing)
  • Integrated Project Management Information System for Life Mission Kerala (A Mission Project of Govt of Kerala for livelihood inclusion and Financial empowerment) (2019-Conitnuing)
  • Research project on “Enhancing the economic viability of coconut based land use systems for land use planning in Kerala State”, Funded by Kerala State Planning Board. (2014- Continuing)
  • Kissan Krishideepam : The Digital media management project in Agriculture with active corporate partnership with Asianet /Star Communications Ltd and Google YouTube, Funded by Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Kerala (2003-Continuing)
  • Knowledge Management System for High Tech Agriculture in Kerala , Funded by Department of of Agriculture, Govt. of Kerala (2016)
  • Design and Implementation of Mobile-Governance(m-Governance) infrastructure for Farmer advisory system, Funded by Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Kerala (2008-2010)
  • Design and Development of Database Series on State Plan For Human Development for UNDP. Funded by Kerala State Planning Board (2011)
  • Development of Database on Agro Ecological planning for Kerala Funded by Kerala State Planning Board (2015)
  • Virtual University for Agricultural Trade (VUAT) – An integrated e-Learning platform , Funded by Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Kerala (2008-2010)
  • ATMA Kerala : A state level monitoring System for ATMA Kerala Funded by Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Kerala
  • Coconut Planting material production and Traceability System, Funded by Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Kerala
  • Center for Agri Informatics and Agri Business Management funded by Planning Board, Government of Kerala (State Plan Fund)
  • e-Krishi : A virtual platform for farmers and traders for commodity aggregation and trading, Funded by Kerala State IT Mission.

Major Consultancy Projects

  • ERP implementation at Kerala State Beverages Corporation. Scope of work : System Study and project design for end to end operations, BPR/GPR, preparation of RFP for Software, Preparation of Technical Specifications and RFP for Hardware, SDWAN based network solutions, Data Centre, project management and implementation monitoring, Acceptance (Funded by KSBC, Govt. of Kerala)
  • ERP Implementation study for the selected PSU`s (Funded by RIAB, Department of Industries, Govt. of Kerala). Scope of Work : ERP Functional Requirement Study for selected 9 PSU
  • Project Management Consultancy for Kerala Real Estate Regulatory Authority – Kerala (K-RERA) for the implementation of Online Information System

Major Recognitions and Awards

  • Appreciation Citation from Chief Minister of Kerala (2015) for the design and implementation of PLANSPACE Project (State Level)
  • Manthan Award Asia Pacific 2012 under the category e- Agriculture for Soil Nutrient Management Information System project of Kerala (International)
  • Stockholm Challenge Award 2010 : “Honorable mention” for KISSAN Kerala Project. Stockholm Challenge is Considered to be the highest recognition in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) initiative worldwide (Internal National)
  • E-india national award 2009 : Best ICT enabled Agriculture Initiative of the year for Kissan Kerala Project (National Level)
  • First Kerala State e-governance Award – 2009 for the implementation of Online farmer centric e-governance services (State Level)
  • Manthan Award South Asia – 2008 for Design and Development of integrated, multi-modal agricultural information system for Kerala (International Level)
  • PC QUEST Best IT implementation of the year – 2007 : for Kissan Kerala Project under Govt category (National Level)
  • Recipient of IIITM-K Director’s Commendation Certificate – 2008
  • MONSANTO Above and Beyond Award – 2001 : MONSANTO GLOBAl TECHNOLGY AWARD from MONSANTO Inc, USA for the outstanding performance and innovation.
  • MONSANTO GKEP integrity Award- 2000 : For the best team player in Monsanto Genomics group, Monsanto Research Centre, IISc, Bangalore.