Sini V. Pillai

Dr. Sini V. Pillai is Assistant Professor at School of Digital Humanities and Liberal Arts and Chair- Placement and Career Guidance at Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology (Digital University Kerala).

Dr. Sini serves as a Research Supervisor (Management) at the University. She instructs at the Masters and Doctoral levels. She serves as the Academic Coordinator for the MBA program. She is trained in the Participant-Centered Case Study Methodology program by Harvard Business Publishing. As the Faculty Chair of Placements, she also plays a crucial role in connecting academia with the job market, fostering strong ties with industry partners to facilitate placements.

She is the author of the book Microsoft Power BI Essentials, a book that empowers readers to transform data complexity into actionable insights, enabling professionals and leaders to make data-driven decisions that yield tangible organizational results. Dr. Sini serves as a resource person in technical sessions for industry and academic institutions. She has contributed to various Management Development and Faculty Development Programs, hosted more than 30 training programs and offers consultancy services for academic institutes and industry.

Academic Qualifications

PhD in Management Studies from the University of Kerala.

UGC NET (Management)

MBA in Operations and Marketing from TIM

B.Tech from Government Engineering College Thrissur

Work Experiences: 

Assistant Professor, School of Digital Humanities and Liberal Arts, Digital University Kerala (Former IIITM-Kerala) (March 2023 onwards)

Assistant Professor, CET School of Management, College of Engineering Trivandrum (CET)

Assistant Professor, Lourdes Matha College of Science and Technology

Personal Banker, Retail Banking (Operations), HDFC Bank.

Research and Development

Areas of expertise: Operations and Supply Chain Management, Entrepreneurship and New Product Development, Information Systems Management, Small Business Management, Design thinking.

PhD Supervision– 3 Scholars in areas- Sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Predictive Analytics

Courses Developed and offered: Post Graduate Certificate Program in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management

Link to personal/professional web page 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sini-v-pillai-51188985/

ORCID:  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8313-4888

Scopus ID: 57392609200, Web of Science ID: AAB-9673-2022, Vidwan-ID: 253483
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=2RwmkJYAAAAJ&hl=en

BOOK PUBLISHED

• Pillai, S.V.(2025), “Urban agriculture: a sustainability guide for developing countries”, Social Responsibility Journal, (Q1) 21 No. 4, pp. 725-750. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-07-2024-0433
• Suresh Kumar C., Pillai, S. V., & Subramoniam, S. (2025). Application of AHP in Aerospace Configuration Management. FIIB Business Review (Q2), 14(2), 203-216. https://doi.org/10.1177/23197145211065088 
• Nair, A., Pillai, S.V. and Senthil Kumar, S.A. (2024), “Towards emerging Industry 5.0 – a review-based framework”, Journal of Strategy and Management (Q1), Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSMA-04-2023-0067
• Pillai, S.V., Priyadarsini, R.S., Kumar, R.S. (2023). Student Small Satellite Design and Development in India: A Review. Advances in Small Satellite Technologies. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Singapore.
• Pillai, S.V. and Prasad, J. (2023), Investigating the key success metrics for WFH/remote work models, Industrial and Commercial Training (Q2), Vol. 55 No. 1, pp. 19-33
• Pillai, S. V. (2022). A Novel Uni-directional Flow Circular Facility Layout for Effective Social Distancing. Vision, 26(4), 417–422.
• Pillai, S. V., JS, D., & Subramoniam, S. (2022). Conquering the Employability Conundrum among Business Graduates in India. Abhigyan, 40(3).2022, pp12-25.
• Pillai, S. V., and  Suresh, Vishnu., Digital Transformation through Servant Leadership Model: A Qualitative Analysis. 40th IBIMA International Conference 2022, Seville, Spain, ISBN 979-8-9867719-0-8 and ISSN 2767-9640.
• Pillai, S. V., & Abhilash, V. S. (2022). Modeling and Evaluation of Circular Layout Facility in Hospitals. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 15(2), 55-67.
• Pillai, S. V., & Kumar, R. S. (2021). The role of data-driven artificial intelligence on COVID-19 disease management in public sphere: A review. Decision, 48, 375-389.
• Arunnima BS, Bijulal D,  Kumar R.S., Pillai,S.V. Innovation Maturity-Scape: A Balanced Scorecard Approach to Measuring Innovation, Jilin Daxue Xuebao (Gongxueban)/Journal of Jilin University (Engineering and Technology Edition) Vol: 40(11) November 2021
• Pillai, S. V., VS, A., & Subramoniam, S. (2020). Technology to enhance humanitarian supply chains. Industrial Management, 62(5).pp 22-27, Published by Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) Sept/Oct 2020.
• Pillai, S. V., & Dev, D. (2022). Dynamics of Gig Work Economy: An Investigation of Worker Perspectives on Gig Work. IIMS Journal of Management Science, 13(2), SAGE Publishing
• Pillai, S. V. (2021). UPSHOT OF COVID-19 ON EMPLOYEE WORK STRESS. Journal of Strategic Human Resource Management, 10(2).
• Pillai, S. V., & Jayadev, S. (2021). The mediating role of corporate social responsibility: Exploring determinants and indicators in driving the performance constructs. IITM Journal of Management and IT, 12(2), 26-31.
• Pillai, S. V., & Jayadev, S. (2021). Unidirectional Circular Movement: A Healthier Way to Hospital Administration for Effectual Patient Care. Review of Professional Management, 19(2).
• Nair, N. P., Lal, L., & Pillai, S. V. (2021). Feasibility and Adoption of Electric Two-Wheeler Mobility Sharing service. Asian Journal of Management, 12(4), 435-438.

Conference Presentations- International

• Presented a research paper on “Designing Inclusive Workplaces for the future of work, a human Centered Multi- generational Approach” at 17th International Human Resource Management (IHRM) Conference, held at the Dubai Business School, University of Dubai, in partnership with the American University of Dubai and United Arab Emirates University and in association with the British Academy of Management, London during 29-30 Oct 2025.
• Presented a research paper on “Digital Transformation through Servant Leadership Model” at the 40th IBIMA International Conference on 23-24 November 2022, Seville, Spain.

Conference Presentations- National

• Presented a research paper “Humanitarian and Crisis Management: Electric Vehicle Explosions in the Indian Scenario,” at the POMS India International Conference 2023, hosted by the Production and Operations Management Society POMS India chapter at XLRI Jamshedpur from December 4th to 6th. titled
• Presented a case study on “EV Market: Electric Vehicle Explosions in the Indian scenario” on Feb 24, 2023 at Fortune Institute of International Business (FIIB), New Delhi, India
• Presented a research paper on “People-Centric Practices for Industry 5.0: A Bibliometric Analysis” at POMS India International Conference 2022 on “Reimagine OM for Providing Sustainable Solutions in New Normal” December 21-23, 2022, Venue: IIM Kozhikode

Editor of Books

AI-driven Industrial Engineering for Sustainability by Dr. Bijulal D., Dr. Sini V. Pillai , Dr. Suresh Kumar C.  Excel India Publishers; First Edition (27 July 2025) ISBN 978-93-89947-95-3(Paperback), ISBN 978-93-89947-90-8 (eBook). https://amzn.in/d/8iEpxQv

Book Chapters

Sini V. Pillai, Smart Mechanical Task-based Robots for Agriculture and Farming, in the book Robotics and Intelligent Machines in Smart Agriculture: Emerging Systems and Applications by CRC Press, Routledge, Taylor and Francis, ISBN 9781032912448, April 16, 2026 

Akshay K Vijay and Sini V. Pillai, “Implications of organizational climate on turnover intention among employees in the banking sector,” Review of Operational Issues and Prospects of Commercial Banks in the Current Scenario, Romanson Publishing House, September 2021, ISBN 978-81-949580-9-3.

Sini V. Pillai, Navya J and Vipin H., Book chapter on “The new normal in higher education- The Covid-19 impact” in the book Covid-19 and the Indian Economy by New Century Publishers, New Delhi, 2023

Conference Proceedings

An AI-powered predictive analytics approach for early detection of entrepreneurial failures, authored by Sreekar Pai, Sini V. Pillai and Antony Satyadas, published in the proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Industrial Engineering hosted by IIIE on 8-9 August 2025, ISBN 978-93-89947-95-3(Paperback), ISBN 978-93-89947-90-8 (eBook).

Sustainability without borders-Aligning Global climate goals with local development imperatives, authored by Darsana and Sini V. Pillai, published in the proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Industrial Engineering hosted by IIIE on 8-9 August 2025, ISBN 978-93-89947-95-3(Paperback), ISBN 978-93-89947-90-8 (eBook). 

 H, Darsana and V Pillai, Sini, Plant-Based Dairy as a Sustainable Choice -Role of Price Sensitivity and Government Policies in Sculpting Consumer Switching Decisions (November 8, 2025). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5722462 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5722462

 “Digital transformation through Servant Leadership Model: A Qualitative Analysis” authored by Sini V. PILLAI and Vishnu SURESH published at the 40th IBIMA International Conference on 23-24 November 2022 Seville, Spain. Conference proceedings (ISBN: 979-8-9867719-0-8) and (ISSN: 2767-9640), Published in the USA.

“Developing a conceptual framework of Six Sigma critical success factors in software development companies wrt Technopark Trivandrum”, in the Proceedings of the 31st IBIMA Conference, Milan, Italy, ISBN 978 0- 9998551-0-2 25-26, April 2018, Indexed in Web of Science and SCOPUS.

International Conferences/ Workshops Organized 

Joint Organising Secretary and Chair of the technical paper committee for the 9 th International Conference on Industrial Engineering hosted by the Indian Institute of Industrial Engineering from 8-9 August 2025.

Organising committee member of International Workshop on Smart Agriculture, Digital Rural Technology by IEI CoCE (India-Euro International Centre of Cooperation for Excellence) at IIT Delhi, Aug 29-30, 2025.   https://clst.iitg.ac.in/iei-coce/

Editor of the International Conference proceedings- AI-driven Industrial Engineering for Sustainability as part of the 9th International Conference on Industrial Engineering hosted by the Indian Institution of Industrial Engineering IIIE on 8-9 August 2025, ISBN 978-93-89947-95-3(Paperback), ISBN 978-93-89947-90-8 (eBook).

Conducted MDP on “Operational excellence through lean six sigma in manufacturing and services” on March 17, 2021, at CET for the benefit of Executives from the Industry

Joint Organizing secretary for the International Conference on Humanizing Work and Work Environment HWWE 2018, conference theme “Technology   Enabled    Workplace   Design”    jointly organized at CET in association with the Indian Society of Ergonomics and Indian Institution of Industrial Engineering during December 14-16, 2018.

Organized, conducted and coordinated more than 30 training programs in technology and managerial domains. The target participants include the Heads of Institutions, Deans, HODs, Senior Level Faculty, Faculty members, Technical staff, and Administrative staff of Government Engineering Colleges and Polytechnic institutes under the Directorate of Technical Education, Government of Kerala. One of the programs, a high-level 5-day residential program on “Leadership empowerment,” was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, during his tenure as President of India.

Consultancy and Professional Service

Involved in consultancy projects related to electric vehicles, smart schools, and strategic development plans for educational institutions.

Job Role Analysis and Vitalizing compensation structure

Reviewer – Nature Human Behaviour, Nature Publishing Group

Translation of technical textbooks UG and PG by AICTE

Senior Member of the Indian Institution of Industrial Engineering (IIIE) Navi Mumbai and office bearer IIIE Trivandrum Chapter, Life Member of the Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE) and Member of Trivandrum Management Association.

Resource Person in Training Programs

Resource person at the Six-Day Capacity Building Program for Women Entrepreneurs on
Digital Marketing Strategies in collaboration with MSME at NIT Calicut.

Training Programs Attended (2025)

Attended one-month FIP GURU – DAKSHTA hosted by UGC-Malaviya Mission Teacher
Training Centre (UGC-MMTC) from 13 Jan 2025 to 8 Feb 2025.
Attended a 5-day Leadership program under the aegis of Malaviya Mission Teacher Training
Program at IIM Bangalore from 9-13 Dec 2024