Dr. Mandira Agarwal

Dr. Mandira is an accomplished professor and educationist with over 30 years of teaching experience in a cross-cultural environment and at diverse academic levels. Her domain knowledge expertise includes Economics and Risk Management in Exploration, HSE in the Energy Sector, Unconventional Energy Resources, and Asset Management. Dr. Agarwal holds life memberships in esteemed organizations such as the Hydrocarbon Committee, Association of Petroleum Geologists (APG), Institute of Indian Geomorphologists (IIG), and Himalayan Geographical Society (HGS). She is regularly invited as a Ph.D. examiner in other universities and has recently been invited to become a committee member for the PAG Committee review meeting of DST-TEC-PDEU.

Dr. Agarwal has also been involved in several noteworthy projects and consultancy work, such as the Rural Women Technology Park of UPES, Dehradun, Uttarakhand; the makeover of Vedanta Post Graduate Girls College into a world-class institution to provide vocational/skill-based/technical education for HZL and Vedanta Group with MEIL (M-Power Energy India Pvt. Ltd.), New Delhi; Geo-environmental Studies for DPR for Soil Conservation and Watershed Management in four Lake Catchments of Nainital, Uttaranchal for I.I.T. Roorkee and the GOI sponsored Project on Geohazard assessment in parts of Jaintia Hills District, Meghalaya, India.

Before joining UPES, Dr. Agarwal was involved in Educational Consultancy work for ILFS & ETS for over three years as a Manager for Quality Education and Corporate Training. She focused on the induction of computer-aided skills, reviewing, editing, preparing new relevant content, and validating IL&FS&ETS Educational Content development. She also developed and conducted short workshops for enhancing the technological skills of teachers and students. Prof. Agarwal has been associated with UPES for more than 18 years, where, in addition to her academic responsibility, she held the position of Dy. Director CSR from 2005 to 2017. During this period, she actively participated in various projects, designed new projects, designed SoPs, prepared budget estimates, and monitored & reviewed progress/outcome, while also engaging in problem-solving through interactions with various stakeholders.

Prof. Agarwal's research interests encompass Economics and Risk Management, Asset Management, Unconventional Energy Resources, and Health, Safety & Environment in the Energy Sector. She has an impressive publication record, with more than 30 research papers in reputed journals indexed by UGC/SCOPUS/SCI. Additionally, she has presented numerous papers at national and international conferences. She has also contributed to preparing book chapters and reviewed many research papers submitted to international journals indexed by SCOPUS/SCI. Under her guidance, three Ph.D. Degrees have been awarded, with one currently in progress. Prof. Agarwal has also supervised numerous M.Tech Petroleum Engineering students in completing their dissertation theses.

Prof. Agarwal's teaching philosophy is focused on creating a platform that supports and encourages students' learning. She integrates the concept of "flipping the classroom" within her teaching approach, implementing pre-reading assignments that task students with engaging with assigned textbook sections, presentations, and other materials before attending class. Emphasizing the cultivation of teamwork, soft skills, and expert-level thinking, she designs class assignments around authentic problems that necessitate collaborative group work.

Prof. Agarwal teaches courses in graduate and postgraduate classes, covering subjects such as Petroleum Geology, Applied Geology, Introduction to Petroleum Operations, Petroleum Exploration, Economics and Risk Management in Exploration, Health, Safety and Environment in the Energy Sector, Asset Management, Upstream Asset Management, and Mineral Economics and Exploitation Risk.

Prof. Agarwal has received various awards, including recognition for exemplary work in Corporate Social Responsibility and mentoring international students at UPES. Additionally, she was awarded the NEHU Fellowship for M.Phil & Ph.D. Programme and the IIT Roorkee Merit Scholarship during her 3-year M.Tech Program at IIT, Roorkee.

Prof. Agarwal has actively contributed to the academic community, including the review and redesign of the M.Tech Petroleum Engineering Programme. She regularly conducts lecture sessions for Mid-Level & Sr. Level Managers from premier industries, such as OIL, IOCL, HPCL, BPCL, GMDC, ITC Infotech, Petro Bangla, RSMML, GESCO. She is also a life member of the Hydrocarbon Committee, Association of Petroleum Geologists (APG), Institute of Indian Geomorphologists (IIG), and Himalayan Geographical Society (HGS). Apart from her teaching responsibilities, she is consistently invited as a Ph.D. examiner at other universities and recently joined the PAG Committee review meeting of DST-TEC-PDEU.

magarwal@ddn.upes.ac.in