Dr. Rajitna Balakrishnan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management Studies at the Central University of Kerala. She holds a Ph.D. in Management, MBA in Finance and Marketing, and UGC-NET in Management. She brings over nine years of experience in teaching and research, complemented by prior corporate experience with HDFC Standard Life and Birla Sun Life.
During her academic years (2002–03 and 2003–04), she secured First Rank in Commerce. Her teaching and academic interests encompass Startups and Entrepreneurship Development, Digital Marketing, Marketing Management, Mergers, Acquisitions and Corporate Restructuring, Marketing Research, Financial Management, and Accounting.
Dr. Balakrishnan has coordinated several national workshops, academic programmes, and institutional initiatives and has published research articles in Scopus-indexed and UGC-CARE-listed journals. She has presented research papers at several reputed national and international academic forums, including Abu Dhabi University, IIT Madras, and IIM Sambalpur.
She has participated in and completed several Faculty Development Programmes (FDPs) and Short-Term Training Programmes (STTPs), with a focus on research methodology, social science research, innovation, entrepreneurship, and management. She completed an FDP on Innovation, Business Models and Entrepreneurship at IIM Bangalore and has also completed a Leadership Programme at IIM Bangalore. She is a Certified Entrepreneurship Educator from the Wadhwani Foundation.
Dr. Balakrishnan is actively involved in promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and startup development. She serves as a mentor for startups, including the Youth Innovators Programme of K-DISC, and contributes to initiatives that foster an entrepreneurial ecosystem among students and young innovators. She currently serves as the Co-Nodal Officer of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centre (IEDC) at the Central University of Kerala.
Her research interests primarily focus on Strategic Entrepreneurship, Technology-based Startups, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Startup Ecosystems.