Bhaskar Vira is an Indian academic, professor of

Political Economy Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour ...

, and the current Pro Vice Chancellor for Education for Cambridge University. From 2019 until 2022 he was Head of

Department of Geography, University of Cambridge The Department of Geography is one of the constituent departments of the University of Cambridge and is located on the Downing Site. The department has long had an international reputation as a leading centre of research and is consistently ranke ...

. He was the founding director of the University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute, and is a fellow of

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , establish ...

. In 2018, he was awarded the Busk Medal by the Royal Geographical Society for his contributions in the fields of environment, development and economy. In 2021, he was elected to a Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences for his contributions to social science.

Biography

Vira was born in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

, India and was educated at

The Doon School The Doon School (informally Doon School or Doon) is a selective all-boys boarding school in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India, which was established in 1935. It was envisioned by Satish Ranjan Das, a lawyer from Calcutta, who prevised a school mod ...

in Dehradun. After Doon, he went to St. Stephen's College, Delhi for a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in economics and then got a second BA from

St. John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

. He then stayed in Cambridge to pursue an MPhil and a PhD in economics and political economy respectively.

Career

While working on his doctorate, Vira lectured at St. John's College, Cambridge in 1993–94. After receiving his doctorate in 1994, Vira became a Research Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Environment, Ethics and Society in Mansfield College, University of Oxford, and remained there till 1997. He then joined the Department of Geography at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

and became a fellow and graduate tutor at

. In 2013, he became the founding director of the University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute. He was appointed Head of

in October 2019. He regularly writes for various newspapers and magazines, including ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', ''

Quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical ...

'', and ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...

''. He was awarded the Busk Medal by Royal Geographical Society in 2018, for his interdisciplinary contributions in the fields of environment, development and economy. In 2021, he was elected to a Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences for his contributions to social science. Environmental issues in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

feature among Vira's varied research interests.

Selected publications

* * * *

References

External links

Bhaskar Vira at Google ScholarBhaskar Vira profile at the University of CambridgeBhaskar Vira - The GuardianProfile - World Economic Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vira, Bhaskar Living people 1968 births Department of Geography, University of Cambridge Fellows of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni Delhi University alumni The Doon School alumni Fellows of Mansfield College, Oxford English geographers Economic geographers Professors of Political Economy (Cambridge) Himalayan studies