Visiting Research Fellows

Dr. Ardeshir Zamani is an academic and industry professional with extensive experience in strategic management and international business. He holds a Doctoral Degree in Strategic Management and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Tehran. Currently, he serves as a faculty member of the International Business Program at BINUS Business School. Before joining BINUS, he imparted his expertise at renowned institutions such as the Cologne Business School and the University of Tehran. Since 2018, he has taught various courses such as “Business Sustainability,” “Business and Commerce in Australia,” “Cross-Cultural Management and Negotiation,” “Strategic Management,” ” Principles of Entrepreneurship,” “Leadership & Ethics,” “Organizational Change,” “Decision Making Under Uncertainty,” and “International Business,” among others.

In addition to his academic roles, Dr. Zamani is actively involved in professional associations. He is a member of the Iranian Strategic Management Association, the Iranian Society for Training & Development of Human Resources, and Iran’s National Elites Foundation. His diverse experience extends beyond academia, having worked as a project specialist for various consulting projects and serving in managerial roles in international companies for over a decade, handling more than 20 projects successfully.Dr. Zamani has also been a guest researcher at The Center for Advanced Sustainable Management (CASM) in Cologne, Germany. His areas of expertise encompass Strategic Management, Policy-Making, Business Sustainability, and International Business. He has had the privilege of teaching at both bachelor’s and master’s levels, where he has inspired and guided the next generation of business leaders.

Dr. Zamani has also been a guest researcher at The Center for Advanced Sustainable Management (CASM) in Cologne, Germany. His areas of expertise encompass Strategic Management, Policy-Making, Business Sustainability, and International Business. He has had the privilege of teaching at both bachelor’s and master’s levels, where he has inspired and guided the next generation of business leaders.

Having lived in four countries, collaborated with companies from five different nationalities, and traveled to more than thirteen countries, Dr. Zamani brings a wealth of global insights and diverse perspectives to his teaching and research. Currently, he is invited as a researcher by Thompson Rivers University, where he is working on a project in order to identify the role of innovative work behaviour, basic psychological needs, and appraisals on driving organisational commitment.

Ratana Ly is a PhD candidate at the University of Victoria. She is also a senior research fellow and adjunct lecturer at the Center for the Study of Humanitarian Law, based at the Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE) in Cambodia. She holds an LLM from Nagoya University and an LLB from RULE.

Ratana’s research interests include transnational regulation, business and human rights, ASEAN, transitional justice, and law and religion. She has some peer-reviewed publications and presented her work at various conferences. Ratana has also co-contributed to editing working papers and, currently, a book, and to producing a few submissions submitted to the United Nations bodies.

She has undertaken study visits and held previous research fellowships at several universities, such as in Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Germany, Estonia and Sweden. Through her training, teaching, and research, Ratana has experience engaging and working with multi-stakeholders, such as Cambodia’s government officials, personnel from local organizations in Cambodia, the communities, private sectors, and international organizations.

Dr. Ajith Balasooriya has been a Senior Lecturer in the Department of International Relations at the University of Colombo since 2009. He earned his Doctoral Degree from Hiroshima University, Japan. Dr. Balasooriya was awarded the Japan Foundation Fellowship for 2024/2025 and the Asian University Alliance (AUA) Scholars Research Award in 2020.

His current research focuses on the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy and its impacts on South Asia, as well as human security issues in contested lands. Additionally, he conducts research on peacebuilding in conflict-prone societies in Asia and Africa. Dr. Balasooriya also has extensive academic engagements with East and Southeast Asian universities, including the University of Yangon in Myanmar, Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines, and Kanazawa University in Japan.

Dr. Balasooriya teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses, including International Politics, Global Political Economy, China in the Modern World, Peacebuilding Theories and Concepts, Society and Politics of Southeast Asia, and Geopolitics and Economy of East Asia. Since 2015, he has served as the coordinator of the General Degree/Study Stream on Conflict Resolution and Peace at the Department of International Relations. From August 2017 to July 2018, Dr. Balasooriya was the Director of Studies in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Colombo.

He is currently a Sub-Editor on International Relations for the International Journal of Asia Pacific and an international reviewer for the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) Journal. His latest publication, “Legacy of Palmyra: The Victims of Dual Horizontal Inequalities in Northern Sri Lanka” (2023), has been acknowledged and recommended by the US Library of Congress as an important reference for American universities’ South Asian study programs.

B.M. Jain is a former senior professor of political science and international relations at South Asia Studies Centre, University of Rajasthan, India. He has been visiting professor at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan (Canada), Visiting Professor, Cleveland State University (Ohio),Visiting Professor at State University of New York, Binghamton, NY, Visiting Professor, UNESCO Chair for Peace, Jaume1 University, Spain, Visiting Fellow, University of Hong Kong, Summer Visiting Scholar, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Visiting Scholar, Henry L. Stimson Centre (Washington, D.C), Visiting Fellow, Institute for Far Eastern Studies, Seoul.

Professor Jain has authored/edited over twenty books. His books include The Geopsychology Theory of International Relations in the 21st Century: Escaping the Ignorance Trap (Lexington Books, Lanham, MD, 2021), South Asia Conundrum: The Great Power Gamble (Lexington Books/Rowman and Littlefield, 2019); China’s Soft Power Diplomacy in South Asia: Myth or Reality? ( Lexington Books: Lanham, MD,USA, 2017), India-US Relations in the Age of Uncertainty (London and New York: Routledge, 2016),Global Power: India’s Foreign Policy (Lexington Books, 2008 and 2010); India in the New South Asia( I.B. Tauris, London, 2010 and 2011).

Articles: One hundred, of them nearly sixty articles in peer-reviewed journals such as Pacific Affairs, The Round Table, Perspectives on Global Development and Technology Journal, Asian Profile, Asian Studies, Indian Journal of American Studies, International Journal of China Studies, China Report, Journal of Diplomacy and Foreign Policy.