Ajith Kaliyath 
Urban Chair Professor, Kerala Institute of Local Administration, Kerala, India

Prof. Dr. Ajith Kaliyath is the Urban Chair Professor at Kerala Institute of Local Administration, Kerala, India. He is an urban and regional planner by training. He holds a PhD from the School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen's University Belfast, United Kingdom. 


Dr. Kaliyath is a recipient of the British Chevening Scholarship and Overseas Research Scholarship from the Government of UK. He has 22 years of professional experience which include technical, research and academic positions. In the past, he had served the State and Central Pollution Control Boards, Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change, Government of India, German International Cooperation (GIZ), National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), Government of India, School of Planning and Development, Sushant University and a few private sector organisations. 


Dr. Kaliyath had provided intellectual leaderships in the preparation of a Multi-dimensional Prosperity Index for the first 20 smart cities of India and Draft Social Infrastructure Strategy for Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority. Among his various professional roles, Dr. Kaliyath was also the Principal Investigator (India) UK-India ‘Smart Cities Network for Sustainable Urban Futures’ funded by Research Councils UK, Team Leader for Child Friendly Smart Cities and CapaCITIES Programme funded by Bernard van Leer Foundation and SDC India respectively. He was one of the Co-Investigator (India) of a joint research project with University of Glasgow on “Skills for Smart Cities: Role of Universities in India and Kyrgyzstan” funded by Scottish Funding Council. 


Dr. Kaliyath had formerly served the elected executive boards of the Young Academic of Association of European Schools of Planning and oikos International based in St.Gallen, Switzerland. He is a founder member of the ‘Sustainable Chennai Forum’ established by Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chennai, India. Since 2015, Dr. Kaliyath had been the Regional Studies Association's Ambassadors for India and led the process of launching the RSA India Division. In January 2020, RSA elected him as a ‘Fellow’ of the Society. 

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