Jaipur - 2026 - SIETAR India

Conference at a Glance

Conference14–15 November 2026

VenueMNIT Jaipur, Department of Management Studies

Pre-conference tracks13 November, 2:00–5:00 pm

7th International Conference: Intercultural Competence for Conscious Collaboration

About SIETAR India

The Society for Intercultural Education Training and Research (SIETAR) – India is a non-profit association of educators, researchers and trainers from a wide range of practical and academic disciplines who share a common concern for effective intercultural relations. SIETAR India is part of the global network of SIETAR organizations.

Why the Conference?

Inter-cultural sensitivity and cross-cultural competence is regarded as one of the most valuable skills required to succeed in today’s increasingly interconnected world. For global corporations, the need to leverage business opportunities across different geographies is key and therefore also the important need to address the challenges brought about by cultural differences in collaborating.

What topics will the conference address?

Concepts, tools & skills for building intercultural competence & leveraging diversity.
Fresh new paradigms and perspectives the intercultural field must integrate to make our academia and corporate world more culturally intelligent and inclusive.

What to expect from the conference

Opening keynote by Roopa Purushothaman, Chief Economist & Head, Policy Advocacy and Head of Social Impact, Tata Sons Private Limited.
Inaugural Plenary session ‘The Mirror of Three Sages: Beyond WEIRD Intercultural Frameworks’ by Anand Shankar, Chief Transformation Officer at Deloitte South Asia.
Two Panel discussions: 1) Balancing the Local and Global Mindset: Reimagining Education for Conscious Collaboration. 2) GCC Leadership & Cross-Cultural Competency: How This Differs from ‘Global’ Roles Elsewhere.
18 concurrent sessions of 60/90 minutes each selected from over 30 proposals received across 3 parallel tracks: Research / Practitioners / New Frontiers. See the schedule.
Two Pre-conference tracks on 13 November from 2 to 5pm: 1) Integrating intercultural studies in academia. 2) Integrating intercultural studies in language. See the tracks.

Who should attend?

Business Leaders, global managers, L&D professionals, Academic heads & faculty, any individual working in the intercultural space / across cultures.

Conference fees & how to register

INR 13,500SIETAR Member

INR 15,000Non-member

INR 30,000Corporate / Group rate, admits 3 participants (single payment & receipt)

Questions? Email sietarindiamembership@gmail.com

Conference Schedule

Click on any session to read the abstract and about the presenter. Concurrent sessions run in three rooms (Auditorium, Classroom and Boardroom) across three tracks:

ResearchPractitionerNew Frontier

Day 1 Saturday, 14 November 2026

Schedule for Saturday 14 November 2026
Time	Session	Auditorium	Classroom	Boardroom
8:00 – 9:00	Registration
9:00 – 9:30	Inauguration	Welcome & Inaugural Ceremony
9:30 – 10:30	Opening Plenary Session	‘The Mirror of Three Sages: Beyond WEIRD Intercultural Frameworks’Anand ShankarChief Transformation Officer at Deloitte South AsiaSession details
10:30 – 10:50	Tea / Coffee
10:50 – 11:30	Keynote	Roopa PurushothamanChief Economist and Head, Policy Advocacy & Head of Social Impact, Tata Sons Private Limited
11:30 – 12:30	Session 1	ResearchThe Ripple Effect: How Inclusive HRM Transforms Societies for the Common GoodMarie-Therese ClaesSession details	New FrontierTeaching Intercultural Communication in the Age of AIDr. Christina RathSession details	PractitionerWriting across cultures: Four lenses from Diagnosis to CalibrationEhteshamul HaqueSession details
12:30 – 1:15	Session 2	PractitionerHow Do We Teach Our Youth to Think Across Differences: Case StudyDhivagari Gopala KrishananSession details	PractitionerA Conscious Collaboration in practice: Bridging Denmark and IndiaJinu JayapalanSession details	PractitionerThe Globalista DiariesFrances DoriaSession details
1:15 – 2:15	Lunch
2:15 – 2:30	Dance & Movement	Divya Amarnath & Heather Robinson
2:30 – 3:30	Education Panel	Balancing the local and global mindset: Reimagining education for Conscious Collaboration
3:30 – 3:45	Tea / Coffee
3:45 – 4:45	Session 3	PractitionerGlobal Competency Model applied in Inclusive Leadership Coaching via RockMeAppAngela WeinbergerSession details	PractitionerFrom Conflict to Collaboration: An Intercultural Mediator’s ToolkitUsha Srinivasan & Dr. Sathish SrinivasanSession details	ResearchApplying Cultural Intelligence for Conscious Collaboration in Hybrid LeadershipMartina SuterSession details

Day 2 Sunday, 15 November 2026

Schedule for Sunday 15 November 2026
Time	Session	Auditorium	Classroom	Boardroom
9:00 – 10:00	Opening Plenary Session	Cybernetics & Expansive Intercultural Interaction DesignFrancis LalemanParticipatory Experience Design Practitioner & TeacherSession details
10:00 – 11:00	Corporate Panel	GCC leadership and cross-cultural competency: How this differs from ‘global’ roles elsewhere
11:00 – 11:15	Tea / Coffee
11:15 – 12:15	Session 1	PractitionerLINK to Intercultural Competence: a classroom intervention transcending borderShweta ParopkariSession details	New FrontierUnderstanding the Indian Youth: Three Indias, Multiple RealitiesDr. Anindita BanerjeeSession details	ResearchBridging Cultures, Building Futures: A Dual-Lens FrameworkDr. Shrabani Bhattacharya & Dr. Jyoti VermaSession details
12:15 – 1:15	Lunch
1:15 – 1:30	Yoga & Movement	Reji Kuruvilla & Heather Robinson
1:30 – 2:30	Session 2	PractitionerWhen Cultural Awareness is not enoughKlaudia Fryc-MallickSession details	PractitionerKapwa, Curiosity and Conscientiousness across Global CulturesRaju MandhyanSession details	ResearchMicro-Cultural MBA Classrooms: Mapping Regional Friction and Accommodation StrategiesMustakhusen MujawarSession details
2:30 – 2:45	Tea / Coffee
2:45 – 4:15	Session 3	PractitionerIdentity, Avatars and AI: An Approach to Developing Intercultural CompetenceGrant DouglasSession details	PractitionerThe Invisible Cost of Cross-Cultural MisreadingVandana DasSession details	PractitionerAt the Edge of Change: Cultivating Conscious CollaborationMithun MridhaSession details
4:15 – 4:45	UNESCO Story Circles	Vincent MerkPast President, SIETAR Europa, Founder Merk4CAbout the speaker
4:45 – 5:15	Closing Keynote	Heather RobinsonPast President, SIETAR USA, Co-founder, SIETAR India

Pre-Conference Tracks

Friday, 13 November 2026 · 2:00–5:00 pm · two parallel tracks

Track 1

Academics & Culture Track

Integrating intercultural studies in academia

Background

How do we learn from people whose cultural experiences differ from our own? This Track gives scholars space to explore such questions, discuss their work, learn across disciplines, and consider how cultural context shapes what we study and how we interpret it.

Focus & outcome

The sessions bring together lived experience and emerging research to:

Explore how cross-cultural exchange shapes learning, research, and collaboration.
Examine cultural inclusion and ethical choices in technology, tourism, health, literature, and CSR.
Help scholars strengthen their ideas and research approaches through constructive feedback.
Connect researchers across disciplines and encourage further exchange beyond the conference.

Perspectives

1. Learning Across Academic Cultures
A Workshop on Learning Across Cultures: A Reflection on Research Practices in Germany
Vaibhav Aggarwal | United Nations University–Resource Nexus & Technical University Dresden, Germany

2. Doctoral Colloquium: Emerging Scholarship
Session Chair: Dr Divesh Kumar, Head, Department of Management Studies, MNIT Jaipur
Session Co-Chair: Dr Shweta Sharma, Assistant Professor, MNIT Jaipur

Six presentations bring different disciplinary perspectives to questions of culture, inclusion, and collaboration, with space for feedback and discussion.

Reimagining Tourism Marketing in the AI-Driven Era: The Role of Cross-Cultural Intelligence in Global Tourist EngagementDevvandya Mishra | Jaipuria Institute of Management, Jaipur
Management of the Urban-Rural Health Data Divide in IndiaShivani | Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, IIT Kharagpur
Mapping Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) for Ethical AI: A Conceptual FrameworkAkansha Purohit | Department of Management Studies, MNIT Jaipur
Reading Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children as the Third Space of Conscious CollaborationMuskaan Budania | Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, MNIT Jaipur
CSR Impact Assessment in Different Contexts: A Review of MethodologiesPragya Purohit | Department of Management Studies, MNIT Jaipur
Impact of AI-Driven Brand Personalities on Intercultural Competence for Consumer–Brand EngagementAsmita Jat | ICFAI University, Jaipur

Download Track 1 PDF

Track 2

Language & Culture Track

Integrating intercultural studies in language

Background

Language is more than fluency and accuracy; in intercultural spaces, it shapes how we connect, understand culture, and create belonging. This track explores how language can become a practical pathway to intercultural understanding and conscious collaboration.

Focus & Outcomes

Through three complementary perspectives, the track will explore how language can support inclusion, intercultural understanding, meaningful communication, and conscious collaboration. Participants will engage with practical approaches, reflect on their own experiences, and exchange ideas on how language practices can be integrated into teaching, training, facilitation, and professional contexts.

The Language & Fluency Track seeks to open a continuing conversation beyond the conference by bringing the language and intercultural communities closer together.

Time	Session	Presenters
2:00 – 2:15	Introduction Welcome, introduction to the Language Track & framing the common thread
2:15 – 3:00	Dimension 1 Beyond Fluency: Small Language Practices for Conscious Collaboration	Pooranasoundari Venkatesan, Intercultural & German Language Trainer & Usha Krishnan, Intercultural & German Language Trainer
3:00 – 3:45	Dimension 2 Beyond Translation: Using Language to Reveal Culture and Build Intercultural Understanding	Swati Kulkarni, Intercultural & German Language Trainer, Goethe Institut, Bengaluru
3:45 – 4:00	Tea Break
4:00 – 4:45	Dimension 3 Beyond Words: What We Say, What We Hear, and How Context Shapes Meaning	Anupama C, Japanese Language and Culture Specialist & Intercultural Trainer
4:45 – 5:00	Closing Note & Discussion Connecting insights across the three layers, collective reflection & takeaways