In the convocation ceremony on 14th October, 2025, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chair, MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, India, was presented with an honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Guelph. Dr. Swaminathan is an outstanding scientist and a global leader who has made holistic contributions to medicine, healthcare, global policy, philanthropy and social welfare.
In a move to further strengthen the research collaborations between the University of Guelph, Canada, and the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), India, an MoU was signed by Prof. Shayan Sharif, Vice President Research, University of Guelph, and Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chair, MSSRF, on October 14, 2025.
Meher Fiha successfully completed her MRP, "Negotiating Identity and Belonging: A Study of Second-Generation South Asian Immigrant Experience in Derek Mascarenhas’ Coconut Dreams," (advisor: Gregor Campbell) in April 2025.
Dilshan Fernando successfully defended his PhD dissertation, "Future Life How? Charting the Destigmatization of Disability in Titan, India," on May 6, 2025.
Dr. Guneet Kaur, a professor at the School of Engineering, University of Guelph, is appointed as CIRCLE’s director for a three-year term, effective May 1, 2025.
International Conference on Democracy and Its Undoing: South Asia and Its Polities
March 20-21, 2025 | Organised by the Department of Political Science, Easwari School of Liberal Arts, SRM University- AP (Andhra Pradesh) | More information here
Dr. Kurt Annen, Professor of Economics at University of Guelph, will be delivering a keynote address titled, "Democracies over time: A global perspective".
Please see the attached file for the conference schedule.
The first Global Inequality Research Award was awarded to Bina Agarwal, Professor of Development Economics and Environment, University of Manchester, for her work on gender inequalities, environmental governance, feminist environmentalism, and environmental inequalities.
Congratulations to Dr. Elizabeth Finnis for her new appointment as One Health Institute Director. Dr. Finnis is an active CIRCLE Member and Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph. Dr. Finnis succeeds Dr. Cate Dewey, who was appointed in 2019 as the Institute’s founding Director. Dr. Finnis will begin her appointment in May 2025.
Aysha Iqbal Viswamohan (Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Madras) is the editor of Women in Contemporary Indian Films and Media: Representations and Responses (Routledge India).
Masters Student Research Funding
CIRCLE offers two awards each of up to $2,500 annually.
Eligibility