Aligarh Muslim University Archives

Dr. Areeba Shabbir has worked with the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, as On-Air Educator for the Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM) national TV channel. She has also held positions as Guest Faculty at Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University in New Delhi, and as Assistant Professor at GLA University in Mathura.

Dr. Shabbir completed her Ph.D. in English language teaching (ELT) from the Department of English, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. Her research focused on the role of technology in language learning and teaching. During her research, she volunteered for Vision Aid Incorporated USA, and developed and taught spoken English courses to visually impaired individuals. In addition to contributing research papers to journals of high impact, she also actively participated in debates, group discussions, and theatrical performances as a student.

Dr. Shabbir is a teaching assistant in Hindi and Urdu at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. She aims to foster meaningful cultural exchange between both nations. She is promoting various aspects of Indian culture, including art, literature, and values by organizing and participating in cultural events at her host institution. Furthermore, Dr. Shabbir is working on collaborating with artists, cultural centers, and educational organizations in the U.S. to launch joint projects aimed at promoting the richness of Indian culture.

Prashant Mahajan is a Ph.D. candidate at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Uttar Pradesh. He recently joined the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) as a Scientist-C. He has previously been a recipient of the prestigious Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF). He completed his BSc in zoology in 2016 from Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi, and MSc in wildlife sciences from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). His doctoral work focusses on understanding the ecology of mesocarnivores in the Gir Protected Area, Gujarat.

Over the years Prashant’s focus has been on studying the ecology of large mammals in India, with a particular emphasis on wolf, tiger, leopard, elephant, and rhesus macaque. He was a part of the All-India Tiger Estimation Project (AITE) at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). He has presented his work in various national and international conferences and has also communicated his research findings through peer-reviewed and popular articles.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research fellow at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA, Prashant is trying to integrate insights from the U.S. ecosystem to add to the understanding of the mesocarnivores in India. He is specifically investigating the strength of interactions between large carnivores and mesocarnivores and how this governs the behavioural responses of the latter to the perceived predation risk. By undertaking this research, he aims to expand the understanding of carnivore ecology in India, particularly in relation to their behavioural aspects.