Professor Mahendhiran Sanggaran Nair joined Sunway University in February 2021 as the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research Engagement & Impact). Prior to taking up this role, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Monash Malaysia R&D Sdn Bhd and Vice President (Research & Development) at Monash University Malaysia. He is a Fellow of CPA (Australia), Fellow of Academy of Sciences Malaysia and a member of the National Science Council of Malaysia.

Professor Nair is trained as an econometrician and data scientist. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Mathematics from Brock University, Canada; MA in Statistics, MA in Economics and PhD in Economics with a specialisation in econometrics from York University, Canada. His research interests are in economic & technology policy modelling and development economics. He has published his research work in international journals such as: Energy, Renewable Energy, Journal of Policy Modelling, Empirical Economics, Journal of Post-Keynesian Economics, Applied Economics and Telematics & Informatics.

Professor Nair is the architect for the Malaysian Science, Technology and Innovation (10-10 MySTIE) Framework, jointly developed with the Academy of Sciences Malaysia. The 10-10 MySTIE provides a framework to deepen the impact of the 10 global science & technology drivers to Malaysia’s 10 socioeconomic drivers, transforming the nation into a knowledge-intensive and globally competitive country by 2030. This framework is being used by the various government ministries, agencies and industry to develop their strategic plans.

Professor Mahendhiran has been a subject matter expert for government agencies, public policy organisations and ‘think-tanks’ in Malaysia and the Middle East. He has led the formulation of several national economic & technology plans and studies for the Malaysian government and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) secretariat. He is currently leading several studies for various ministries, government agencies and industry associations.

He also provides regular commentaries on the state of regional economies in local and international media. He is acknowledged as the 100 Most Inspirational Linkedin Icons in Malaysia in 2019.