Professor Mahendhiran Sanggaran is the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research and Sustainability) at Sunway University. He is a Fellow of CPA (Australia) and Fellow of Academy of Sciences Malaysia. He is also a member of the National Science Council of Malaysia and the National High-Tech Council.

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 development economics, economic policy modelling, sustainable development, and planetary health. 

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 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, ‘think-tanks’ and community organisations in Malaysia. He has led the formulation of several national economic & technology plans and studies for the Malaysian government and the Asia Pacific Region. 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.