Professors · Industrial Engineering

Prof. Dr. Anup Sam Ninan

Professor of International Technology Transfer Management – a sociologist whose research focuses on sustainable development, digital transformation, and science and technology studies.

Industrial EngineeringInternational Technology Transfer Management

Profile

Prof. Dr. Anup Sam Ninan
RoleProgram Director International Technology Transfer Management (ITTM)
Teaching and subject areaInternational Technology Transfer Management
DepartmentIndustrial Engineering
At the university since1 January 2025

Prof. Dr. Anup Sam Ninan has been Professor of International Technology Transfer Management at bbw University since January 2025 and has led the programme since April 2025. He earned his doctorate at the University of Bremen (BIGSSS) and is, among other roles, a member of the MIT Technology Review Global Panel.

anup.ninan@bbw-hochschule.de

Academic Background

  • Dr. rer. pol. 2012, Bremen International Graduate School of Sciences (BIGSSS), University of Bremen
  • Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) – Science Policy Studies 2004, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India
  • Master of Arts (M.A.) – Sociology 1999, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India

Professional Career

  • 04/2025–present: Programme director, International Technology Transfer Management, bbw University
  • 01/2025–present: Professor of International Technology Transfer Management, bbw University
  • 03/2023–12/2024: Lecturer, IU University of Applied Sciences, Berlin campus
  • 11/2014–02/2023: Freelance lecturer, Hochschule Bremen, IU (Berlin), bbw (Berlin), Arden (Berlin)
  • 10/2017–2021: Founder and managing director, The Insightist UG, Berlin
  • 2013–2016: Managing director, Boston-Ivy Communications Private Limited, Thiruvananthapuram, India
  • 09/2013–12/2016: Director of Learning and Development, Boston-Ivy Communications Pvt. Ltd., Thiruvananthapuram, India
  • 10/2005–03/2008: Research fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies on Science, Technology and Society (IAS-STS), Graz, Austria
  • 01/2005–06/2006: Research associate, The Nielsen Company, New Delhi, India
  • 2003–2005: Co-founder, Pelican Biotech Private Limited, Kochi, India
  • 1999–2001: Co-founder, Passage2East.com LLC, New York and Kochi

Memberships & Functions in Committees and Associations

  • 01/2021–present: Member of the international expert panel, MIT Technology Review Global Panel, Cambridge, United States
  • 03/2021–12/2021: External advisor, The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND), Dublin, Ireland
  • 06/2021–09/2022: External advisor, Open Heritage – digitisation project at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin
  • 03/2014–present: External expert (in the fields of sustainable development, digital transformation, and the sociology of science and technology), European Cooperation in Science and Technology, Brussels, Belgium
  • Member: European Association for the Study of Science and Technology
  • Member: European Academy of Management
  • Member: European Group for Organizational Studies

Awards, Scholarships, Honours & Patents

  • 09/2008–06/2013: Research scholarship holder, Excellence Initiative, DFG
  • 10/2005–03/2008: North East Research Fellowship, Austria's Agency for Education and Internationalisation – OeAD

Exhibitions, Conference Contributions & Lectures

  • Konferenzbeiträge:
    • 07.05.2024: STS Conference, IAS-STS Graz (Österreich). Digitalization of Society, Society and AI
    • 11.2016 (Tartu, Estonia): EASA Applied Anthropology Network's Annual symposium: Why the world needs anthropologists. Paper: Humanize IT! Exploring Startup Options
    • 10.2012 (Copenhagen, Denmark): Joint Conference: Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) & European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST). Paper: Carbon Credits: The Displacements in Design
    • 05.2012 (Graz, Austria): 11th IAS-STS Annual Conference: Critical Issues in Science and Technology Studies. Paper: Energy as a Network Effect: The Case of Renewable Energy Carbon Offsets
    • 11.2010 (Trento, Italy): Biennial Conference: European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST). Paper: Sustainability as a Localized Performance: the Production of Carbon Credits in a Developing Country Site
    • 10.2009 (Washington DC, The United States): Annual Meeting: Society for Social Studies of Science (4S). Paper: In Carbon They Swear! Materiality and Sustainability in Climate Change
  • Plenarvorträge:
    • 03.02.2017: Chair of International Political Sociology, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (Deutschland). Topic: Organizing the World – Actor Network Theory and Politics
    • 04.11.2013: FASS Science, Technology & Society Cluster, National University of Singapore (Singapore). Topic: Accounting Carbon, Measuring Sustainability: The Case of Carbon Credits
    • 17.09.2013: Departamento de Ciencia, Tecnología y Sociedad, Instituto de Filosofía (IFS-CSIC) – Higher Council for Scientific Research, Madrid (Spain). Topic: Carbon Credits: How Do You Quantify Absence When You Travel A Carbon Neutral Flight?
    • 22.01.2013: Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research, Universiteit van Amsterdam (The Netherlands). Topic: Quantifying Absence in CO2 Emission Trading
    • 18.11.2009: Environmental Resource Management Department, Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg (Deutschland). Topic: Problematizing Climate Discourse
    • 12.03.2010: School of Global Studies, Sikkim University, Gangtok (Indien). Topic: Exploring the Science and Politics of Climate Change
    • 24.07.2009: Planning Board, Government of Kerala, Trivandrum (Indien). Topic: Climate Change: Outsourcing Pollution?

Publications

  • Ninan, Anup Sam (2023): Digital Transformation: How Management Consultancies Frame It? in Günter Getzinger, Michaela Jahrbacher, Franziska Häller (eds.) Conference Proceedings of the STS Conference Graz 2023: Critical Issues in Science, Technology and Society Studies, Graz: TU Graz Verlag, DOI 10.3217/978-3-85125-976-6-11
  • Ninan, Anup Sam (2011): Outsourcing Pollution: Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as Ecological Modernisation, in Michael Schmidt, Ingmar Lippert, Vincent Onyango, Dmytro Palekhov (eds.) Environmental Challenges and Management of Natural Resources, Berlin: Springer Publications
  • Ninan, Anup Sam (2009): Technopolitical Mediations in the Climate Change Regime: STS Takes on Hot Air, in Bammé, Arno; Guenter Getzinger; Bernhard Wieser (eds.) Yearbook 2008 of the Institute for Advanced Studies on Science, Technology and Society, Munich/Vienna: Profil
  • Ninan, Anup Sam (2008): Gandhi's Technoscience: Sustainability and Technology as Themes of Politics, Sustainable Development 5, Nov 2008 (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/sd.381

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