Dr. Manisha Seal – Pioneering the academic transformation in the world of travel and tourism

 

Dr. Manisha Seal, Assistant Professor, Department of Tourism and Travel Management, Jyoti Nivas College, Bengaluru

 

Hi , I am Dr. Manisha Seal, an assistant professor from the Department of Tourism and Travel Management at Jyoti Nivas College Autonomous, a renowned Christian Women’s College accredited as an A+ Institution by NAAC in Bengaluru, Karnataka State. I am a passionate traveller, an academician, and a keen researcher seeking accomplishment in undertaking tourism research-related assignments. Presently, I have 19+ years of teaching experience in educating young minds pursuing their higher education in the field of Tourism Business Management.

 

 

Educational journey and professional journey of Dr. Manisha Seal

 

I possess a long educational journey and professional experience. I completed my schooling at Kendriya Vidyalaya under the CBSE Board of Education. Later, I acquired a Bachelor of Arts with a specialisation in History, Economics, and Political Science from Bangalore University and further pursued a dual Master’s Degree, i.e., a Masters in Tourism Administration (MTA) from Bangalore University, Bengaluru, and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Periyar University, Tamil Nadu. I also completed a Masters of Philosophy in Tourism Management (M.Phil.), followed by a doctorate in Tourism Management (Ph.D.) from Mother Teresa Women University at Kodaikanal.

 

My professional journey begins in college while pursuing my Master’s in Tourism Administration as a final-year student through an on-campus interview arranged by our college as a travel counsellor for Cruise & Travels Pvt. Ltd., a travel company. Further, after 2 years of tourism industry experience, I chose to join the education sector as an academician or a teacher in simple terms to educate young minds pursuing higher education in the field of Tourism & Hospitality sector. I worked in many reputed institutions in Bengaluru, like KLES Nijalingappa College, Garden City College (presently upgraded as Garden City University), and Currency have been employed as Assistant Professors at Jyoti Nivas College Autonomous since 2014.

 

 

Honours and achievements of Dr. Manisha Seal

 

I am honoured to receive my doctorate Degree in Tourism Management from Mother Teresa Women University, Kodaikanal, in the year 2021.

 

I too own the Indian Woman Talent Award (IWTA), being an academician and a mentor to many young women in the year 2022.

 

I am privileged to receive a Certificate of Honour on Teacher’s Day 2021 from the Principal of Bengaluru Amrita Degree College for my contribution in educating, mentoring, counselling, and inspiring young minds to join the tourism industry.

 

 

International and national tourism meetings and curriculum coordinator

 

Being an Assistant Professor in college, I perform multiple roles and responsibilities for my department and for the college. Apart from teaching the syllabus in the curriculum, I nurture my students with multiple professional skills (communication skills, technical skills, and other soft skills) and further create aptitude for research and learning for the students’ community. The role of syllabus formulation, organising Board of Studies (BOS) meetings, periodical revision of the syllabus based on NEP norms, writing academic research papers in reputed journals and books, and working towards organising many national and international events in college are the responsibilities.

 

I have credit for organising multiple national-level tourism conferences, international panel meetings, and national webinars at Jyoti Nivas College Autonomous for the Tourism and Travel Management Department as "Organising Secretary.”.

 

 

Major research publications of Manisha Seal

 

Being a researcher, my area of expertise in tourism research is rural tourism, as I have undertaken multiple years of primary research on rural tourism as a Ph.D. research scholar in the study area to be named Anegundi village, located in Koppal district of Gangavati taluk in the northern part of Karnataka. I constantly strive towards achieving my passion for writing quality research papers, in spite of our busy schedules and fulfilling academic responsibilities. My current research paper, ‘Rebooting and Transforming Tourism in the Post-COVID-19 Pandemic: A Perspective for India', was published in 2023 as a book chapter in Apple Academic Press for Taylor & Francis Group, which is also Scopus-indexed. Similarly, I published a research article addressing the theme ‘Reconceptualization of sustainable rural development through rural tourism: A Case Study on Anegundi Village, Karnataka’ published in the UGC Care listed Journal of Fundamental Research and Comparative Study in the Year 2022.

 

Likewise, I have multiple research publications listed in UGC Care and Scopus indexed, and many more are yet to be published. . Currently, I have published a total of 12 research papers in reputed journals, as book chapters, and in conference proceedings, with multiple citations and a rising H index to my credit.

 

 

Presentations and conferences attended by Dr. Manisha

 

I have been participating in many academic conferences and seminars at the state, national, and international levels as an attendee and also as a paper presenter to participate in the process of disseminating knowledge. I presented 10 academic research papers and participated in numerous state-, national-, and international-level conferences and seminars organised by reputed institutions in the country and around the world.

 

 

Dr. Manisha Seal talks about career opportunities in tourism

 

Tourism is a booming industry in the present scenario, achieving new heights of profit margins with multiple job prospects in various sectors of the tourism industry. It is a service industry that has tremendous potential to cater employment to semi-skilled and skilled labourers worldwide, specifically with reference to travel, tourism, and hospitality-qualified professionals.

 

While undergoing study in travel, tourism, and hospitality-based institutions at the UG and PG levels, one may acquire skills, knowledge, and training to become a complete professional to join the tourism industry. The industry has various segments like travel agencies and tour companies, the hotel and restaurant sector, the aviation sector, and other transportation sectors, with numerous employment prospects for young, enthusiastic, trained, and qualified tourism professionals.

 

My only advice to the upcoming generation is to keep in mind the tourism and hospitality sector as one of the significant career prospects along with career growth and entrepreneurial prospects, apart from many conventional career opportunities.