Saumya Pant

Dr. Saumya Pant is the Director of the Communication and Development Studies program and a Lecturer in School of Media Arts and Studies. Dr. Pant is a teacher, a mother and an activist who believes that communication is at the heart of social change processes and effective change happens when communities organize strategically to achieve collective efficacy.

She is a global expert in strategically integrating entertainment-education programs with community-based group listening and locally available health care services. She has also worked on mobile marketing and the emergence of Generation Y and Z in India. She has worked on several projects funded by international agencies, including Population Communication International and UNAIDS.

Dr. Pant’s scholarly work has been published in international journals like Journal of Communication, Journal of Development Communication, and International Journal of Mobile Marketing among others. She authored the ‘international development theories’ submission in Encyclopedia of Communication Theory. Currently she is working on a manuscript for a book on narrative of surrogate mothers in India who are part of a multi-billion fertility industry.