Dr Saju Madavanakadu Devassy
Job Title
Honorary Professor
Background
As a consultant for the ‘Sea Wise’ - Workplace Mental Health Initiative at Cochin Shipyard (More than 17000 employees) and ‘SMILES’ - Federal Bank (more than 13000 employees) Employee Counselling Project, I provide expert guidance on mental health strategies, develop and implement supportive interventions, provide direct therapeutic interventions, and assess their effectiveness in improving workplace well-being. Additionally, in my role as Director of LIFE - Happiness and Wellbeing Centre at Rajagiri College, I oversee a range of intervention projects aimed at enhancing the mental health and overall well-being of students. This involves designing and managing programs, supervising and mentoring a team of professionals, and providing direct therapeutic services to individuals in need. Additionally, I had the honour of leading the project team that received the State e-Governance Special Jury Award in 2022 for the Resiliency Engagement and Care in Health (REaCH) project, recognized by the Government of Kerala for innovations in COVID-19 pandemic management. Under this project, we developed interventions to support students in managing anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was delivered as a telephonic intervention.
I am honorary principal Fellow, in the department of Social Work, Melbourne University, Australia. I am also a visiting international scholar at several Universities globally, including Western Washington University, Columbus University, Western Michigan University, Nazareth University, the University of Maryland, USA, the University of Applied Sciences, Western Switzerland, and Vives University, Belgium. With over 20 years of teaching experience, I am an active researcher with more than 30 publications in high-impact journals. I have also been awarded a scholarship under Sister Dr Mary Glowrey Scholars Program, a joint program of the FMDHS, University of Melbourne and St Vincent's Health Australia, for collaborative activities with faculties at the University of Melbourne.
Previous And Current Research Grants and Projects
- Co-Investigator for AICTE SPARC project titled " Develop and test a Digital Health Intervention to Integrate Care for Improved Management of chronic physical and Psychological Health Conditions of community population in India" in collaboration with the University of Maryland, Baltimore, United States of America - SPARC/2019-2020/P2472/SL. Grant Amount: 53,73,675 INR. (Project Period: 2023- present)
- Principal Investigator - UK - India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) project, titled “Integrating social and health care for improved management of health conditions in India: International Social Work Paradigm”, in collaboration with York University, UK, and The University of Melbourne. Funded by the British Council and University Grants Commission- India (UGC). Sanction No and Date: MRP (H)-1751/11-12/KLMG054/UGC-SWRO 13th July 2012. Grant amount: 16753550/- INR (Project Period: 2017 – 2020)
- Co-Investigator - Impress ICSSR, Government of India project titled “Integrating Social and health care for improved management of chronic physical and psychological health conditions in India; testing a technology-infused health intervention strategy” - IMPRESS/P798/2045/2018-19/ICSSR Grant amount: 1600000/- INR (Project Period: 2020 – 2021)
- Research for Kerala Institute of Local Administration funded by Government of Kerala on the topic social auditing and performance improvement in local govt- a Post evaluatiion study in Nedumkandam Block Panchayat. Report is published by KILA
- UGC-Minor Research Project titled on “Organizational Practices of Non-Government Organizations in Ernakulam”. Sanction No and Date: MRP (H)-1751/11-12/KLMG054/UGC-SWRO 13th July 2012
Roles and responsibilities
I am a social work educator, researcher, and mental health practicing therapist. Currently, I serve as the Principal and Professor of Social Work at Rajagiri College of Social Sciences (Autonomous), where I lead academic and administrative initiatives to advance social work education. I hold an honorary principal fellow position at the University of Melbourne where I am engaged in collaborative research activities with professors in Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences and fieldwork supervision of postgraduate students. Additionally, I serve as the Director of the International Centre for Consortium Research in Social Care (ICRS), focusing on psychosocial intervention and epidemiological research to improve patient outcomes. I am currently the Convenor of the Expert Committee of Social Work Education, Mahatma Gandhi (MG) University, Kottayam, Kerala and an approved research guide in social work under the MG University.