Ashok Jashapara

Professor Ashok Jashapara is an internationally recognised scholar in innovation, knowledge management, AI and business analytics, with a career distinguished by research and educational impact, academic leadership and sustained engagement with policymakers, international organisations and industry. Most recently, he was selected by the United Nations as the sole academic speaker on future AI and graduate skills at a global forum of more than 700 delegates, including policymakers, civil servants, NGOs, industry leaders and major technology organisations. His work brings together rigorous scholarship and practical impact across AI, organisational innovation, higher education and the future of work.

Knowledge Management

Professor Jashapara has established an international reputation in knowledge management, organisational learning and knowledge mobilisation. His influential book, Knowledge Management: An Integrated Approach, has sold more than 25,000 copies internationally and been translated into Mandarin, Polish and Farsi, extending the reach of his scholarship across different academic and professional communities.

His research takes a distinctive interdisciplinary perspective, examining how knowledge, technology, organisational practices and power interact to shape innovation and organisational outcomes. This longstanding expertise in knowledge and learning increasingly informs his work in AI, business analytics and data-driven decision-making, connecting established scholarship with some of the most important technological and organisational challenges facing institutions today.

Research Awards

His research has attracted competitive funding from major national and international organisations including the ESRC, NIHR, European Union, HEFCE and United Nations. A defining feature of this research is its emphasis on translating academic insight into policy, professional practice and societal benefit.

His ESRC-funded research on the introduction of Critical Care Paramedics in the UK, undertaken in partnership with South East Coast Ambulance NHS Trust, generated significant impact beyond academia. It contributed to national and international debate on advanced pre-hospital care and to the subsequent adoption of Critical Care Paramedic roles across UK ambulance services, demonstrating how research can translate into meaningful changes in frontline practice.

Professor Jashapara has also led major work in learning analytics and predictive analytics, including a JISC/HESA initiative involving data analysts from UK universities and applying business intelligence, data visualisation and machine learning to strengthen evidence-based decision-making across higher education.

Academic Engagement Activities

Professor Jashapara's international standing is reflected in a sustained record of invited keynotes, international presentations, visiting professorships and national appointments. In addition to his recent United Nations invitation on future AI skills, he has delivered invited presentations for organisations including the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna and Rosatom in Moscow, as well as international keynotes in Portugal, Iran, Switzerland and the UK.

His international academic engagement includes Visiting Professorships at ESADE Business School in Spain, and SPJIMR in India, where he has delivered masterclasses in knowledge management and AI and developed international academic networks.

His standing in teaching and learning has also received significant national recognition. He is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, becoming the first academic at Royal Holloway to achieve this distinction, and has served as a Teaching Excellence Framework Academic Assessor and Subject Panel Member, evaluating and helping shape teaching excellence across UK higher education.

Professional Engagement

A consistent feature of Professor Jashapara's career has been his ability to translate academic expertise into professional, policy and societal impact. His engagement increasingly connects AI and advanced analytics with authentic organisational challenges. He was invited as an expert panellist on Generative AI at Big Data LDN, one of the UK's largest data and analytics events.

His wider professional engagement includes knowledge management consultancy for organisations such as the Ministry of Defence and O2. He also served for ten years as a Trustee of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, contributing to the development, funding and dissemination of research addressing poverty and social exclusion and informing UK social policy.

Academic Leadership

Professor Jashapara has held a succession of senior academic leadership roles, including Head of Department of Digital Innovation & Management, Director of Teaching & Learning and Head of Technology & Information Management at Royal Holloway. As Head of Department, he led colleagues through the exceptional challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, supported continued growth in student numbers and played an important role in the School achieving AACSB accreditation.

As Director of Teaching & Learning, he led innovation in assessment and feedback, digital learning, curriculum development and student experience. More recently, he has led the development and academic validation of a new practice-focused MSc in Business Analytics, integrating machine learning and predictive analytics, business intelligence and cloud computing. Across these roles, his leadership has consistently sought to connect academic excellence, technological innovation and tangible impact for students, organisations and wider society.