Interview
“Born in India, but for the world”
Vivek Mehra describes Vikramshila, a mission to help India and the developing world break Western publishers’ ‘stranglehold’ on academic publishing
Tell us a little about your background and qualifications… Over 20 years of my career have been spent in supporting higher education. Sixteen of these were spent in publishing research. I’m the former CEO and managing director of Sage Publications India, a top-tier publishing house well known for its books, journals, and digital products. I also served as the chairman of the same company for a year. Over the years, I have been recognised
for my work through many awards. The government of Maharashtra conferred me with the “Vijayshree” award in 1994 for simplifying complex dehydrating technology, ensuring a brighter future for small-scale farmers. In 2019, I was recognised by the New Delhi Institute of Management for my management and leadership skills, with the Business Excellence and Innovative Best Practices Academia Award. Before that, in 2016, Sharda University
conferred me the Sharda Top Rankers Excellence Award for Visionary Leadership. I started my career in the textile industry
by getting a Bachelor’s degree in textile technology. This was followed by an MBA in marketing and two degrees in intellectual property law. Both of these were from premium institutions in the USA. On my return I tried my hand at several different industries, but had mixed success. From each of my failures I learnt what I
could or couldn’t do. India in the 90s had few opportunities for my qualifications and even fewer for struggling bootstrapped entrepreneurs. I was perhaps a renegade at that time, but today I would be known as a serial start-up entrepreneur! I finally ended up finding my calling in publishing. It is in this role that I studied for a postgraduate diploma (and certificate) in law.
24 Research Information Spring 2023
I am currently pursuing my PhD in management from an Indian university. I also serve as the honorary council member and Member of Board Studies for the Association of Learned & Professional Society Publishers’ (ALPSP) journal, Learned Publishing. I’m currently a Board of Studies member at the School of Business, Public Policy and Social Entrepreneurship at Ambedkar University Delhi and also a part of the quality assurance committee at the same university. I have served as the vice-president of the
Association of Publishers in India and am on the committee of CII and FICCI on IPR, Copyright and Higher Education. Passion for learning drives me constantly.
What inspired you to pursue a career in publishing and scholarly communications? My career in publishing began as a failed author. When I heard about the prize money
for a Booker Prize I was convinced this was money for jam. I wrote a novel, then spent a year and all my savings pursuing publishers to get my book out. I even travelled to London to meet with some high-flying literary agents. But of course, all of it was in vain.
When reality sank in, I turned to skills
I possessed. India was at that time just becoming a powerhouse for outsourcing. I took up a freelance assignment as a language editor for an Australian technical training company. I then became a trainer with them. I was later recruited by an MNC academic publisher. For close to two decades now I have been in academic publishing. This has helped me understand the landscape.
What is the background to the foundation of Vikramshila? In my stint as a representative of a foreign publisher in India, I was exposed to the
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