Dr. Anurag Varma, an academician, architect, and consultant, brings over 25 years of diverse professional experience. Currently, as the Executive Director of the Liberal Arts and Humanities cluster at Chandigarh University, he concurrently leads his self-owned design and planning consulting firm. His expertise spans spatial
planning, urbanism, heritage conservation, and architectural design, showcased in leadership roles at a top-100 ENR rated International Design Firm and a leading workshare firm. Dr. Varma is a consultant to government, corporate, and NGO sectors while also holding a senior academic leadership position, overseeing strategy, operations, and research for six constituent institutes, encompassing 10 departments and 23 programs. His academic journey includes Doctoral research from TERI School of Advanced Studies, focusing on sacred
cultural heritage and its intersection with urban planning in pilgrimage towns, alongside interests in sustainable built environments, architecture pedagogy, and advancements in education.
Mr. Vikas Chand Sharma is an academician and architect. Currently serving as an Associate Professor and
Head of Department at University Institute of Architecture, Chandigarh University and a Research Scholar at Department of Architecture, Guru Nanak Dev University in India. His primary research interests are in the fields of Urban Design, City Growth, Historic City, Architecture and Public Spaces. He has authored several publications on urban design and architecture. Sharma has also been an active peer reviewer, contributing to publications.
Dr. Elena Tarsi is an architect and PhD in urban territorial and environmental planning. She is currently researcher at the Department of Architecture of University of Florence where is the coordinator of LabPSM - Laboratory City and territory in the Global South. She is also collaborator researcher at the Centre for Social Studies of University of Coimbra. Her research interests focus on informal settlements dynamics both in the Global South and the Global North. Recently, she has dealt with the impacts of climate change in cities and the role of cities and territories in the European Green Deal policies.
