Deepanwita Srivastava is Professor of French and specializes in the areas of Didactics of French Language, Open Distance & Distributed Learning, Translation & Interpretation and Travel & Mobility Studies.
Alumna of the Centre of French and Francophone Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, N.Delhi she has a long experience of teaching French at several universities and institutions of Higher Education and is counted among the pioneers of French Studies in Open Distance & Distributed Learning in India.
Appointed Principal Lexicographer & Rédactrice en chef (Editor in Chief) for the United Nations Project on the Hindi-French Bilingual Dictionary with the Central Hindi Directorate-- CHD, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India.
Designed and developed the first Master’s Program in French in India in the Open & Distance Learning Mode, created French language learning modules for SWAYAM MOOCs, and designed multiple curricula catering to Pedagogy of French as a Foreign Language–Français langue étrangère FLE in ODL models. Actively engaged with Language courses and Skill development in the FYUP Program under the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) (Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship - MSDE), Govt of India and the E-VBAB— E Vidya Bharati Project of the Govt. of India for students from Africa.
Coordinator of the Ph.D program in French at the School of Foreign Languages, she has successfully guided several Doctoral research students at IGNOU as well as at other universities contributing to innovation and knowledge creation in the domain of French Studies.
Widely published and Invited/Visiting scholar at several universities abroad, she has been also recipient of International Fellowships from the Shastri Indo Canadian Institute - SICI, Asian Association of Open Universities - AAOU, UNESCO, and the ICSSR.
Member, Advisory Boards, Comités scientifiques/Editorial Boards of International journals, Boards of Studies and Academic Councils of universities, Committees on Educational Policies, Curriculum Planning & Research Councils.
Actively engaged in workshops, projects and collaborations with the French Embassy in India, Indian Council of Social Sciences Research (ICSSR, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India, Indian Council of Cultural Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India, UNESCO, Bureau du Quebec India, CEMCA (Commonwealth of Learning- CoL Canada), the Shastri Indo Canadian Institute (SICI), India Africa Virtual University (IAVU, Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India), Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU), Innovation Council of India and the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, - IIFT (Ministry of Commerce, Govt. of India).
Major publications include “संयुक्त राष्ट्र हिंदी-फ्रासीसी कोश" (Hindi-French Bilingual Dictionary), Ministry of Education, Govt of India and four more books on Didactics of French Language, Translation and Interpretation, African Francophonie, and Mobility Studies, apart from numerous research publications as book chapters and articles in national and international journals.
Was conferred upon the "Prix d’excellence de l’enseignement du français”– Award for Excellence in French Studies in 2023 by the Institut français en Inde –IFI, Embassy of France in India.

Areas of Interest:
Didactics of French as a Foreign Language
Language Teaching/Learning in Open and Distance Mode
Curriculum Planning & Instructional Design in ODL
Mobility & Travel Studies
Translation & Interpretation

Mr Shivaji Bhaskar is Assistant Professor in School of Foreign Languages, IGNOU. He did his MA from Centre of Russian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University and M Phil from the School of International studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Russian [stage 2] at Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) where he is responsible for the supervision of all aspects of the Russian language courses. Prior to joining IGNOU, Mr. Shivaji Bhaskar worked in the capacity of Russian language expert for various organizations of high repute. He has been a Board Member of various institutions and Universities like JNU, HPU etc. Presently he is coordinating the various Russian language programmes in ODL, SWAYAM MOOCs and Online Learning Mode. In 2023, Mr. Shivaji Bhaskar along with a team of eminent Russian language/ studies experts from Indian and Russian universities have designed & developed MA Russian Programme in ODL mode. In addition to his present academic responsibilities, he has also been entrusted with the design and development of Korean and Japanese language programme at IGNOU. His areas of special interest are Teaching of Russian as Foreign Language, Culture and Civilization of Russia, Translation of Scientific and Social Science material, Interpretation and Area Studies with special emphasis on Russian and Eurasian Studies.

style="list-style-type:square;">Workshop & Seminars/Webinars
• A national seminar on the writings of Great Russian writer Alexander Pushkin's writings was organized by the School of Foreign Languages to mark the Russian Language Day on 6th June, 2011.
• A one day seminar on “The use of computer programmes and linguistic equipments at the lessons of the Russian Language” in collaboration with the Russian Centre of Science and Culture, New Delhi was organized and conducted on 15th Sept, 2011 at the Convention Centre, IGNOU.
• A national seminar on “70 Years of India-Russia Relations: The Way Forward” was organized by the School of Foreign Languages on 18th April, 2017.
• A national seminar on “Russia and the Changing World” was organized by the School of Foreign Languages to mark the Russian Language Day on 6th June, 2017.
• A Panel Discussion on “Great Russian writer Alexander Pushkin's writings” was organized by the School of Foreign Languages to mark the Russian Language Day on 6th June, 2019.
• Webinar on Remembering Alexander Pushkin on 6th June, 2022
• Launched MA Russian Programme on 25th Jan, 2023
• Webinar on Alexander Pushkin: The Icon of World Literature on 6th June, 2023 was organized in collaboration with Financial University, Russia.