Adjunct Professor, International Management
M.B.A General Management, Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Harvard Business School, Boston 2009
M.A. Philosophy, Politics, Economics (P.P.E) Oxford University, UK 2003
B.A (Hons) in Economics, Delhi University, India 2001
Office: Kaletsch Campus (by appointment)
Phone: +39 3270178968
Email: rmehra@fus.edu
A social entrepreneur from India, Rakhi co-founded MHS CITY LAB to address housing challenges with interdisciplinary solutions for the urban poor. Her insights as a practitioner and interest in research and academic allow for the design of innovative, experiential learning program for diverse audiences. Since 2014 she has collaborated both with Masters and Undergraduate Programs at Franklin- designed workshops, taught courses and led Academic Travel for the Masters Science in International Management (MSIM). She is also an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at the MBA program at IE Business School in Madrid and taught modules for Momentum (Financial Times & BBVA) accelerator for start-ups cohorts based in Turkey and USA.
As a practitioner, Rakhi engages in design of multi-stakeholder projects while working across diverse agencies as Grameen Bank, Rabo Bank, CARE India, World Bank on micro-finance, post-disaster resilience, low-income housing and inclusive city initiatives. She is currently living in Varese, Italy.
Publications:
Mehra's research areas include Start-up, Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Corporate Social Responsibility, Refugee Entrepreneurship, Business Model Innovation. Experiential Learning Cases and Interdisciplinary Course Design.
2018 Mehra,R Arora, A Ferrario, M. Resilience of Informal Settlements, Addressing Quality in the Built Environment, ISOCARP Review 14
2016 Educating Social Entrepreneurs, workbook published by University of Albany, Chapter on “Mapping Stakeholders and Developing Communication Strategies” (forthcoming) (with Professor Rachida Justo)
2016 Justo, Rachida & Mehra. Kilisun: protecting beyond the Sun. Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies. 6. 1-20. 10.1108/EEMCS-11-2016-0277.
2014 Brick by Brick, Universitas Forum, Innovative Practices in Urban Development, University of Winnipeg, Canada (Case study and 10 minute video commissioned) (with Mukta Naik, Greg Randolph and Marco Ferrario)
2013 Traditional Livelihoods and Community-Centered Urban Development Context: Cultural and Livelihoods, Pages 85-90 (with Naik Mukta, Randolph Greg)
2012 Enabling Self-Construction: Safe and Affordable Housing in India, micro Home Solutions (with Marco Ferrario, Naik Mukta, Van Noppen Aden)
Awards & Honors:
Harvard Business School, Social Entrepreneurship Award
Rhodes Scholarship, India 2001
Guest Lectures:
Presenter at Intelligence Illuminated, TEDxUBocconi : Making Smart Cities Socially Inclusive
Panelist, Social Housing Innovation, Good Economy Conference (March 17), Zagreb, Croatia
Guest Lecture for MBA Class: Design Thinking and Social Impact, Bocconi University, Milan
Keynote speaker, Social Responsibility Forum, IE Business School, Madrid
Panelist, New Urban Age, Harvard Kennedy School, India Conference, Boston
Presented at the Innovations in Finance, IFC-World Bank FPD conference in Washington DC
Housing Expert to Task force on Urban Planning and Transit-Oriented Development, Delhi
Guest lectures, Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction, Indian Institute of Human Settlement, Delhi