Afsana Salam
Business educator · Researcher · Research trainer · Singapore

Afsana Salam, Ph.D.

I teach business and research methods, and I study how women entrepreneurs use digital tools to build their businesses.

About

I hold a Ph.D. in Management with a specialisation in entrepreneurship from Presidency University, Bengaluru. I spent nearly six years as an Assistant Professor in Bangalore, teaching BBA, B.Com, MBA and M.Com students, guiding final-year dissertations and contributing to the documentation for a new MBA program's approval.

From 2022 to 2025 I ran my own online research training practice, Hoopoe Your Learning Curve, teaching SPSS, survey design and mixed-methods research to Ph.D. scholars. Most recently I evaluated AI-generated text, image and video content for accuracy and reasoning quality.

Now based in Singapore, I am open to lecturer, program management, training and learning and development roles.

Experience

Nov 2025 – Feb 2026

AI Research Contributor

Outlier · Remote contract

  • Evaluated large language model outputs and multimodal content (text, image and video) for reasoning, factual accuracy and quality.
  • Labelled and classified content against project guidelines, flagging material that was incorrect, sensitive or unclear.
Nov 2024 – Jan 2025

Social Media Content Creator

Character Hub, via Upwork · Remote contract

  • Set up and managed Instagram and TikTok accounts for an animation company, producing 2–3 short reels a day in Canva and CapCut.
Jun 2022 – Nov 2025

Digital Content Creator & Research Trainer

Hoopoe Your Learning Curve · Own practice, remote

  • Designed and delivered a three-level online research methods program for Ph.D. scholars, about 15 learners per cohort, covering SPSS, survey design, Excel analytics and mixed methods.
  • Ran one-on-one sessions with assignments and assessments.
  • Produced all content myself: training notes, slide decks, a research methods blog and 100+ weekly YouTube videos across two channels.
Jul 2018 – May 2022

Assistant Professor

Nagarjuna Degree College, Bangalore · Commerce & Management, then MBA Department

  • Taught MBA, M.Com and BBA classes of 50–60 students, including Statistics for Business, International Business, Human Resources, Research Methodology and Retail Management.
  • Designed work-based assessments such as retail store field studies and founder interviews, with custom reporting templates.
  • Contributed to the AICTE, UGC and Bangalore University documentation for MBA program approval; served on the admissions committee.
  • Guided 5 final-year dissertations a year; received a departmental award for student outcomes.
Aug 2016 – Jul 2018

Assistant Professor (from Sep 2016); Guest Lecturer

Presidency College and Business School, Bangalore

  • Taught 4 subjects per semester across UG and PG sections, including M.Com Human Resources, International Business and Business Research Methods.
  • Guided 5 final-year dissertations a year in entrepreneurship and organisational behaviour.
  • Ran faculty workshops on academic writing, research methodology and SPSS; coordinated department conferences and workshops.

Earlier

Apr 2014 – Nov 2015

Business Development Executive

Techzilon Training Solution and Edu-world Education Service Provider, Bangalore

  • Organised marketing events and seminars in educational institutions, guided prospective students through enrolment and supported franchisees.

Teaching

Subjects I have taught across BBA, B.Com, MBA and M.Com programs.

Entrepreneurship & strategy

Entrepreneurial ManagementInternational BusinessStrategy & OrganisationBusiness Regulations

Marketing & communication

Marketing ManagementDigital MarketingRetail ManagementMarketing Communications & PRCorporate CommunicationSustainability in Marketing

People & organisation

Strategic HRMOrganisational BehaviourHuman ResourcesCulture, Diversity & Society

Business & IT

Management Information SystemsE-Commerce & Mobile Commerce

Research & quantitative

Statistics for BusinessBusiness Research MethodsResearch MethodologyProduction & Operations

Research

My research covers women's entrepreneurship, digitalization, e-learning and entrepreneurship education. My doctoral study of women entrepreneurs in Bangalore combined 30 pilot interviews, coded in NVivo, with 200+ survey responses analysed in SPSS.

17citations 2h-index 1i10-index Google Scholar, Jul 2026
  1. 2026
    Digital Entrepreneurship Education for Women in Emerging Economies: A Conceptual Framework. With U. Chinchane. Regional Conference on Entrepreneurship, ITM Skills University & EDII, Navi Mumbai.
  2. 2025
    Fostering Innovation and Startups in Indian Universities: A Hierarchical Analysis. With V. Pachava et al. IRJMS, 6(2), 845–861.
  3. 2021
    The Rising Trends of Digitalization: A Case Study on Women Entrepreneurs in Bangalore. With V. Pachava. Journal of Education: Rabindrabharati University, 7(II), 148–154.
  4. 2021
    Determining Students' Perspectives on Learning in Times of COVID-19. With K. A. Karkera. VIRJ for Humanities and Social Sciences, 7(1).
  5. 2020
    The Relationship of Motivation, Digitalization and Firm's Performance: A Study of Women Entrepreneurs in Bangalore. With V. Pachava. International Journal of Management, 11(12), 2252–2262.Scopus
  6. 2018
    Impact of Digitization on Women Entrepreneurs. IJRTBT, 2(4).Cited by 12
  7. 2018
    Chalk and Talk vs Web-Enabled E-Learning: Students' Preference and Attitude for E-Learning Courses in Higher Education Institutions. Jignasa International Journal of Commerce & Management, 2(1), 7–25.

Selected work. The full list of 9 journal articles, 4 conference papers and 1 book chapter is on Google Scholar.

Invited lectures

DateLectureHost
Apr 2026Business Analytics for ManagersVIT Business School, Chennai
Jan 2026The Last Mile: Small Distance, Massive Impact on Green & Net-Zero Urban Supply ChainsCHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore
Jan 2026Green & Net-Zero Last-Mile LogisticsKristu Jayanti (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru

Skills

Research & analytics
SPSS, NVivo, Excel, survey design, qualitative coding, mixed-methods research
Teaching & course design
Course materials, assessments, storyboards and scripts, learner guides, Canvas, Google Classroom
Digital content
Canva, Adobe Express, CapCut, ElevenLabs, PowerPoint, Blogger
AI content evaluation
LLM output review, multimodal content review, quality assurance and labelling
Program coordination
Events and conferences, examinations, admissions outreach, program approval documentation
Languages
English (professional), Hindi and Tamil (limited working), Kannada and Japanese (elementary)

Education

2017 – 2021

Ph.D. in Management (Entrepreneurship)

Presidency University, Bengaluru

2012 – 2014

Master of International Business

Presidency College, Bangalore University

2009 – 2012

Bachelor of Business Management

Nandha Arts & Science College, Bharathiar University

Community

Coordinator with Rotaract, supporting education activities (2018–2020), and ambassador for Go Native, an environmental group (2018–2019). I also write Research updates for you, a research methods blog for Ph.D. students.

Contact

Email afsanasalam31@gmail.com
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/afsanasalam31
Location Singapore