Prof Dinar Kale

Professional biography

I am currently working as a Professor of Innovation and Development in the Development Policy and Practice (DPP) group at the Open University. I hold an MSc in Organic Chemistry (University of Pune), an MBA in Marketing Management (University of Pune) and a PhD in Innovation Management (The Open University Business School). My work investigates industrial innovation, health access, and equity issues in low-middle-income countries (LMICs). Before starting my PhD studies, I worked in India with a biotechnology company and a highly respected medical device company managing operations in the Western India region. After completing my PhD, I joined DPP on an ESRC funded project, ‘Issues involved in the diffusion of knowledge through migration of scientific labour in India’, followed by a Research Fellowship at the School of Management at the University of Surrey.

I am director of research at the DPP, UoA C22 REF lead and co-director at the Innogen Institute. I am also a visiting professor at the University of Johannesburg and affiliated with the Centre for Technology, Innovation and Economic Research (CTIER), a leading think tank in India.  

Research interests

My research focuses on the issues of knowledge transfer, dynamics of innovation, and industrial policy in life science industries in emerging countries. My doctoral and post-doctoral research involved significant research on industrial dynamics in developing countries, specifically focusing on the evolution of capabilities, technology strategies and firm-level issues involved in innovation management. In my ESRC-funded post-doctoral project, I explored the role of skilled migration in the effective transfer of knowledge in the life science industries in developing countries and highlighted complexities associated with the effective transfer of tacit knowledge through migration. 

Building on that, I focused on investigating various issues associated with technology strategy, industrial development and inclusive innovation in developing countries. It involved studying the role of regulation and intermediaries, such as industry associations, in facilitating inclusive innovation in life-science industries in the Leverhulme Trust-funded project. This project concentrated on the life-science sector and covered institutional and firm-level issues in the medical device and biotechnology industries in India and South Africa. The broader aim was to understand the implication of inclusive innovations in ensuring affordable and accessible healthcare for poor people in developing countries. My work on the Indian medical device industry reveals a disconnection between industrial technology policy and healthcare objectives in emerging countries, which hinders the development of the medical device industries. Over the years, I have published my research in leading journals in the area of Business Studies (BS), Development Studies (DS) and Innovation Studies (IS), such as the British Journal of Management, Research Policy, World Development and Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 

Continuing the research stream, I led work packages on the two ESRC-GCRF funded projects, 'Innovation for Cancer Care in Africa' and 'Migration of Inclusive Growth in Africa'. 

Following that. I am currently leading the British Academy-funded project on 'reimaging the health-industry linkages in Africa for pandemic preparedness. 

Teaching interests

Over the years, I led the production of three post-graduate modules (T877, DD870, DD871) and one undergraduate module (D229). I have also contributed to the development of two UG modules (TD223, DD319) and one PG module (T878) in the Open University. I have also contributed to the development of the PG Certificate course (D890) and a micro-credential course on the FuturLearn platform. 

I am currently involved in teaching level 2 undergraduate module D229 - Introducing Global Development: Poverty, inequality and Sustainability and post-graduate module DD871 - Key Challenges in Global Development.