Associate ProfessorRavi Seethamraju

Ravi’s research is multi-disciplinary and industry-relevant, exploring the evolving relationships between Information Technology (IT) enabled innovations and performance. Employing cross-sectional field study, case study and experimental methodologies, he works in two particular streams of research. The first stream explores how these IT-enabled innovations can be effectively adopted and used in organisations, supply chains and healthcare. The second examines the role of IT tools in improving business students’ learning experiences, skills and work-readiness.

Ravi, in collaboration with the Digital Innovation Lab at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) is currently working on the design, development & evaluation of Artificial Intelligence Model for the detection and classification of Diabetic Retinopathy. With an ability to function autonomously and without connectivity in low resource settings, this solution facilitates low-cost periodic automatic screening of diabetes patients living in remote communities and/or in developing countries where access to trained ophthalmologists is limited. Outcome of this study will not only reduce the workload of human experts but also enable early detection, reduce diagnostic costs and improve health outcomes.

Earlier, his work with IIMB ‘design and adoption of a mobile-based IT solution for Tuberculosis (TB) treatment monitoring in India’, was funded by the Centre for Digital Financial Inclusion (CDFI) and Australian Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) Australia India Council. Extending this work, Ravi is now investigating the access and adoption of digital technologies such as block chain, smart contracts and cashless payment systems in public health and public distribution domain in India. Outcomes of these projects inform the government policy makers and NGOs on the nature and extent of problems of inclusion at the bottom of pyramid.

Jointly with Indian Institute of Technology Madras India, Ravi is working on a project that analyses the antecedents and challenges in the adoption of analytics solutions in hospitals in India. Jointly with professors at the University of Stuttgart and University of Aschaffenburg, Germany, Ravi explores the comparative effects of culture on information load and honesty in managerial reporting using an experimental methodology.

Ravi’s another project, in collaboration with Associate Prof Geoff Frost, analyses the adaptation of enterprise-wide accounting information systems for sustainability reporting and sustainability performance management in business organisations. Given the increasing importance of sustainability, this project offers insights into the state of practice and the evolving nature of information systems and reporting processes and helps business organisations better prepare for future sustainability reporting regimes.

Ravi champions and promotes better integration of IT into elements of discipline curriculum, as well as experimenting with new forms of student-centred work integrated learning and blended learning. In collaboration with colleagues in the Discipline of Accounting, Ravi is currently studying the effectiveness of blended learning and work integrated learning.