Policy Fellow Alumnus, Centre for Science and Policy

Abhik is an adviser with the United Nations on innovation and partnerships that can catalyse and accelerate sustainable development. Previously, he was the first Head of Innovation and Partnerships at the Commonwealth Secretariat, the inter-governmental organisation for 56 Commonwealth member countries.

In this role, Abhik provided capacity-building assistance and policy advice on innovation and digital transformation to governments, and strengthened the Commonwealth’s partnerships with other organisations worldwide. He also launched and led the Commonwealth Innovation Ecosystem Programme to scale public innovation, support early-stage innovators and ignite cross-sectoral partnerships in Commonwealth countries.

Prior to this, as Head of Policy and Research with a focus on social and youth development, Abhik developed evidence-based national policies and implementation strategies in collaboration with the governments of countries in Africa, Asia, Caribbean and Oceania. He was the lead author of the Global Youth Development Index and Report (2016), a ground-breaking study that the United Nations Human Development Report Office called an “admirable and timely contribution to fill a critical gap in the global development landscape.”

Abhik has served in leadership roles at The Economist and Bloomberg and worked as a journalist and policy analyst in India. He has also been a member of the board of trustees at Apples and Snakes, the UK's national organisation for poetry and spoken word artists, and is a World Fellow at Yale University.