Dr. Rachna Khare is a Professor at the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. SPA Bhopal has been declared an Institution of National Importance conferred by Parliament of India. Dr. Khare has served in several administrative roles at the institution. Her research interests are in the field of universal design and designing for individuals with special needs, which have earned her national and international grants and awards. In 2016, she was conferred the Inspired Teacher recognition by the President of India and was a Scholar-in-Residence at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the President of India, as part of the program. In 2007, she received a Fulbright Doctoral and Professional Research fellowship. Dr. Khare has conducted several sponsored research projects with the All-India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), the University Grants Commission, and the Design Innovation Center Project of the Indian Ministry of Education. She has delivered talks in several countries on inclusive design and has more than 50 papers in various national and international journals and conferences. She has written three books and edited more than 15 peer-reviewed journals. She established the Centre for Human-Centric Research (CHCR), an organization that seeks to build a body of knowledge to address the design needs of diverse human populations, historically marginalized by common design practices.
Home Institution: The School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal, is an Institution of National Importance founded in 2008. The institute offers quality education in the fields of spatial planning and architecture. Ranked among the top ten in the National Institution Ranking Framework (NIRF) by the Indian Ministry of Education, the institution offers two undergraduate, seven postgraduate and doctoral programs in architecture, planning, design, conservation, landscape, urban design, urban planning, environmental planning, and transportation planning and management. It has a multidisciplinary faculty, state-of-the-art laboratories and research centers.