KĀRYA कार्य Applied Human Factors & Ergonomics · IIT Kanpur

Applied Human Factors & Ergonomics Laboratory

Human factors for the work India actually does

Department of Design, IIT Kanpur. We study how work affects the people who do it — and design tools, equipment and workplaces that make it healthier, safer and more productive.

Nearly 9 in 10

workers in India are informally employed — most with no employer to redesign the job, the tool or the workplace.

ILO & IHD, India Employment Report 2024

Hero photo A worker in a real setting — an artisan, a delivery rider, a stone or leather worker — ideally with a researcher measuring. Landscape, with consent.

About

What “KĀRYA” means

KĀRYA (कार्य) is Sanskrit for work, action and purpose — a fitting name for an ergonomics lab, since the word “ergonomics” itself comes from the Greek ergon, work.

Our focus is the work India depends on but rarely protects: artisans and craft clusters, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), gig and platform workers, and the wider informal workforce, where formal occupational-health protection seldom reaches.

Our premise

Mainstream ergonomics assumes an employer who controls the workplace, buys the tools and answers to a regulator. Most Indian work has none of these. An artisan buys their own tools; a delivery rider owns the vehicle; for a home-based worker, the workstation is the floor.

So KĀRYA builds evidence and designs that reach the worker directly — through the tool, the garment, the workstation and the know-how they carry.

Our approach

Measure in the field, validate in the lab, co-design with workers

01

Measure in the field

We study work where it happens — measuring posture, force, noise, vibration, heat and dust in workshops, clusters and on the road.

02

Validate in the lab

We recreate critical tasks under controlled conditions to understand why harm occurs and to test design ideas rigorously.

03

Co-design low-cost solutions

We design tools, equipment and workstations with workers — affordable, repairable and locally made — and test them in the field until they work and keep being used.

Research at a glance

Four tracks, one foundation

Three tracks build evidence about the worker; a fourth turns it into design. One shared foundation serves them all.

Latest news

Oct 2026Abhishek Das begins a research exchange at the Technical University of Munich (TUM).
Sep 2026“Ergonomic design and evaluation of woodworking chisel” accepted in WORK.
Sep 2026Dr Ashish Kumar Singh receives the Outstanding Engineering Services to Society Award from The Institution of Engineers (India).
Apr 2026“Ergonomic evaluation and design of carpet hand loom” accepted in Ergonomics in Design.
Feb 2026KĀRYA is established at the Department of Design, IIT Kanpur.

Join us

Work with KĀRYA

We welcome PhD, M.Des, B.Des and B.Tech / M.Tech students, interns and project staff who want their research to leave the lab — and come back to the workers it was meant for.

Research

Four tracks, one foundation

Each track is built around a question that will still matter in twenty years, and each carries open questions a doctoral scholar could take on now.

Broad research architecture · from real work to better work

Every project moves through six stages. Each stage hands its evidence to the next — and every result sends new questions back to the field.

01

Observe

Understand people at work.

02

Measure

What they experience.

03

Understand

Why it matters.

04

Design

Better ways of working.

05

Validate

Does it work in reality?

06

Learn & scale

Spread what works.

A
The Working Body

Biomechanics & musculoskeletal health

When does repetitive, forceful, floor-level manual work become injury — and how can we see it coming?

What we study

  • Musculoskeletal disorders across the working life
  • Forceful, repetitive hand-intensive work
  • Floor-seated, squatting and kneeling postures
  • Load carriage, including head-loading
  • Physical fatigue, recovery and cumulative exposure

How we work

Field observation & task analysis · surface EMG & motion measurement · electrogoniometry · grip, pinch & pressure measurement · musculoskeletal modelling · symptom & exposure surveys · field-to-lab validation.

Open questions for a PhD

  1. Do RULA and REBA misjudge risk in floor-seated and squatting work — and what would a valid alternative look like?
  2. What cumulative loads does head-loading place on the neck and spine of construction and farm workers?
  3. How does a lifetime of forceful gripping change artisans’ hand function — and when is the damage reversible?

Where we have begun: musculoskeletal surveys of woodworking artisans and delivery riders.
Good fit: biomechanics, mechanical or biomedical engineering, physiotherapy, sports science, industrial design.

B
The Working Environment

Heat, air & physical exposures

How do heat, dust, fumes, noise and vibration combine with physical work — and what protects workers who have no employer to protect them?

What we study

  • Occupational noise exposure
  • Hand-arm and whole-body vibration
  • Occupational heat strain and thermal exposure
  • Dust, silica and metal fumes
  • Lighting and visual demands in fine work
  • Combined, interacting exposures

How we work

Field exposure assessment · personal & area noise monitoring · vibration measurement · thermal-stress assessment · airborne dust & particulate sampling · illumination assessment · task & workload observation · analysis of combined exposures.

Open questions for a PhD

  1. What work–rest patterns keep piece-rate workers safe in heat, when stopping means losing income?
  2. Can low-cost sensor networks give defensible exposure estimates in home-based and cluster workshops?
  3. How much does heat amplify the injury and fatigue risk of heavy physical work?

Where we have begun: heat and load placement as drivers of fatigue in delivery riders; hearing loss and vibration in handicraft workers.
Good fit: physiology, public and environmental health, occupational hygiene, mechanical or environmental engineering.

C
The Working Mind

Cognition, skill & fatigue

How do workers perceive, decide, stay alert and master a skill — and how can technology strengthen that skill rather than erode it?

What we study

  • Fatigue, alertness and vigilance in long-shift and safety-critical work
  • Visual inspection and human error
  • Craft skill, expertise and knowledge transfer
  • Cognitive demands of complex field tasks
  • Wearable and immersive technology for training and work

How we work

Cognitive task analysis · psychomotor vigilance testing · workload & fatigue assessment · physiological measures incl. heart-rate variability · expert–novice comparisons · VR/AR-based experiments · eye-tracking · performance-based assessment.

Open questions for a PhD

  1. What separates a master artisan’s perception and motor control from a novice’s — and can VR/AR shorten the path?
  2. How does fatigue degrade visual inspection in aircraft line maintenance, and which checks fail first?
  3. What are the ergonomic limits of wearing AR/VR headsets through a full work shift?

Where we have begun: a fatigue-risk field protocol for aircraft line maintenance; a review of VR/AR ergonomics.
Good fit: psychology, cognitive science, interaction design, aerospace or industrial engineering.

D
Design for Work

Tools, equipment & frugal intervention

What must a tool, garment or workstation be — affordable, repairable, locally made — for workers to adopt it and keep using it?

What we study & design

  • Hand tools and craft implements
  • Carried, wearable and assistive equipment, incl. passive exoskeletons
  • Protective equipment that stays usable in heat
  • Workstations for floor-level, home-based and informal work
  • Adoption & sustainability: cost, repairability, local manufacture, cultural fit

How we work

Participatory co-design with workers · CAD & rapid prototyping · iterative ergonomic evaluation · within-subject usability & performance trials · longitudinal field trials · adoption, repairability & cost studies · design guidelines.

Open questions for a PhD

  1. Why are ergonomic tools abandoned after a trial — and which design properties predict sustained use?
  2. Can passive exoskeletons help Indian manual workers, at Indian prices?
  3. Can ergonomic tools be designed so local fabricators can make, adapt and repair them?

Where we have begun: a woodworking chisel handle, a carpet-weaving comb (punja) and a delivery-rider bag.
Good fit: industrial & product design, mechanical engineering, materials, architecture.

Foundation · underpins all four tracks

The Working Human in India

What do the bodies, capabilities, work demands and exposures of workers in India actually look like — and which design assumptions need to change?

What we build

  • Reference data on anthropometry, strength and physiology — including women and older workers
  • Assessment methods valid for floor-seated, squatting and head-load work
  • Low-cost, field-ready sensing
  • Posture analysis from ordinary smartphone video
  • Validated multilingual and pictographic questionnaires

Where we work

Our questions come from real settings — and every answer is tested back in them. Settings will change over the years; the questions endure.

Craft & artisan clusters Small & medium enterprises Gig & platform delivery Aviation maintenance Construction & head-load work Stone processing Home-based work

Facilities

Measurement capabilities

We measure work on two fronts: exposure and response in the field, and controlled validation in the lab. Our instruments are grouped by the track they serve.

Track A · The working body

Posture, movement & effort

Anthropometer set
In use
Hand dynamometer + pinch gauge
syncs wirelessly with EMG
On order
Wireless surface EMG
Delsys Trigno: Centro, Quattro, Mini
On order
Electrogoniometer
Biometrics twin-axis
On order

Track B · The working environment

Heat, noise, vibration & air

Sound level meter
octave, FFT, RT60, STIPA
On order
Noise dosimeter
with octave analysis
On order
Vibration analyser
tri-axial hand-arm + whole-body
On order
Multifunction environmental meter
temperature, humidity, air velocity, light, sound
In use
Particle analyser + respirable dust sampler
On order
Spirometer
respiratory response
On order

Track C · The working mind

Attention, fatigue & physiology

Wearable physiological sensor
PPG, EDA/GSR, 9-axis IMU, skin temperature
On order
4-channel bioamplifier
EEG, EMG, ECG
On order
VR headset
In use

Our wireless EMG, wearable sensors and bioamplifier also let us build our own instruments and experimental rigs — in keeping with the lab’s frugal, design-led approach.

Track D · Design for work

Prototyping

Prototyping runs through the Department of Design workshops: 3D printing (FDM and resin), CO₂ laser cutting, CNC routing, 3D scanning with reverse-engineering, and the basic facilities to build and iterate physical prototypes.

All instruments listed are either already in use or on order / being commissioned through 2026.

Access & collaboration

Work with the lab

Our measurement capabilities are open to research groups within and beyond IIT Kanpur. Whether you need a specific measurement for your own study or want to design a joint project, get in touch to discuss access, training and ways to work together.

Lab photo A wide shot of the lab space, and your own photos of each instrument in use (replace manufacturer images as kit arrives).

People

The team

Headshot PI headshot

Principal Investigator

Dr Ashish Kumar Singh

Assistant Professor · Department of Design · IIT Kanpur

A Human Factors and Ergonomics researcher studying how people interact with work, products, environments and technologies. My research combines field investigation, human measurement, experimental evaluation and design intervention to understand occupational health, human performance and the realities of work in India.

Background. I joined the Department of Design at IIT Kanpur in February 2026. Previously I was with the Product Design discipline at the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, and have worked with NIFT and VIT Vellore. I completed my PhD in Ergonomics at MNIT Jaipur and was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Design at IIT Guwahati. I hold a Master’s from BITS Pilani and a Bachelor’s from the University of Rajasthan.

Interests: human factors & ergonomics, occupational health & safety, user-centred design.

✉ ashish@iitk.ac.in Google Scholar ORCID 0000-0001-7390-4498

Room 601H-I, DJAC Building, Department of Design, IIT Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, Uttar Pradesh · +91 512 679 2648

We’re recruiting

Doctoral students

PhD positions are open across all four tracks.

M.Des students

HeadshotPhoto

Shyam Krishna S

M.Des (2025–27)

HeadshotPhoto

Abhishek Das

M.Des (2025–27)

HeadshotPhoto

Irene Martin

M.Des (2025–27)

Research interns

•

Utkarsh

M.Des · IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay

•

Devendra

B.Des · Product Design, NID Ahmedabad

External collaborators

Prof. Sougata KarmakarIIT Guwahati · anthropometry & product ergonomics
Prof. M. L. MeenaMNIT Jaipur · occupational ergonomics
Dr Dipayan DasDelhi Technological University

Publications

Selected & full list

Web of Science ResearcherID AAJ-4899-2020 · ORCID 0000-0001-7390-4498 · Google Scholar. Names in bold are the lab PI; * marks a student author.

Selected work

VR/AR in ergonomics and workspace design: a dual-perspective analysis — A. K. Singh (2025), Applied Ergonomics.
Structural equation model of work factors, perceived fatigue and musculoskeletal disorders among handicraft workers — D. Das, A. K. Singh (2025), Ergonomics. DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2023.2300952
Risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders among floor-sitting precision handicraft workers — D. Das, A. K. Singh (2022), Int. Archives of Occupational & Environmental Health. DOI: 10.1007/s00420-021-01817-5
Comparative assessment of shift in hearing threshold among handicraft operatives in India — A. K. Singh (2019), Ergonomics. DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2018.1519121
2026
Ergonomic evaluation and design of carpet hand loom — A. Chaudhary, A. K. Singh, M. L. Meena (accepted), Ergonomics in Design.
Ergonomic design and evaluation of woodworking chisel — R. … , A. K. Singh (accepted), WORK.
A comprehensive ergonomic validation of workspace design using digital and physical mock-ups: a light armoured vehicle — A. Wibneh, A. K. Singh, S. Karmakar (accepted), J. of Defense Modeling & Simulation. DOI: 10.1177/15485129241283092
2025
VR/AR in ergonomics and workspace design: a dual-perspective analysis of applications and implications — A. K. Singh (2025), Applied Ergonomics.
Noise and cognitive performance: bibliometric evidence on past, present and future directions — A. K. Singh, D. Das, S. Karmakar (2025), Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science.
Structural equation model of interactions between work-related factors, perceived fatigue and musculoskeletal disorders among handicraft workers — D. Das, A. K. Singh (2025), Ergonomics 68(1), 95–111. DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2023.2300952
2024
Understanding the current global scenario of floating-bed agriculture to promote it in the Indian context — T. Ghosh, A. K. Singh, S. Karmakar (2024), Progress in Disaster Science 24, 100367. DOI: 10.1016/j.pdisas.2024.100367
Ergonomic risk factors among metal sculpture workers, and the future scope of AI in ergonomic evaluation — Y. Mishra, A. K. Singh, M. L. Meena, G. S. Dangayach (2024), Recent Patents on Engineering 18(5), 27–38. DOI: 10.2174/1872212118666230414103125
2023
Ergonomic design and evaluation of a gemstone polishing workstation — D. Das, A. K. Singh (2023), Int. J. of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics (JOSE) 29(4), 1301–1318. DOI: 10.1080/10803548.2022.2120282
Assessment of respiratory health issues among stone carvers of Rajasthan, India — Y. Mishra, A. K. Singh, M. L. Meena, G. S. Dangayach (2023), EVERGREEN 10(3). [confirm volume/pages & DOI]
2022
Risk factors associated with work-related musculoskeletal disorders among floor-sitting precision handicraft workers — D. Das, A. K. Singh (2022), Int. Archives of Occupational & Environmental Health 95(5), 1129–1145. DOI: 10.1007/s00420-021-01817-5
Exploring the association of riders’ physical attributes with comfortable riding posture and optimal riding position — M. Arunachalam, A. K. Singh, S. Karmakar (2022), J. of Automobile Engineering 236(1), 185–207. DOI: 10.1177/09544070211012553
2021
Effect of hull obliquity on crew protection, mass and space occupancy of a light armoured vehicle — A. Wibneh, A. K. Singh, S. Karmakar (2021), Defence Science Journal 71(5), 619–629. DOI: 10.14429/dsj.71.16660
Perceived comfortable posture and optimum riding position of Indian male motorcyclists for short-duration riding — M. Arunachalam, A. K. Singh, S. Karmakar (2021), Int. J. of Industrial Ergonomics 88, 103135. DOI: 10.1016/j.ergon.2021.103135
Understanding the synthesis of anthropometric diversity and workspace dimensions in ergonomic design of a light armoured vehicle — A. Wibneh, A. K. Singh, S. Karmakar (2021), Human Factors & Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries 31(5), 447–468. DOI: 10.1002/hfm.20893
Measuring static muscular strength among female operatives: a cross-sectional comparison in different handicraft occupations — A. K. Singh, M. L. Meena, H. Chaudhary (2021), JOSE 27(1), 29–40. DOI: 10.1080/10803548.2018.1506537
2020
Determination of the key anthropometry and range-of-motion measurements for the ergonomic design of a motorcycle — M. Arunachalam, A. K. Singh, S. Karmakar (2020), Measurement 159, 107751. DOI: 10.1016/j.measurement.2020.107751
Anthropometric measurement and comparative analysis of Ethiopian army personnel across age, ethnicity and nationality — A. Wibneh, A. K. Singh, S. Karmakar (2020), Defence Science Journal 70(4), 383–396. DOI: 10.14429/dsj.70.15435
Transmissibility of hand-arm vibration, noise exposure and shift in hearing threshold among handicraft operatives — A. K. Singh, M. L. Meena, H. Chaudhary, S. Karmakar (2020), J. of Industrial and Production Engineering 37(2–3), 134–147. DOI: 10.1080/21681015.2020.1737841
Development and evaluation of a wearable electro-goniometer for repetitive-effort assessment and joint-trajectory measurement during carpet weaving — A. K. Singh, M. L. Meena, H. Chaudhary, G. S. Dangayach (2020), Int. J. of Business and Systems Research 14(3), 314. DOI: 10.1504/IJBSR.2020.108271
Productivity improvement of an electrical-appliance industry using lean tools and a low-cost intervention — A. Chaudhary, A. K. Singh, M. L. Meena (2020), Int. J. of Productivity and Quality Management 31(3), 390–411. DOI: 10.1504/IJPQM.2020.10028593
2019
Comparative assessment of shift in hearing threshold among handicraft operatives in India — A. K. Singh (2019), Ergonomics 62(1), 88–102. DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2018.1519121
Application of multiple-response optimization methods for the ergonomic evaluation of a carpet-weaving knife — A. K. Singh, M. L. Meena, H. Chaudhary (2019), Human Factors & Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries 29(4), 293–311. DOI: 10.1002/hfm.20785
Assessment of a low-cost intervention (foam rubber) among wood carvers exposed to hand-arm vibration and noise — A. K. Singh, M. L. Meena, H. Chaudhary, S. Karmakar (2019), Drewno / Wood 62(203), 131–151. DOI: 10.12841/wood.1644-3985.298.04
Comparative assessment of static muscular strength among female operatives in different handicraft occupations in India — A. K. Singh, M. L. Meena, H. Chaudhary, G. S. Dangayach (2019), Health Care for Women International 40(4), 459–478. DOI: 10.1080/07399332.2018.1484468
Ergonomic evaluation of a low-cost intervention for carpet-trimming workers exposed to hand vibration and noise — A. K. Singh, M. L. Meena, H. Chaudhary (2019), Noise & Vibration Worldwide 50(3), 78–91. DOI: 10.1177/0957456519834545
2017–2018
Assessment of a low-cost tool intervention among carpet-alignment workers exposed to hand-arm vibration and hearing-threshold shift — A. K. Singh, M. L. Meena, H. Chaudhary (2018), Int. J. of Human Factors and Ergonomics 5(3), 189–209. DOI: 10.1504/IJHFE.2018.10016992
Ergonomic evaluation of cumulative trauma disorders among female carpet weavers in India — A. K. Singh, M. L. Meena, H. Chaudhary, G. S. Dangayach (2018), Int. J. of Human Factors and Ergonomics 5(2), 129–150. DOI: 10.1504/IJHFE.2018.092228
Ergonomic assessment and prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among washermen during carpet washing — A. K. Singh, M. L. Meena, H. Chaudhary, G. S. Dangayach (2017), Int. J. of Human Factors and Ergonomics 5(1), 22–43. DOI: 10.1504/IJHFE.2017.10009436
Peer-reviewed conferences
Chaudhary A. K., A. K. Singh, Meena M. L. (2026) Ergonomic assessment of occupational risk factors among carpet-trimming workers of Rajasthan. ICAMEMS 2026, VIT-AP University, Apr 2026.
Chaudhary A. K., A. K. Singh, Meena M. L. (2026) Sustainability and occupational risk assessment of carpet-washing activities in Rajasthan. Int. Conf. on Advances in Sustainable Research for Energy & Environmental Management, SVNIT Surat, May 2026.
Mishra Y., A. K. Singh, Meena M. L., Dangayach G. S. (2022) Ergonomic risk factors among metal sculpture workers in Rajasthan. Int. Conf. on Advanced Research in Industrial & Manufacturing Applications, University of Mauritius, Oct 2022.
Wibneh A., A. K. Singh, Karmakar S. (2021) Research design for simplifying anthropometric data collection using PCA. In Design for Tomorrow, ICoRD 2021, Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-981-16-0041-8_7
A. K. Singh, Jain R., Sirvee B. S., Meena M. L. (2021) Ergonomic evaluation and work-table design for the wood-furniture manufacturing industry. In Ergonomics for Improved Productivity, Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-981-15-9054-2_43
Mishra Y., A. K. Singh, Meena M. L., Dangayach G. S. (2022) Assessment of respiratory health of wood and stone occupation workers: a review. In Ergonomics for Design and Innovation, HWWE 2021, Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-94277-9_36
Amare W., A. K. Singh, Karmakar S. (2022) Strategy for ergonomic validation of a physical mock-up involving a limited user trial. AHFE 2022, New York. DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1001972
A. K. Singh, Meena M. L., Chaudhary H. (2019) Musculoskeletal risk assessment among male workers in craft sectors of Jaipur. IEOM 2019, Bangkok, 763–770.
A. K. Singh, Meena M. L., Chaudhary H. (2017) Ergonomic assessment of cumulative trauma disorders among female carpet weavers: proposed hand-tool design guidelines. HWWE 2016, NIT Jalandhar, 268–273.
A. K. Singh, Sain M. K., Meena M. L., Chaudhary H. (2017) Comparative assessment of static muscular strength among female carpet weavers. HWWE 2017, AMU Aligarh.

A full conference list, including earlier HWWE and regional papers, is available on request.

Design registrations & patents
Sakshi K., A. K. Singh, Halder S. — “A culinary pan lid.” Intellectual Property India, filed 05 Oct 2023 (Application 202321066676).
Wani A., A. K. Singh — “Design of an exercise game for the elderly.” Intellectual Property India, granted (Application 343823-001).
Matai J. M., Marwaha J., Goyal A., A. K. Singh — “Face-touch resisting band for the prevention of coronavirus.” Intellectual Property India, granted (Application 338735-001).

Projects

Current

  • Ergonomic evaluation of occupational health risks among informal-sector workers, and design interventions — PI · IIT Kanpur
  • Ergonomic evaluation of occupational health risks among artisans — PI (Co-PI Prof. Girish Lone) · Brisk Electronics (CSR)
  • Skilling leather stitchers: a programme for rural youth — Co-PI (PI Prof. Satyaki Roy) · Kewal Engineering (CSR)

Earlier (previous affiliation)

  • Design sensitization of ICF engineers — ICF Chennai
  • Stone dry-polishing machine design — GPCB
  • Child-friendly furniture for ages 3–6 — Samagra Shiksha, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh

Recognition. Outstanding Engineering Services to Society Award, The Institution of Engineers (India), Sep 2026. Editorial boards: Scientific Reports and Scientific Reviews (Nature Portfolio). Editor: Second Design Conference — Insights, Inclusions and Innovations (I³) 2026, NID Bhopal.

Teaching

Courses

Ergonomics, biomechanics and human factors for M.Des, PhD and design students.

At IIT Kanpur

DES 654Physical Ergonomics in Product and Facility Design (M.Des / PhD)
DES 656Cognitive Ergonomics in Hybrid Physical–Digital Interfaces (M.Des / PhD)

At NID Ahmedabad

Across Product, Furniture, Transportation and Ceramic Design.

HF-1Human Factors 1 — Physical Ergonomics (B.Des / M.Des)
HF-2Human Factors 2 — Cognitive Ergonomics (B.Des / M.Des)

Previously taught

  • Fundamentals of Ergonomics (B.Des / M.Des) — theory & lab
  • Applied Ergonomics (B.Des / M.Des) — theory & lab
  • User-centred Design (B.Des)
  • Design Fundamentals — theory & practice (B.Des)
  • Computer-Aided Design, 3D-CAD (B.Des)
  • Research Methodology (M.Des)

Gallery

The lab at work

Fieldwork, measurement and prototypes — and a little lab life. Replace each slot with your own photos; get written consent from anyone identifiable, especially workers in home-based settings.

FieldMeasurement in a craft cluster or workshop
FieldA delivery rider / gig-work study
LabA controlled task or usability trial
DesignA prototype being made or tested
InstrumentsEquipment in use (your own photo)
TeamThe group / a lab moment

Join us

Work with KĀRYA

We are looking for motivated B.Des, M.Des, B.Tech, M.Tech and PhD students, interns and project staff who want their research to leave the lab — and come back to the workers it was meant for.

Every KĀRYA scholar will

  1. 1Spend real time in the field, alongside workers
  2. 2Measure something rigorously
  3. 3Design something — and test it with the people it was made for
  4. 4Publish — and take findings back to workers in their own language

How to apply

Send your CV / portfolio and a short note on your research interests. Name the track that fits you (for example, “KĀRYA PhD — Track B”) so we can route it quickly.

Email: ashish@iitk.ac.in

PhD applicants also apply through IIT Kanpur’s formal admissions each semester — add that route and deadlines here.

Backgrounds we welcome

Industrial & product design Mechanical / biomedical / industrial engineering Physiotherapy & sports science Physiology & public health Psychology & cognitive science Computer / data science Instrumentation