Vikram Singh Parmar

About

Vikram started his position as the Head of the Department of Design on September 1st, 2024. The Design department at NTNU has a presence on the Trondheim and Gjøvik campuses.

From October 2018 to August 2024, Vikram served as the Innovation Leader, leading the innovation vertical of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (MH) and the Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science (INB). His work involved building an innovation culture in education, taking high-quality research ideas from the lab to the real world, persuading scientific researchers to become entrepreneurs, raising funds to build proof of concept, and creating an innovation ecosystem for health, engineering, and business collaboration. He closely worked with faculty heads, the technology transfer office, investors, industries, and supporters. Vikram offers “Innovation in Global Health” as one of the core courses in the Master’s program of Global Health at MH. In this course, Design and Innovation are advocated as central components in addressing Sustainable Development Goals. For instance, design can be used to address challenges such as Antimicrobial Resistance, HIV management, maternal and child health for refugees, water purification in war zones, and access to healthcare for displaced communities.

Before joining NTNU, Vikram was the CEO of the National Design Business Incubator (NDBI) and a Professor of Product Design at the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, India. Vikram headed both the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) cell and the Railway Design Center (RDC) at NID. At NDBI, he worked with over 20 startups and supported them with central and state funding. For NID, he raised approximately INR 22+ crores for capital and startup investments through state and central government funding. In 2010, Vikram was invited by Ahmedabad University to set up India’s first Design Driven Innovation Center called Venture Studio (VS). As the founding director, he worked closely with the Center for Design Research at Stanford University for five years to build a six-month design fellowship program to train entrepreneurs, formulate courses on Venture Design, and attract investors from the regional ecosystem for Series A and B investments. Vikram successfully raised sufficient funds from the private and government sectors to ensure the long-term sustainability of VS. Now, VS has become a successful example of an innovative institution across India, supporting more than 65 startups and multiple exits for investors. Vikram supported patents, licensing, and the acquisition of startups, thereby playing an instrumental role in building a startup ecosystem in Gujarat, India.

From 2009 to 2015, Vikram worked as a Tenure Track Assistant Professor in the Department of Design Engineering at TU Delft. He taught courses such as Integrated Product Design, Sustainability Minor - Explore Lab, Research and Design, Usability and Redesign, Design Manifestation, and Advanced Product Design. In Delft, he raised seed funding to support a startup called TVILIGHT in their design and prototyping phase. TVILIGHT has now become one of the leading companies in Europe, facilitating smart cities through their multiple Smart Street Lights solutions with multiple patents.

Vikram has over 15 years of design leadership experience at the Technical University of Delft (TU Delft), Venture Studio: Center for Innovative Business Design - Ahmedabad University, Media Labs - IIT Bombay, and the National Institute of Design (NID). He has a decade of experience in teaching, researching, and consulting in the European and South Asian sectors in the area of developing products and services for emerging markets.

Vikram holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture (APIED, Vallabh Vidyanagar), a master’s degree in industrial design (IDC, IIT Bombay), and a PhD in industrial design engineering from the Technical University of Delft (TU Delft).

Research

Currently, I have been working on the following innovative projects:

Integrating Persuasive Educational Intervention in Health Education to reduce Antimicrobial Resistance: Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a growing global concern with exponentially rising rates of drug-resistant infections. AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to medicines effectively, making infections in humans, animals and plants more difficult to treat. This threatens global health security, food safety and security, economic growth, poverty alleviation and the environment. AMR has been described as a silent pandemic, further progressing in the shadows of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, AMR was responsible for 1.27 million deaths alone, more than HIV/AIDs and malaria; and contributed to 4.95 million deaths. It is estimated that by 2050, the number of deaths could reach up to 10 million. AMR is directly impacting the society by high number of patients suffering from resistance, implying more people not contributing to economy, thus increasing economical pressure on the health care system. Due to over-prescription practices among human, veterinary care and agriculture, the environment is getting polluted by all three critical sources that impacts the overall well-being of the people globally. A significant factor contributing to the spread of AMR is lack of knowledge about the use of antibiotics. Studies have found that the use of games show promising results for helping improve students’ knowledge about health and may be used to boost knowledge about AMR. A playful educational support will be developed to make the health problem of bacterial resistance and the action of antibiotics more understandable among young people, who will be leaders in medicine, veterinary science and agriculture in the near future.

Team: Dr. Avis Anya Nowbuth, Dr. Akwi W. Asombang, MD MPH

Decision support platform to diagnose Cerebral Palsy in early stage: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a condition of altered motor function caused by a brain injury before age 2, resulting in a lifelong need for specialised services and treatment interventions (Rosenbaum 2006, Novak 2017). Treatment and care for individuals with CP result in a lifetime cost of €800,000 per child, approximately four times higher than in typically developing children. The condition leads to significant personal challenges for the child and their families and reduced social participation (Blencowe 2013, Kruse 2009). Annually, 5 Million babies are born in the EU. Of these, 0.2% (10 000) will get a non-curable Cerebral Palsy (CP) diagnosis. Today CP-diagnosis is typically set at age 1-2 years and sometimes as late as 4-5 years. This decision support system is based on nearly 20 years of national and international clinical research studies, where video recordings of spontaneous movements in infants and their CP status at 3-5 years of age were collected. These studies have been led by researchers at St. Olavs Hospital and NTNU in Trondheim, and data has been collected from the USA, India, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Turkey, and China (Støen Groos 2022), resulting in a unique research database. Together with AI researchers at the Norwegian Open AI Lab at NTNU, neonatologists, paediatricians, and physiotherapists from St. Olavs Hospital have developed an AI algorithm for motion tracking in infant videos, which is currently considered state-of-the-art internationally. A machine learning model for predicting CP based on motion data has recently been published in the prestigious journal JAMA Network Open, receiving significant international recognition (Groos 2022). The automatic motion tracker and the CP risk prediction model are new research innovations that can be developed into commercial AI products.

Team: Dr. Lars Adde PT PhD, Kjell Arne Jacobsen

A Digital Decision Support system for accelerated return from overtraining/burnout (in athletes) : The overtraining condition is defined as a prolonged maladaptation leading to a decrease in the ability to perform at established levels for a prolonged period. The overtraining condition is associated with a range of symptoms and research suggests that 20-60% of athletes experience overtraining syndrome at some point, which in many cases can do career-ending damage. After conducting interviews with key stakeholders from the national and international sports federations, we identified an urgent need for a Digital Decision Support (DDS) system that could help avoid, screen, and treat athletes experiencing overtraining conditions. The general Health Tech market is growing exponentially worldwide, which also implies that the potential market (both as B-2-C and B-2-B solutions) for the DDS developed in this project will be growing. In this context, it is assumed that the overall market part of the sports and health technology branch is estimated to be €55 billion by 2024. If we succeed in sports, the burnout aspect is not limited to athletic performance but could also be further developed and adapted to other high-stress environments of the society.

Team: Prof. Øyvind Sandbakk, Dr. Guro Strøm Solli

Digital Wheelchair: The main goal of this project is to develop an algorithm that validly measures Physical Activity and estimates energy expenditure of wheelchair users during exercise as well as free-living activities. This will be achieved through utilizing the data and knowledge gained from an ongoing research project on: The feasibility of using the individual VO₂-HR relationship to measure energy expenditure during wheelchair propulsion and free-living activities across the entire fitness spectrum in this population. We aim for a new patent in the area of wearable health devices. The results from the studies conducted together with the algorithm will be used to develop a business case for possible commercialization.

Team: Dr. Julia Baumgart, Prof. Øyvind Sandbakk,

Tracking the Menstrual Cycle of Female Athletes: Progressing education and performance- The sporting industry provides commodities for the most minute aspects of athletic performance, yet the menstrual cycle (MC), which represents the most striking difference between male and female physiology, remains virtually unacknowledged. Considering the growing participation of female athletes in sports, the interest in female-specific products and services (fem-tech) is growing rapidly. Research is beginning to suggest that the hormonal fluctuations associated with the MC can affect response to training, athletic performance and may even be linked to increased injury risk amongst female athletes. While scientific research in this field continues to gain interest, recent polls suggest that most athletes still do not talk with their coaches about their MC, indicating that this topic continues to be seen as taboo and highlights the importance of educating coaches and athletes about this topic. Based on these findings, we perceive the need for a female athlete specific mobile platform for tracking and reporting on the MC in order to create a safe space to explore, discuss, and destigmatize this important aspect of female physiology and optimize athletic performance.

Team: Prof. Øyvind Sandbakk, Dr. Ashis Jalote Parmar

Smartphone-based Self-tests of Functional Fitness: The overall aim is to develop a fitness calculator, that allows seniors to self-assess functional fitness by use of a smartphone. We also see a potential for the end-user to share the test results with health care workers or GPs remotely, making risk assessment more convenient and cost-effective. The goal of the app is to empower seniors and motivate them to do necessary life-style changes.

Team: Prof. Jorunn L. Helbostad

Older projects: Before joining NTNU, he has designed and implemented two projects at NID namely, UP 100 (emergency service that has been launched in Uttar Pradesh), and the Smart Police Uniform for BPR&D.

Publications

Journal and Conference Papers

Nowbuth, A.A., Parmar, V.S. Design framework to develop sustainable innovations for addressing One Health challenges, Journal of One Health, Volume 20, 2025, 101031, ISSN 2352-7714, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2025.101031.

Nowbuth, A.A., Parmar, V.S. Escaping the ordinary: a review of escape rooms in medical and veterinary education. BMC Med Educ 24, 1506 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-06512-w

A A Nowbuth, V S Parmar, Combating antimicrobial resistance: A framework for educational tool innovation, European Journal of Public Health, Volume 34, Issue Supplement_3, November 2024, ckae144.1568,

A A Nowbuth, E Charani, S Jere, M Makashinyi, M M Mwanza, N Tazinkeng, A W Asombang, V S Parmar, Global insights of AMR education within One Health, European Journal of Public Health, Volume 34, Issue Supplement_3, November 2024, ckae144.1873, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckae144.1873

A A Nowbuth, V S Parmar, Integrating SDGs, One Health and transdisciplinarity into AMR Education Strategies, European Journal of Public Health, Volume 34, Issue Supplement_3, November 2024, ckae144.135, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckae144.135

Nowbuth AA, Asombang AW, Alaboud K, Souque C, Dahu BM, Pather K, Mwanza MM, Lotfi S, Parmar VS, Gamification as an educational tool to address antimicrobial resistance: a systematic review, JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance, Volume 5, Issue 6, December 2023.

A A Nowbuth, A W Asombang, K Alaboud, C Souque, B M Dahu, K Pather, M M Mwanza, S Lotfi, V Parmar. (2023) Evaluating Gamification of Antimicrobial Resistance as an Educational Tool: A Systematic Review, European Journal of Public Health, Volume 33, Issue Supplement_2, October 2023, ckad160.1013, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckad160.1013

Parmar, V., Sonalkar, N, Mabogunje, A, Anubhai, P & Leifer, L. (2021). Engineering Innovation Eco-system by Design: Insights from India. In Proceedings of the 16th European Conference on Innovation and Entreprenuership, Lisbon, Portugal (724-733)

Parmar, V., Sonalkar, N, Mabogunje, A, Anubhai, P & Leifer, L. (2021). Design of a Regional Innovation Ecosystem. 7th Teaching Innovation and Entreprenuership Excellence Awards 2021, An Anthology of Case Histories, Edited by Remenyi, D. ISBN 978-1-914587-11-5

Mink, A., Parmar, V., & Kandachar, P. (2015). Approaching Design for Development from a Capability Perspective. Current Science (pp 1639-1649).

Parmar, V., D. Keyson and C. deBont (2009). Persuasive Technology to Shape Social Beliefs: A Case of Persuasive Health Information Systems for Rural Women in India. Communications of the Association for Information Systems (CAIS) 24: 427-454.

Parmar, V. (2009) A multi-disciplinary approach to ICT development, Journal of Information Technologies and International Development, (ICT4D), MIT press, 5(4), pp.89-96

Parmar, V. & Sai. Krishna Inkolu (2017). Designing Smart Shoes for Obstacle Detection: Empowering Visually Challenged Users through ICT. R. Bernhaupt et al. (Eds.): INTERACT 2017, Part III, LNCS 10515, pp. 258–266, 2017.

Parmar, V (2017). Design Approach to Increase ICT adoption in developing countries. ICEGOV-2017. ACM Digital Library, pp. 272-275.

Mink, A, van der Marel, F., Parmar, V., & Kandachar, P. (2015). Using the Capability Approach to Detect Design Opportunities. Conference Proceedings of the Design for Sustainable Well-being and Empowerment Conference, Bangalore, India.

Mink, A., Parmar, V. S., & Kandachar P. V. (2014). Responsible Design and Product Innovation from a Capability Perspective. In J. Van den Hoven, N. Doorn, T. Swierstra, B.-J. Koops & H. Romijn (Eds.), Responsible Innovation 1. Innovative Solutions for Global Issues. (1 ed., Vol. 1, pp. 113-148). Dordrecht: Springer.

Mink, A., Parmar, V. S., & Kandachar, P. V. (2014). Exploring the Role of the Capability Approach in Design for Well-being. International HDCA Conference 2014, Athens, Greece.

De Keersmaecker Ann, Kandachar Prabhu, Parmar Vikram, Vandenbempt Koen, Baelus Christiaan (2014) Factors influencing the upscaling process of grassroots innovations : preliminary evidence from India. Social innovation and entrepreneurship : case studies, practices and perspectives / Galbraith, Brendan [edit.]; Molinari, Francesco [edit.], Academic Publishing, 2014, p. 49-67

De Keersmaecker Ann, Kandachar Prabhu, Parmar Vikram, Vandenbempt Koen, Baelus Christiaan (2013), Factors influencing an upscaling process of grassroots innovators : preliminary evidence from India. Proceedings of the 8th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ECIE 2013), Brussels, 19-20 September 2013 / Kelchtermans, Stijn [edit.]; Beule, de, Filip [edit.] - Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited, 2013, p. 705-714

Sonalkar, N, Mabogunje, A, Parmar, VS , Cannon, D & Leifer, L (2012). A testbed for studying venture design teams in emerging markets. In D Marjanovic, M Storga, N Pavkovic & N Bojcetic (Eds.), Proceedings of the 12th international design conference 2012 (pp. 561-568).

De Keersmaecker Ann, Parmar V., Kandachar P., Baelus Christiaan, Vandenbempt Koen (2012), Towards scaling up grassroots innovations in India : a preliminary framework. Technologies for sustainable development: a way to reduce poverty?: Proceedings of the UNESCO Chair in Technologies for Development International Conference, EPFL Lausanne (pp. 82-82)

Parmar, VS , Diehl, JC & Kandachar, PV (2011). Influence of BOP Strategy on the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology. In P Marquez (Ed.), C.K. Prahalad’s Legacy: Business for Poverty Alleviation (pp. 1-18). University of San Diego.

Parmar,V. (2010) Disseminating maternal health information to rural women: Longitudinal study from the Field deployment. American Medical Information Association (AMIA),Washington DC, Nov 2010.

Parmar, V., D. Keyson and C. deBont (2010). Analyzing ICT projects from a design perspective: A case of Rural India. DESIGN 2010, Croatia, May 2010.

Parmar, V., G. Groeneveld, Jalote-Parmar, A. and D. Keyson (2009), Tangible user interfaces for increasing social interaction among rural woman, Tangible Embedded Interaction 2009, ACM digital library, pp. 139-145.

Boeijen, AGC van & Parmar, VS (2009). The importance of 'educated naive' in BoP. In PJ Stappers (Ed.), Designing for, with, and from user experiences (pp. 69-71). Delft: StudioLab Press.

Parmar.V (2008), Persuasive technology for shaping social beliefs of rural women: Development of group based health information kiosk. In AISB convention'08 (Communication, Interaction, and Social Intelligence), University of Aberdeen, Scotland.

Parmar, V., D. Keyson, and C. deBont (2007). In IFIP International Federation for Information Processing, Shaping social beliefs: A community sensitive health information system for rural India. In Home Informatics and Telematics: ICT for the Next Billion. 2007. IIT Madras, Chennai: Boston- Springer.

A Joshi, A Ganu, A Chand, V Parmar, G Mathur (2004). CHI’04 extended abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Pages 928-942, Vienna, Austria. ACM NewYork, USA@2004.

BOOK CHAPTER

Mink, A., Parmar, V. S., & Kandachar, P. V. (2014). Responsible Design and Product Innovation from a Capability Perspective “Responsible Innovation: Innovative Solutions for Global Issues. (pp. 113-148): Springer.

Parmar, V., D. Keyson, and C. deBont. (2008) Persuasive Technology for Shaping Social Beliefs of Rural Women in India: An Approach Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour. H.Oinas-Kukkonen et al (Eds.): PERSUASIVE 2008, LNCS 5033, pp.104-115, 200, Springer- Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2008

EDITED BOOK

Kandachar, P., Deihl, J.C,. Parmar, V., Shivrama, C (2011) Sustainable Healthcare for the Base-of-the-Pyramid- Research and Design (2008-2010). ISBN 978-90-5155-074

Kandachar, P., Deihl, J.C,. Parmar, V., Shivrama, C (2011) Designing with Emerging Markets:Design of Products and Services (2011 Edition). ISBN 978-90-5155-077-1

PhD THESIS

Parmar, VS (2009) Design framework for developing ICT products and services for rural development - A persuasive health information system for rural India. Publisher: TUD

Technische Universiteit Delft (online access http://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid:99260bf4-7d83-41f0-92c6 cb65ba7c7700?collection=research ) (PhD thesis)

2025

Nowbuth, Avis Anya; Parmar, Vikram Singh. (2025) Design framework to develop sustainable innovations for addressing One Health challenges. One Health
Academic article

2024

Nowbuth, Avis Anya; Parmar, Vikram Singh. (2024) Integrating SDGs, One Health and transdisciplinarity into AMR Education Strategies. European Journal of Public Health
Abstract
Nowbuth, Avis Anya; Parmar, Vikram Singh. (2024) Global insights of AMR education within One Health. European Journal of Public Health
Abstract
Nowbuth, Avis Anya; Parmar, Vikram Singh. (2024) Combating antimicrobial resistance: A framework for educational tool innovation. European Journal of Public Health
Abstract
Nowbuth, Avis Anya; Parmar, Vikram Singh. (2024) Escaping the ordinary: a review of escape rooms in medical and veterinary education. BMC Medical Education
Academic article

2023

Nowbuth, Avis Anya; Asombang, Akwi W; Alaboud, Khuder; Souque, Célia; Dahu, Butros M; Pather, Kyrtania. (2023) Gamification as an educational tool to address antimicrobial resistance: A systematic review. JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance (JAC-AMR)
Academic literature review
Arntsen, Trude Jeanett; Berndtsson, Christin Høiberget; Dybvig, Dagfinn Døhl; Emstad, Anne Berit; Farshchian, Babak A.; Gaustad, Svein Erik. (2023) Tjenesteinnovasjon i helse og velferd. NTNU
Report

Journal publications

Nowbuth, Avis Anya; Parmar, Vikram Singh. (2025) Design framework to develop sustainable innovations for addressing One Health challenges. One Health
Academic article
Nowbuth, Avis Anya; Parmar, Vikram Singh. (2024) Integrating SDGs, One Health and transdisciplinarity into AMR Education Strategies. European Journal of Public Health
Abstract
Nowbuth, Avis Anya; Parmar, Vikram Singh. (2024) Global insights of AMR education within One Health. European Journal of Public Health
Abstract
Nowbuth, Avis Anya; Parmar, Vikram Singh. (2024) Combating antimicrobial resistance: A framework for educational tool innovation. European Journal of Public Health
Abstract
Nowbuth, Avis Anya; Parmar, Vikram Singh. (2024) Escaping the ordinary: a review of escape rooms in medical and veterinary education. BMC Medical Education
Academic article
Nowbuth, Avis Anya; Asombang, Akwi W; Alaboud, Khuder; Souque, Célia; Dahu, Butros M; Pather, Kyrtania. (2023) Gamification as an educational tool to address antimicrobial resistance: A systematic review. JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance (JAC-AMR)
Academic literature review

Report

Arntsen, Trude Jeanett; Berndtsson, Christin Høiberget; Dybvig, Dagfinn Døhl; Emstad, Anne Berit; Farshchian, Babak A.; Gaustad, Svein Erik. (2023) Tjenesteinnovasjon i helse og velferd. NTNU
Report

Teaching

Courses

In the course PH3002 Innovation in Global Health (2023) & NRS8003 Innovation in Global Health (2023), we cover the following: Technology and innovation is an integral part of healthcare, in both developing and developed countries. While understanding key concepts of epidemiology, health management and statistics are common topics to the study of Global Health, few courses focus on the importance of technology and innovation, its history, its present and future, and its inherent challenges. The course PH3002 will introduce these key ideas in an interactive way using examples that have been successfully implemented and those that failed. We will analyze the key attributes of success and failures of technology in this course. This course will offer students hands-on experience to design innovation cycle and the importance of technology in improving overall health outcomes in global health. The course will focus on the process of technology, development, optimization and implementation in low middle and high income countries. We will also focus on when and why technology is needed, when it is necessary, and what information it can and cannot provide. In that regard, issues of ethics will also come into play. In addition, the course will provide overview on the current state of technology and what the future technological needs may be. During this course, we will also focus on three kinds of technologies:

Successful examples of technology implementation
Near-misses
Those that failed despite showing promise in early/ prototype stages.

These lessons will guide the framework of our discussion about the need of innovation in global health. Finally, we will also study the current bottlenecks, including social, technological and financial, that may hinder technology development and adoption in resource limited settings.

The course PAH3000Physical Activity and Health (2023) includes learning about relationship between physical activity and physical- and mental health, and mortality. Exercise in medicine. Promoting change at the individual and societal level. Physical activity and everyday life. Activity guidelines. Performance and health. Critical appraisal of evidence. Nature of evidence: epidemiology, laboratory research, qualitative studies. Physical activity and social inequality. Adverse impact of physical activity. Innovation and entrepreneurship in physical activity and health.

Outreach

Funding for Cerebral palsy

https://ntnudiscovery.no/en/millions-to-ntnu-inventors/

2019

Interview

Baumgart, Julia Kathrin; Parmar, Vikram Singh; Sandbakk, Øyvind. (2019) Vil gi rullestolen smarte egenskaper. NTNU Discovery NTNU Discovery [Internet] 2019-10-19

Språkvelger

Vikram Singh Parmar