Dr. Jha is a seasoned crafts product designer, educator, author, researcher, and field explorer with over 21 years of professional experience. His special areas of interest are traditional crafts, indigenous craftsmanship knowledge, and industrial hand skills. He earned a Professional Postgraduation in Crafts Design (Hard-Material Applications, 2004 batch) from the Indian Institute of Crafts and Design Jaipur; MBA in marketing (Handicraft Marketing, 2009 batch) from University of Pondicherry; Ph.D. (research topic: “Dynamics of Product Designing in Flexible Brass Craft of Belaguntha, Odisha”) from Utkal University of Culture in Bhubaneswar. This Ph.D. research work was well-appreciated, leading to his invitation to the prestigious National Level Open Lecture by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts headquarters in New Delhi (Ministry of Culture, Government of India). Dr. Jha currently employed as an Associate Professor of Design at Banasthali Vidyapith (Deemed University), India, where he teaches various design subjects to undergraduate, postgraduate, and Ph.D. level students. Prior to this current role, he held significant positions, including Head of School and National Coordinator for the School of Leather Goods and Accessories Design at the Footwear Design and Development Institute Noida (an Institute of National Importance, India Government); Design Head at the State Institute for Development of Arts and Crafts (Odisha Government). His professional experience spans numerous organizations, including the Hitachi-kk Manufacturing Company Kolkata; Officer on Special Duty (Design) for the UTKALIKA headquarter; Design Intern at Royal College of Art London, United Kingdom, and at Sewa Lanka Foundation in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Before practicing design, he had also explored professional journalism with some leading daily newspapers and All India Radio. Further, Dr. Jha has been a core member contributing to the foundation of several institutions and initiatives. These contributions include the invention of a fresh commercial handcraft form, Coconut Bracket Craft, and the establishment of its first craft cluster in Unawatuna, Sri Lanka (2006); Technology Transfer of advanced Craft Processes to manually make Handmade Paper in Galle, Sri Lanka (2006); the commencement of the 1st International Handicrafts and Handloom Fair in 2010 (Odisha Government); Foundation of the Regional Handicrafts Training and Design Centre Sambalpur (Odisha Government); the commencement of the Certificate course in Leather Goods and Accessory Design at Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (sponsored by ICSSR, 2015). As a prolific contributor to research and publication, he holds 3 provisional patents, 2 books, and 11 blind-reviewed research papers, along with numerous short papers, posters, chapters, and a vast number of periodical columns across India, Sri Lanka, Scotland, and the Netherlands – including The Design Society, IIT, IISc, TUDelft etc. He has successfully executed approximately 25 to 30 indigenous knowledge-based technology transfers in the crafts and design sector across different South Asian locations, and designed above 500 products. Additionally, he serves as an editorial board member in 11 different peer-reviewed international and national research journals focused on interdisciplinary areas like crafts, design, architecture, and culture. In 2025, he served as an Associate Chair for the ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference 2025, organized by the Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, held in Madeira, Portugal. His achievements are recognized through various awards and honours, such as the International Exchange Internship 2005 by The British Council & Royal College of Arts, London, U.K.; the International NGO-Design Internship 2006 by Sewa Lanka Foundation, Sri Lanka; the Director’s Choice List Award 2014 for Graphic Illustration at the Art Toppling Tobacco Award in Australia; the Best Faculty Award 2015 for explorative classroom teaching methods; the National Winner 2018 for Creative Slogan Writing by Government of India; Finalist for the Lexus Design Awards India 2018 for his craft-design research; International Painting Exhibition Award 2023 by the EvolucionArts Art Gallery in Peru; and the International Photography Award 2024 from Lumen Art Gallery, USA.