Akhilan J R

Akhilan is a Research Associate in J-PAL South Asia working on the “Identifying and Nurturing Math Talent” project, which aims to assess the impact of providing self paced, challenging math coursework to students from resource-constrained government schools of Tamil Nadu. 

Previously, he worked on a project which assessed the use of group dynamics to reduce anti-transgender discrimination in Tamil Nadu. Before joining J-PAL, Akhilan worked as a consultant for The Asia Foundation in the India-U.S. Triangular Development Partnership (TriDEP) program. In this role, he developed reports to inform program design in renewable energy, disaster risk resilience, and climate-smart agriculture.

Akhilan holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from O.P. Jindal Global University, and a Bachelor's degree in Journalism, Psychology, and English. His areas of interest include local governance, education, and environmental sustainability.