The World’s Leading Criminologists Gather at Parul University for ICGCV 2026

The 3rd International Conference on Global Criminology and Victimology at Parul University truly attracted an international cast of professors. Visitors were scholars and practitioners from India, the United Kingdom, Spain, Argentina, Slovenia, Australia, the USA, Norway, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh. Some of the great speakers who influenced the conference.

• Dr. Gema Maria Varona Martinez (Spain), President of the World Society of Victimology and Professor of Victimology and Criminal Policy at the University of the Basque Country, delivered the opening keynote on wrongful convictions and eclipsed victimisation .
• Prof. Dr. Nigel South (UK), Emeritus Professor at the University of Essex and a founding figure in , delivered a keynote on Southern Green Criminology and the SDGs.

Beyond the keynotes, the conference convened an exceptional international faculty:

• Dr. Daniel Briggs (UK), Professor of Criminology and Sociology at Northumbria University, on .
• Tammy Ayres (UK), Associate Professor at the University of Leicester and Chair of the BSC’s Critical Criminology Network, on addiction, structural violence, and harm.
• Dr. Avi Brisman (Australia / USA), on the cultural and narrative dimensions of environmental harm.
• Gorazd Meško (Slovenia), Professor of Criminology at the University of Maribor, on local safety and community-centred crime prevention.
• Kwan-Lamar Blount-Hill (USA), of Arizona State University, on Indian identity as a scholarly lens; and Professor Ruwan Uduwerage-Perera (De Montfort University, UK), on solution-oriented policing.
• Dr. Ulf Christian Eiras Nordenstahl (Argentina), on criminal mediation with a restorative approach.
• Further international scholars included Siv Rebekka Runhovde (University of Oslo, Norway), Dr. Manjeevan Seera (Monash University, Malaysia), Dr. Suneha Kandpal (ARROW), Dr. Usman Suleiman Sarki (Federal University Dutse, Nigeria), Prof. Dr. Md. Omar Faruk (Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Bangladesh), Dr. Sofia Graca (Canterbury Christ Church University, UK), and researchers from the Nebraska Center for Justice Research (USA).

The conference also featured eminent Indian scholars and practitioners. Mr. Nipun Saxena, an advocate of the Supreme Court of India, spoke on a decade of victim-compensation rights. Dr. Vineet Kapoor (DIP/MP) and Mr. Pankaj Kumar Singh (IPS) from the police gave a refreshed perspective on policing and reform, whereas Mr. Bezwada Wilson (Founder, Safai Karmachari Andolan and Ramon Magsaysay Awardee) spoke of structural victimisation and introduced the inaugural address. They were attended by Prof. Dr. Y.S.R. Murthy (Pro Vice-Chancellor, Law, SRM), Dr. Suryaprakash Mishra (National Law School of India University, NLSIU), Dr. Ruchi Sinha (Tata Institute of Social Sciences, TISS), Dr. Smita Dharmamer (Aangan Trust), Dr. Amit Thakre (Prakruthi NGO) and Dr. Reena Sharma, in addition to the organizers Prof. Dr. Bhanu Prakash Nunna (Vice-President, World Society of Victimology, and Managing Director, ThinkJustice Foundation) and Dr. Manikandan Soundararajan (Executive Director, ThinkJustice Foundation, and Chair of the Postgraduate Committee, British Society of Criminology).

Crucially, the host institution was not merely a venue but a contributor. Parul University’s own faculty played central roles: Prof. Dr. Debarati Halder (Professor of Law) served as convenor and led sessions on penology and victim justice; Prof. Dr. Beulah Shekhar, an emeritus professor of criminology and an executive committee member of the World Society of Victimology, joined the special panel; and Prof. Dr. Rajendra I. Parikh, Dean of the Faculty of Law, chaired a plenary, among many others. It reflected a Faculty of Law engaged with the global discipline, not observing it from the sidelines.

Gatherings like this are more than prestigious guest lists. For students, sharing a campus and a stage with the president of a global victimology body or a founder of green criminology is an education no classroom can replicate. For research, it seeds the international collaborations that produce meaningful work. And for Parul University, convening the global authorities of a discipline signals a serious place within the worldwide academic community. When the leading minds of a field choose your campus as their meeting point, it says something real about the standing of the institution that hosts them. Explore law courses at Parul University and build a strong foundation in legal studies with the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (Hons.). Gain exposure to legal concepts, practical learning, and the wider dimensions of the legal profession to prepare for diverse career opportunities in law.