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Ravichandran Harini, Jadetimes Staff

The Science Behind One of Humanity's Greatest Mysteries


She wakes at 4 a.m., heart pounding, certain she has just taken a final exam for a class she never attended, in a school that no longer exists. Within minutes the details dissolve, but the emotion lingers all morning. It is a scene replayed, in some form, in nearly every bedroom on Earth each night. Why does the sleeping brain conjure such vivid, illogical, emotionally charged worlds, and what, if anything, are dreams actually for?


Dreaming occurs throughout sleep, but the most vivid and narrative dreams arise during rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep. Roughly every ninety minutes, the sleeping brain cycles through lighter stages, deep slow-wave sleep, and then REM, when the eyes dart beneath closed lids, breathing quickens, and brain activity looks remarkably similar to being awake. Curiously, the body becomes temporarily paralysed during REM, a safety mechanism that stops us from acting out what we dream.


Neuroscientists have proposed several explanations for why this happens. One leading theory holds that dreams help consolidate memories, sorting the important from the trivial and weaving new experiences into existing knowledge. Recent sleep research published in 2024 and 2025 supports this idea, showing that REM sleep appears to refine and stabilise memory traces in ways distinct from deep sleep. Other theories suggest dreams regulate emotion, allowing the brain to process fear or stress in a low-stakes setting, while the threat-simulation hypothesis proposes that dreaming evolved as a kind of rehearsal space for danger. Some researchers argue dreams are simply the mind's attempt to make sense of random neural firing, a byproduct rather than a purpose.


Whatever their function, dreams clearly intersect with creativity and problem-solving. Writers, scientists, and inventors have long credited dreams with breakthroughs, and studies suggest sleep can help untangle problems left unsolved the night before. Dream life also changes across the lifespan: children report shorter, simpler dreams, nightmares peak in adolescence, and recurring dreams often reflect unresolved worries. Some people even learn to recognise they are dreaming mid-dream, a phenomenon called lucid dreaming, now studied as a potential therapeutic tool.


Despite decades of brain imaging and sleep labs, scientists still cannot say with certainty why we dream. It remains one of biology's most persistent puzzles.


What is clear is that dreaming reveals something profound about consciousness itself: a mind that, even at rest, keeps working to learn, remember, and understand.



Ravichandran Harini, Jadetimes Staff

What Makes Our Species Earth's Most Dominant Life Form?


A cheetah can outrun any human alive. An eagle can spot a rabbit from a mile in the sky. A lion can kill with a single swipe, and a dolphin can navigate dark oceans by sound alone. By almost every physical measure, humans are unremarkable animals: slow, weak-jawed, thin-skinned, and clumsy in water. Yet we build cities on every continent, fly beyond the atmosphere, and reshape entire ecosystems at will. If nature has produced so many superior athletes, why does one middling primate run the planet?


The answer lies not in muscle but in mind, and not in the individual mind but in the collective one. Roughly 300,000 years ago, Homo sapiens emerged with an unusually large, energy-hungry brain. That brain, paired with upright walking that freed the hands and a voice box capable of nuanced sound, set the stage for something no claw or fang ever could: cumulative culture. Early humans learned to make fire, craft tools, and read landscapes, then passed that knowledge to their children, who improved upon it further.


Language turned this trickle of knowledge into a flood. Where a chimpanzee can warn its troop of a nearby leopard, a human can explain how a leopard hunts, teach a child to avoid it, and write the lesson down for people not yet born. Speech, and later writing, let us store memory outside our skulls and transmit it across generations, a feat unmatched by even the cleverest crows, octopuses, or elephants.


That accumulated knowledge built agriculture, then cities, then science and industry, each layer multiplying human reach over the last. Chimpanzees fashion twigs into termite tools; elephants mourn their dead; dolphins call each other by name. But no other species combines symbolic language, abstract reasoning, and cooperation among strangers at continental scale.


That power now carries weight. WWF's 2024 Living Planet Report found that monitored wildlife populations have declined by an average of 73 percent since 1970, a warning that human dominance is reshaping the biosphere itself.


Our intelligence built the modern world, but wisdom, not cleverness, will determine whether that world remains livable. The species that learned to reshape nature must now learn to protect it.

S Adam, Jadetimes staff


Dr. Manvendra Singh - "The future of governance will not be defined by bureaucracy alone it will be defined by intelligent systems, strategic leadership, and evidence based decision making."


Dr. Manvendra Singh
Dr. Manvendra Singh

In the twenty first century, societies are undergoing one of the most significant transformations in human history. Artificial Intelligence is redefining governments, businesses, universities, and public institutions at an unprecedented pace. This new era demands scholars capable of navigating multiple disciplines, integrating technology with policy, and translating academic knowledge into institutional transformation.


Among India's emerging interdisciplinary scholars, Dr. Manvendra Singh has established himself as a visionary academic whose work bridges Public Policy, Strategic Management, Artificial Intelligence, Business Analytics, Governance, and Higher Education Leadership. With more than fifteen years of experience in teaching, research, academic administration, curriculum innovation, and doctoral supervision, his career reflects an unwavering commitment to building smarter institutions and more effective governance systems.


Unlike many scholars who remain confined within a single academic discipline, Dr. Singh has deliberately cultivated expertise across management sciences and social sciences, enabling him to approach complex administrative challenges through an integrated, multidisciplinary lens. His scholarship demonstrates that the future of governance lies not merely in technological advancement but in the intelligent convergence of policy, leadership, analytics, and organizational strategy.


An Unconventional Academic Journey


Dr. Singh's academic trajectory is distinguished by its breadth and intellectual diversity. After earning an MBA in International Business from Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom, he pursued advanced studies in Public Administration, Sociology, and Political Science before completing his doctoral research at the prestigious Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT), Jaipur an Institution of National Importance. This unique combination of business education, governance studies, and social sciences has shaped an academic profile that is both rare and highly relevant in today's increasingly interconnected world.


Dr. Manvendra Singh
Dr. Manvendra Singh

His interdisciplinary foundation enables him to move effortlessly between strategic management frameworks and public governance models, applying management principles to public institutions while introducing governance perspectives into organizational strategy.


Building Institutions, Not Just Careers


For Dr. Singh, academic success has never been measured solely by publications or titles. Instead, his career has been defined by institution-building.


One of his most notable achievements has been establishing the Department of Government and Public Administration at Lovely Professional University. This initiative involved not only creating an academic department but also laying the foundations for curriculum development, faculty engagement, quality assurance, and long-term academic growth.


Throughout his leadership journey, he has contributed to academic operations, accreditation initiatives, admissions strategy, Board of Studies activities, and institutional planning. These experiences have provided him with a holistic understanding of how universities function as complex organizations requiring visionary leadership, strategic planning, and continuous innovation.


His philosophy is simple yet profound: universities should not merely transmit knowledge—they should create ecosystems that inspire innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and societal impact.


Dr. Manvendra Singh
NPTEL ALL INDIA TOPPER

Reimagining Public Policy Education


As governments become increasingly data-driven and digitally enabled, traditional approaches to public administration education are no longer sufficient. Recognizing this shift, Dr. Singh has played a central role in designing contemporary Public Policy curricula that integrate governance, analytics, leadership, ethics, and technology.


His curriculum development initiatives for undergraduate and postgraduate Public Policy programmes emphasize practical problem solving, policy analysis, evidence based decision making, and digital governance. By aligning academic programmes with emerging global trends, he seeks to prepare future policymakers and administrators who can navigate the challenges of an AI-enabled world with competence and integrity.


Artificial Intelligence as a Catalyst for Better Governance


A defining feature of Dr. Singh's research is his focus on the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence in governance and management.


His work explores how AI can strengthen public administration through intelligent decision-support systems, predictive analytics, citizen-centric service delivery, organizational optimization, and strategic planning. Rather than viewing AI as a replacement for human judgment, he advocates its responsible integration as a tool to enhance transparency, accountability, efficiency, and institutional resilience.


His research interests extend to AI-enabled strategic management, digital public infrastructure, organizational behavior, business analytics, higher education governance, and evidence-based policymaking areas that are becoming increasingly important as institutions worldwide embrace digital transformation.

Dr. Manvendra Singh
Best Teaching Award

Scholar, Mentor, and Research Leader


Beyond his own scholarly contributions, Dr. Singh has dedicated considerable effort to mentoring the next generation of researchers.


He has successfully supervised multiple doctoral scholars, guided postgraduate dissertations, and supported numerous research projects across governance, public administration, organizational studies, and management. His mentoring philosophy emphasizes methodological rigor, ethical scholarship, and the practical relevance of research, encouraging students to address real-world challenges through evidence based inquiry.


His scholarly output includes more than fifty research publications in reputed journals, alongside numerous authored and edited books that contribute to the evolving discourse on governance, management, and public policy. His research consistently reflects a commitment to addressing contemporary administrative issues rather than remaining confined to theoretical abstraction.


Leadership in Higher Education



Dr. Manvendra Singh

Throughout his academic career, Dr. Singh has assumed leadership roles that extend well beyond classroom teaching. As Head of Department and academic administrator, he has led initiatives related to accreditation, curriculum reform, academic quality assurance, admissions management, faculty coordination, and institutional development. These responsibilities have reinforced his conviction that universities must evolve into agile, data-informed organizations capable of responding proactively to changing societal needs.


His interest in integrating Business Analytics, Management Information Systems, and Artificial Intelligence into university governance reflects a forward-looking vision of higher education—one in which technology supports informed decision-making while preserving the human values at the heart of education.


Recognition for Excellence


Dr. Singh's dedication to academic excellence has been recognized through numerous awards and distinctions, including the C.B. Gupta Best Teacher Award, University Gold Medal, and All India Rank 1 achievements in SWAYAM-NPTEL courses and national academic competitions such as the CSR Super Brain Essay Writing Contest and so on. These honors reflect not only his scholarly accomplishments but also his commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and institutional service.


Looking Toward the Future


As Artificial Intelligence reshapes governance, education, and organizational management, the demand for scholars capable of integrating technological innovation with strategic leadership will continue to grow.


Dr. Manvendra Singh represents a new generation of interdisciplinary academics who recognize that the future belongs to intelligent institutions organizations that combine human insight with technological capability to deliver better outcomes for society.


His vision extends beyond academic achievement. It is rooted in creating smarter universities, more responsive governments, stronger public institutions, and evidence-driven policymaking that improves lives.


With a career spanning teaching, research, leadership, and institutional development, Dr. Singh continues to demonstrate that meaningful academic impact is measured not only by knowledge created but also by institutions strengthened, leaders inspired, and systems transformed.


As the world advances toward an era of AI-enabled governance and strategic public management, his work stands as a compelling example of how interdisciplinary scholarship can shape the future of public institutions both in India and across the globe.

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