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Sh. Sibaji Panda


Sh. Sibaji Panda was born in Odisha, India on 17 May 1974. He became deaf at the age of 10, but he found sign language support at home, since his elder brother was also deaf. He was an active but average student in a mainstream school, but he had what all other students didn't have in those years - the fearless confidence to speak up for what's right. Inspired by the stories of Mahatma Gandhi, he once challenged all his teachers, even his Principal about the low quality education system and rampant cheating. He managed to just pass his Class 10th and 12th exams with a low percentage, because he didn't cheat. He started working with Delhi Foundation for Deaf Women as a computer trainer. It was there that he was spotted by Ulrike Zeeshan, a German professor who was researching about Indian Sign Language. Both of them collaborated to create the first formal one year ISL training course - Level A, B and C used by Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) and Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Hearing Handicapped, AYJNIHH (name changed to Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities, AYJNISHD) which started in 2001. 

 He completed his M.A. in Applied Linguistics from University in New England, UK. He served more than ten years as a 'Senior Lecturer' in University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). He was actively involved in starting the pilot course B.A. in Applied Sign Language Studies (BAASLS) as a joint programme between UCLan and IGNOU in 2009. He pioneered a unique Peer to Peer Literacy Deaf Project (P2PDL) in India, to research and develop strategies of language teaching and learning specific to the deaf. 

 He is the founder member of Indian Sign Language Teachers Association (ISLTA) and Indian Sign Language Interpreter's Association (ISLIA). He is also the founder of Ishara Foundation, Vadodara which pioneered successful deaf literacy projects.  He is an advisory member for the Indore Deaf Bilingual Academy (IDBA) and a Sr. Consultant for a "Digital Sign Language Library" project at Welfare Center for Persons with Speech and Hearing Impairment (WCPSHI), Gurugram aiming to convert the NCERT curriculum in ISL. He has also established a bilingual school for the deaf in his native village as a unique place for learning and interaction with nature, with a green campus powered by renewable energy sources. In addition to being a great teacher, he is also a talented chef, a world traveller and a witty philosopher. 

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