Who We Are

MANTIS was created in 2003, and is one of India’s leaders in Simulation Games in business management education, today. It also produces competency Learning Programs, offers Consulting Services to solve organisational problems and enhance productivity, and has a range of coaching and mentoring sessions to develop the Personal Power of individuals.

MANTIS is the country’s only organisation devoted solely to simulation games for management and other areas of education. Its games are conducted in two forms: competitions and learning programs. It has developed the widest range in simulation games in India in terms of complexity, objectives, and range of scenarios for managers and students of management and engineering. It has designed and produced nearly 30 games, and has served more than 14,000 learners (students and managers) in over 80 organisations and management schools. MANTIS has produced India’s first and only games in marketing management (BRANDISH, 2005), project management (TAPI, 2009), banking (MINT, 2010), and PowerStation (2011) for NTPC.

MANTIS has conducted games for firms (Tata and Aditya Birla groups, BHEL, Godrej & Boyce, Siemens, Indian Oil Corporation, NTPC, Reliance, John Deere, Mother Dairy, and Larsen & Toubro), B-Schools (Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi and Kashipur, Faculty of Management Studies and International Management Institute, Delhi, and Management Development Institute, Gurgaon), engineering institutes (Indian Institutes of Technology at Mumbai, Chennai, Kanpur, Delhi and Roorkee), National Institute of Technology (Suratkal, Tiruchirapalli, Surat and Kozhikode), and Universities (BHU Varanasi, SAASTRA Thanjavur, BIT Mesra Ranchi, GITAM University Visakhapatnam, JNTU Hyderabad, BSAR University Chennai, Manav Rachana International University Faridabad, Jain University Bangalore, Vellore Institute of Technology University Vellore, NMIMS University Mumbai, and Jaypee University of Information Technology Noida). MANTIS has conducted games in Dubai, Austria, and Bangkok.

MANTIS is managed and led by Dr Vinod Dumblekar with inputs from other professionals, academicians, researchers, consultants, and administrators of business and other institutions, with wide interests, diverse careers, and deep experience in learning and training, in India and abroad. Vinod Dumblekar is a trainer, researcher, multi-disciplinary consultant, and management teacher. He has a post-graduate degree in business administration (MBA) and a doctorate (Ph D) in management psychology. He has over three decades of extensive managerial and entrepreneurial experience in commercial and merchant banking, finance and financial services, information technology and management education. He has held a variety of senior positions as the manager of a commercial bank, professor, president, and director in different organisations. He has advised business and K-12 schools and organisations. He has written a book, and has published papers on simulation games, marketing, finance, learning, and management psychology. His papers on simulation games have been presented at and published for conferences at Munich, Atlanta, Singapore, and Bangkok.

Vinod Dumblekar has independently executed consulting projects in financial restructuring, accounting system, training needs system, University statutes and rules, KPI, manpower restructuring, productivity linked bonus scheme, and non-formal learning systems. He teaches and has taught post-graduate courses in strategy, mergers & acquisitions, private equity & venture capital, international business strategy, and entrepreneurship strategy. He has been a judge in business plan competitions at IITB and other institutes for over a decade, and guides young entrepreneurs in their entrepreneurial aspirations. He is a coach in business communications, presentations, research reports, and other English language skills. He has planned and conducted Faculty and Management Development Programmes. He is a member of editorial boards in India and abroad, and on the Board of Studies in Indian Universities.

Vinod Dumblekar is one of India’s most experienced authorities, and probably, her only researcher in software-based simulation games. He has trained nearly 22,000 professional managers, and business school, engineering and other students through simulation games in India and abroad. He is a member of the Steering Committee of the International Simulation and Gaming Association, a 45-year old organisation that represents simulation gaming professionals as members from over 30 countries. He is also the general secretary of the Indian Simulation and Gaming Association.