Dr. S. Palaniappan is an Assistant Professor (Senior Grade) at VIT Business School, VIT Vellore, with nearly two decades of experience spanning academia, industry, and entrepreneurship. He holds a Ph.D. in Management from Bharathiar University, an M.Phil. in Management from Bharathidasan University (First Class with Distinction), and an MBA from the University of Madras. He has qualified the UGC-NET and Tamil Nadu State Eligibility Test (TNSET) and holds professional certifications including NCMP Level II (NSE), Bloomberg Market Concepts (BMC), SWAYAM certifications from IITs and IIMs, and the Tally Graduate certification. His research interests include Entrepreneurship, Technopreneurship, Financial Inclusion, Financial Technology (FinTech), and Digital Payments. He has presented over 35 papers at national and international conferences and published 17 papers in Scopus- and Web of Science-indexed journals and conference proceedings, including two in ABDC ‘B’ category journals. He has also completed an ICSSR-sponsored collaborative research project under the Vision Viksit Bharat initiative and serves as a reviewer for journals and conferences published by Emerald, Springer Nature, IEEE, and other reputed academic bodies. Before joining VIT, he served at SIBM Nagpur, NMIMS Bengaluru, and NIT Tiruchirappalli. His industry and entrepreneurial experience enriches his teaching, research, and student mentoring.