Specialising in a diverse range of areas such as business studies, training management, organisational management, human resource management, and open and distance education, Prof Dr Santhi plays a pivotal role in learner experience and technology at OUM.

Joining OUM as a tutor in 2001, she went on to hold key positions such as Vice Dean for the Faculty of Business & Management, Deputy Director for the School of Lifelong Learning, Deputy Director of the Centre for Graduate Studies, Director of the Centre for Tutor Management & Development, and Director of the Centre for Student Management before her appointment as the Vice President / Deputy Vice Chancellor (Learner Experience & Technology).

Prof Santhi has conducted numerous postgraduate courses in countries such as the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Republic of Yemen, the Republic of Indonesia, The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and The Socialist Republic of Vietnam, expanding OUM’s reach and fostering international collaborations.

In 2024, she was invited to become a Visiting Professor to Arab Open University in The State of Kuwait. In 2017, she was awarded the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) Inter-University Staff Exchange Fellowship, through which she shared her expertise with Open University Sri Lanka. Earlier in 2005, she received the Italian Government Award from the Universita per Stranieri in Perugia, giving her international recognition in the field of education.

She has also written and co-written 24 books and more than 80 articles and journal papers on workforce, open and distance learning, prison education and micro-credentials.

Prof Santhi who holds a PhD (Training Management) from Universiti Putra Malaysia researches on developmental strategies in technology and education and have received grants for national and international projects including from The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, France, and was one of the recipient of the Digital Society Research Grant from Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Ministry of Communications and Multimedia, Malaysia.

She serves as a member of the Senate as well as the Board of Studies in other universities. She is a long-serving Council Member for Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA) and has had 11 other appointments with MoE, MoHE, MQA and MDeC.

As part of her social outreach, she serves as a Board Member for the School of Computer Science at Divine Life Society Malaysia, Batu Caves dedicated to empowering the B40 community to gain computer literacy via IT courses and trainings, endorsed by Microsoft Corporation and Macromedia Corporation. She coordinates medical camps and organ donation campaigns, as well as organises care packs and food hampers in times of crisis.