Resource Persons

Ven. Professor Geshe Ngawang Samten joined as Director of the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath on January, 2001. The nomenclature of the Institute was revised as Central University of Tibetan Studies (Deemed to be University) which was inaugurated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and accordingly the designation of the Head of the University was revised as Vice Chancellor.He was reappointed to the post of Vice Chancellor with effect from July 17, 2008. Prof. G. N. Samten is a renowned scholar of Buddhist and Tibetan studies. His contribution to his field of studies is highly recognized in the academic circles within India and beyond. He has been decorated with Padma Shri by the Government of India in the field of education and literature in 2008.

Prof. Girishwar Misra is a social scientist, psychologist and author. He obtained an M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology from Gorakhpur University and started his career as lecturer in psychology at Gorakhpur University in 1970. Thereafter he remained Reader at Allahabad University (1979-1983), Professor, Bhopal University (1983-1993), before joining as Professor, Delhi University in 1993, where he served for the rest of his career. In 1991-1992, he was a Fulbright Fellow in the United States at Swarthmore College and at the University of Michigan. He was the Vice-Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya in Wardha, Maharashtra, India. He has been one of the leaders of the emerging field of Indian psychology.

Y. Narasimhulu is Director, UGC-HRDC, University of Hyderabad and Former Vice-Chancellor of Rayalaseema University, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. He successfully completed his M.Sc, M.Phil, and Ph.D in Applied Mathematics, followed by MS in Software Systems in 1995. He has held may important academic and administrative positions as Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Orissa; Registrar, University of Hyderabad; Director Incharge, Centre for Distance Education, University of Hyderabad; Professor of Mathematics, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad; Deputy Secretary, University Grants Commission, New Delhi are some of the academic and administrative positions Prof. Narasimhulu brought laurels to in the last more than three decades.

Prof. Harikesh Singh has done his B.Sc. from B.H.U. in 1971, B.Ed. from B.H.U. in 1974, M.Ed. from B.H.U. in 1975 and Ph.D. from B.H.U. in 1984. Before joining Jai Prakash University, Chapra as Vice-Chancellor, he was serving Banaras Hindu University as Professor in Faculty of Education where he has held the office of Head and Dean. 15 Research scholars have been awarded Ph.D. under his supervision in BHU, apart from 2 M. Phil. Dissertation in NUEPA, New Delhi and 30 M.Ed. Dissertation in BHU, Varanasi.

Prof. Dr. S. Parasuraman is the Vice Chancellor of MIT-World Peace University. He was the Director / Vice-Chancellor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai from August 2004 to February 2018. Currently, he is Adjunct Professor, National institute of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, Hyderabad. Prof. Parasuraman has more than three decades of experience as teacher and researcher in Rural Development, Education, Health, Public Policy, Social Protection, Social Exclusion and Inclusive policies, Governance, Water and Energy and a range of inter-disciplinary areas. Prof. Parasuraman has held key positions in international organizations such as World Bank, IUCN, Oxfam, Action Aid International and UN. Prof. Parasuraman has a Master’s in Anthropology and a Ph.D. in Demography from the University of Mumbai. He has been a United Nations Fellow on Population and Development, Institute of Social Studies (ISS), The Hague.

Prof. Kidwai has 40 years of University teaching experience. He is Director, K. A. Nizami Centre for Quranic Studies since 2017, Director, UGC Human Resource Development Centre, Aligarh Muslim University since 2001, Director, CALEM, AMU (HRD Ministry Govt. of India Scheme) since 2015 and Professor, Department of English, Aligarh Muslim University from 1997.

Professor at Department of Biochemistry, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Prof Rai was born in 1955 at Parsa, Ghazipur, U.P. After obtaining his MSc in Botany from BHU he received his PhD(Biology) from University of Dundee (Scotland) 1980 under National Scholarship for Studies Abroad programme. Prof. Rai has worked as Vice-Chancellor (2006-2010) of Mizoram University, Aizawl, Vice-Chancellor (2010-2013) of North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Director (2013-2015) of National Assessment and Accreditation Council, Bangalore. He is Member, DST Standing Committee on “Promotion of Women in Science” since 2015. He has been member of Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet (SAC-C), Government of India, Central Advisory Board on Education (CABE), Government of India, Education Reform Commission, Government of Mizoram and Visiting Professor at Universities of Uppsala and Stockholm, Sweden.

Dr. Yogesh Velankar has done B.E. Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from Mumbai University, M.S. Electrical Engineering from University of Texas at El Paso, M.Ed. Mathematics Instructional Specialist from University of Texas at El Paso, and Ph.D. Engineering Education from Purdue University, USA. He has worked with Infosys Limited, as Principal, Education & Research, Director of Indo Universal Collaboration for Engineering Education (IUCEE) Centers of Excellence, Senior Project Advisor, Teaching Learning Centre at IIT-Madras, Adjunct Professor at KLE Technological University, Hubballi, Adjunct Faculty at IIT-BHU, and Advisor and Consultant at Inter University Centre for Teacher Education, BHU and IIT-BHU apart from brief stints at Caterpillar, Peoria, IL, USA, Schlumberger, Sugar Land, TX, USA and Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

Prof. Avinash Kumar Agarwal obtained his M.Tech. (Energy, 1996) and Ph.D. (Energy, 1999) from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. After his Post-Doctoral Fellowship (1999 – 2001) stint at the Engine Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA, he returned to India in 2001 and joined Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, where he is now serving as SBI Endowed Chair Professor. For his outstanding contributions, Prof. Agarwal is conferred upon J C Bose National Fellowship (2019) by SERB, Clarivate Analystics India Citation Award-2017 in Engineering and Technology, Prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize (2016) in Engineering Sciences, Rajib Goyal Prize in Physical Sciences (2015) among may others.

Prof. Govindan Rangarajan obtained his M.Sc. (Hons.) in Physics from BITS Pilani in the year 1985 Ph.D. from University of Maryland, College Park, USA in 1990. He served as Staff Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, USA from 1990 to 1992 before returning to India as an Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. He is presently serving as Professor, Department of Mathematics. He also heads the Division of Interdisciplinary Research. He is an Honorary Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore.

Professor Vinod Singh had early education from his native place Azamgarh. He did M.Sc. in Chemistry from BHU (1980) and Ph.D. (1986) from Malti-Chem Research Centre, Nandesari, Baroda. Prof. Singh spent 2 years for his postdoctoral work in University of Calgary and the University of British Columbia. He subsequently moved to the U.S.A. to do another postdoctoral work at Harvard University with Professor E. J. Corey, a Nobel Laureate. After a brief stint as a Senior Scientist at Neurogen Corporation, CT, USA, Vinod Singh joined IIT Kanpur in 1990 as an Assistant Professor and rose to the rank of Professor, a position he currently holds. His research falls in the area of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, more specifically, asymmetric synthesis. Prof. Singh has been recognized with several awards and honors such as Swarnajayanti Fellowship (1998), Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize (2004), and Padma Shri (2014), among others. In addition, he has been elected as a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (FNA), Indian Academy of Sciences (FASc), National Academy of Sciences (FNASc), and The World Academy of Sciences (FTWAS). As a Founding Director of IISER Bhopal for more than 10 years (2008-2018), Professor Singh built the Institution ground up. Professor Singh had been a Member of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (SAC to PM) during 2009-2014.

Prof. B.B. Dhar has held several important academic, scientific and administrative positions in Universities like Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), as Director of one of the National Research Institutions and as Director (Research) Association of Indian Universities. At BHU he was Professor and HOD, IIT-BHU in Mining Engineering and Professor In-Charge, Training and Placement, IIT-BHU. He also held the prestigious position as Chief Proctor of BHU. He is the Founder Director of the UGC’s Academic Staff College, BHU. He was also the Sr. Vice President, Ritnand Balved Education Foundation, the Sponsoring Body of Amity Universities in India, and Director – Research and Innovation, Amity University- Uttar Pradesh.

Dr. Nassa is presently Member Secretary, National Board of Accreditation, New Delhi. He obtained his Bachelors Degree in Textile Chemistry from the Technological Institute of Textiles, Bhiwani, and his Masters Degree and Doctoral Degree from IIT, Delhi. He served in different capacities in various Textile Industries. He joined Department of Higher Education,Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, in 1990 and was working as Deputy Educational Advisor (Technical) before joining National Board of Accreditation as Member Secretary.

Dr. Alok Shrivastava is Secretary, Department of Justice in the Ministry of Law and Justice, Govt. of India. He is a 1984 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre. He has also served as the private secretary to Shri Arun Jaitley when he was law minister Union government between 2002 and 2004.

Dr.Rama Kondapalli holds a Ph.D. in Ecology and Environment and a Masters in Life Sciences from Viswa Bharati University, Shantiniketan India. In addition she also holds a Bachelors in Education (B.Ed) and pursued a Diploma in Intellectual Property Rights Law from the NLSIU. She has more than 20 years of experience in Educational Administration, Policy planning and management, Quality Assurance and Research. Dr. Rama has served various apex agencies in India dealing with education including the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India , All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), National Council for Teacher Education(NCTE) in different capacities. At National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) apart from contributing to the Assessment and Accreditation of HEI, she has extensively contributed to the development of the Assessment & Accreditation tools and methodology and guidelines for NAAC.

Dr. Upinder Dhar is Vice Chancellor of Shri Vaishnav Vidyapeeth Vishwavidyalaya (Indore). Earlier, he was Group Additional Vice Chancellor and Pro-Vice Chancellor Academics, Amity University Uttar Pradesh (Noida); Founder Vice Chancellor of JK Lakshmipat University (Jaipur); Director - Institute of Management, Dean - Faculty of Management, and Dean - Faculty of Doctoral Studies and Research, Nirma University (Ahmedabad); Director - Prestige Institute of Management and Research (Indore); President - Prestige Group of Educational Institutions (Indore); Professor of Management at NITIE (Mumbai); and Reader at IMS-DAVV (Indore). He has conducted more than 500 management and faculty development programs for the executives of major business houses and faculty members of academic institutions respectively. He has also been Guest Faculty at IIM Calcutta, IIM Indore, IIM Trichy and IIT Roorkee. Besides undertaking consultancy assignments, he has authored/co-authored more than 670 publications. Thirty Four (34) scholars have been awarded Ph.D. degree under his supervision by various universities.

Prof. Shalini Bharat is Director, TISS and Professor in the School of Health Systems Studies. Her areas of research include social and structural determinants of health. She teaches Qualitative Research Methods, Public Health Ethics and Health Research Ethics to postgraduate and doctoral students, and is involved in organising capacity building workshops for doctoral students and early career faculty on qualitative research methods, research ethics, and scientific writing. She served as member of the Mission Steering Group of National Rural Health Mission and National Health Systems Resouce Center, Ministry of Health & Family welfare, GoI (2007-2012) and is the Program Director of The Global Fund supported Saksham Counselling project for drug resistant TB patients in 4 Indian states. She serves on the Board of PHFI and India HIV/AIDS Alliance and is a member of several scientific advisory committees. Shalini Bharat has a Ph.D in Psychology from Allahabad University, India.

Dr. Archana Shukla is Director of Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow and Professor of Organization Behavior in the Human Resources Management Group, Indian Institute of Management Lucknow. She earned her Ph. D. in Psychology from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. She has been the recipient of the first chairperson of Dr. Ishwar Dayal Chair for futuristic Issues in the Behavioral Sciences for a period of two years from 2015 - 2017

Prof Surendra Pratap Singh is Chair of Excellence Professor, FRI (Deemed) University, Dehradun. He is a post-graduate in Botany from RBS College Agra and did his PhD from Gorakhpur University. With a beginning of research on limnology, as Professor and Head of Botany Department, Kumaun University he played a leading role in establishing a strong ecological research group which contributed significantly towards understanding structure and functioning of the Himalayan Forests and Grassland Ecosystems. In recent years, Dr Singh has been engaged with climate change impact issues and pioneered the concept of ecosystem services in India. His contributions as Vice chancellor of HNB Garhwal University Srinagar, and Advisor Planning Commission, Uttarakhand Government have remained exemplary. Prof Singh is the Fellow of National Academy (FNA) and several other academies. He is the recipient of Birbal Sahani award for lifetime contributions, Uttarakhand Ratna, and Peace Prize from Italy. He has also been the Courtesy Professor, Oregon State University, Corvallis, USA. He has mentored students, and published 175 research papers in about 50 international journals.

Dr. Abhay Thakur is Ph.D. in Hindi Language and Literature from University of Delhi, and is an Officer of 1997 batch of Indian Revenue Service. Presently, he is working as Finance Officer of Banaras Hindu University on deputation from the Income Tax Department, where he was working as Additional Commissioner of Income Tax.

Prof. B. Ravi is Institute Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Founder of BETiC- Biomedical Engineering & Technology incubation Centre; and Professor-in-Charge of Desai Sethi Centre for Entrepreneurship at IIT Bombay. He is also Honorary Adjunct Professor at National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore. Prof. Ravi is well known for inter-disciplinary multi-institute translational research projects leading to advanced yet affordable products, startup companies and social impact. His AutoCAST software is used in more than 100 foundries and labs to improve metal casting quality.

Prof. Padia was the first woman chairperson of the Indian Institute of Advance Studies, Simla. Previously Vice-Chancellor of Maharaja Ganga Singh University, Rajasthan and Professor, political studies at Banaras Hindu University, she was also a National Fellow at IIAS in 2003-04. She has 88 research papers to her credit, and has published several books on women’s studies such as Bhartiya Manisha ke Agradoot: Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Women in Dharmashastras: A Phenomenological and Critical Analysis (edited) and Feminism, Tradition and Modernity (edited).

Professor Furqan Qamar is an eminent academician, an able administrator, a policy planner in higher education and is widely recognised as a change master and thought leaders. In an illustrious career spanning over more than three decades, he has held prestigious positions like the Vice Chancellor of the Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Vice Chancellor of the University of Rajasthan and Advisor (Education) in the Planning Commission of India, Professor and founder Director the Centre for Management Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia and has served as Secretary General of the Association of Indian Universities, He is presently serving as Professor at the Centre for Management Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.

A senior professor with an academic experience of 33 years, Prof. Harish Chandra Singh Rathore is Vice Chancellor of Central University of South Bihar (CUSB). Before joining as the Vice-Chancellor of Central University of South Bihar, Prof Rathore was the Dean of Faculty of Education at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi. He was also the co-ordinator of Internal Quality Assurance Cell of BHU. He has received many fellowships for his praiseworthy contribution to the field of Education. Prof. Rathore has received many awards and recognitions for his work, DAAD, Humbolt Fellowship, etc. are among the renowned fellowships received by him. Prof. Rathore is also having good administrative experience. He had been the Chief Proctor of BHU for five-and-half years. Prof. Rathore is a member of several national committees of MHRD, UGC, NAAC and NCTE.

Prof. Rajnish Jain has more than thirty years of professional experience which includes teaching, research, administration, institution building and corporate training. He has served as Director and Professor at Institute of Management Studies; Professor and Additional Director at International Institute of Professional Studies; Director, Centre for E-Business; Chairman, Board of Studies in Management; Professor In-charge, Development Section, and Dean, Student Welfare at Devi Ahilya University, Indore. In his earlier assignments, he has also worked as Professor at Nirma University, Ahmedabad and other Institutions.

Prof. Sunaina Singh is the Vice Chancellor of Nalanda University, an internationally acclaimed historical university with the Ministry of External Affairs, located in Rajgir, Bihar. She is former Vice Chancellor of English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad. A distinguished academician and administrator, she is also the Vice President, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR); Member, Governing Council, Association of Indian Universities (AIU); Member, Comprehensive Language Policy of India and several other important bodies. Dr. Singh, a Professor of literature and culture, has been conferred with noteworthy awards including International Education Award-2018 (NWSI) awarded in British Parliament, House of Lord’s, London; Bharat Ratan Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Excellence Award, 2018 (IIFS) ; Bharat Shiksha Ratan Award, 2018; Education Leadership Award, 2017 (World Education Congress); Bharat Gaurav Award 2016 (IIFS); Chanakya Award for Excellence in Good Governance 2014 (Public Relations Council of India); Woman of the Year Award, 2014 - Citizens Council of A.P.); among several others