Academics to brainstorm on NEP merits

A man with a vision and belief

Dr Sailesh Sampathy, Vice President and Deputy Chief Executive, S P Sampathy's Siva Sivani Group of Institutions. The late S P Sampathy, the Founder of Siva Sivani Group of Educational Institutions, a man with a vision and belief that nothing is impossible for those who think they can. In 1961, the group started its journey with a school at Sanathnager with a motto of 'Learn to serve'. Today Siva Sivani Group is one of its kind to provide quality education from KG to Doctoral Program (Ph.D). SSGI comprises five constituents' namely, SPS Primary School, SPS high School, SPS Junior College, Siva Sivani Degree College (SSDC) and Siva Sivani Institute of Management (SSIM).

Rankings and Accreditations: Dr SaileshSampathy being a quality conscious man motivated his team to get accreditations and collaborations.

Accreditations: SSIM is NAAC accredited, SSIM's PGDM course is NBA accredited, SSIM's PGDM course has AIU certification

Collaborations: HBS online (Harvard Business School), Herzing University, USA

Dr Sailesh Sampathy conferred the Honorary Doctorate by Lincoln University College, Malaysia.

Excellence in science and technology

Ajit Rangnekar is the former Dean of the Indian School of Business (ISB). He was the Dean of the Indian School of Business (ISB) from January 2009 to 31 December 2015. In 2011, he was appointed as a director of Graduate Management Admission Council, the sole Indian on the team.

Ajit Rangnekar is now serving as the Director General for Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad (RICH). RICH is the nodal agency for Hyderabad Science & Technology (S&T) cluster, an initiative of the Office of Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the Government of India. It is a Section 8 company under the Companies Act 2013. RICH was launched in 2017 by the Telangana government. It acts as a facilitator and aims to foster greater collaboration between various entities in the research and innovation space. RICH operates in close coordination with the S&T Cluster Apex Committee and the Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC).

Two decades of rich experience

V Rajanna, Vice-President and Global Head of Telecom Technology Business Unit at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has also served as president of ITsAP during 2012 to 2014. Rajanna has rich and varied experience of over two decades in the Information Technology (IT) arena. He has a dual role and also heads TCS operations in Hyderabad, which is the fourth largest delivery centre of TCS globally.

Rajanna was also the director of APOnline and MPOnline which are the joint ventures between TCS and the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, respectively. He was been the vice president of ITsAP.

His contribution towards education is immense

Prof V Venkata Ramana, Senior Professor & faculty in the School of Management Studies, University of Hyderabad (UoH) holds a Master's Degree and a gold medalist in PhD. in Business Management and has over two and half decades of professional experience spanning academics, research, industry and business consulting in the areas of General Management, Corporate Strategy, Banking, Infrastructure and Services Sector Management. He has also been awarded Best Professor in Marketing Management by CMO Asia in 2012 in Singapore and he was also appointed as the Member of the First Academic Court of the Central University of Rajasthan by the President of India. On August 17, 2017, he was appointed as the Vice-Chairman-II of the Telangana State Council for Higher Education (TSCHE).

Instrumental in starting B Tech in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Science

Prof. Somayajulu, Director-Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design & Manufacturing (IIITDM), Kurnool, has 33 years of experience in teaching, research, consultancy and outreach in the field of Computer Science and Engineering. Prior to joining as the Director of IIITDM Kurnool in February 2019, he served as the Chair of MeitY Sponsored Scheme- "Electronics & ICT Academy" established at NIT Warangal during 2015-19. He is a member of various accreditation committees like NPIU Technical Committees of TEQIP II World Bank project. He is instrumental in starting B. Tech. in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Science, M. Tech. and Ph.D. programmes at IIITDM Kurnool during 2019-2021. Prof. Somayajulu is very enthusiastic to continue the trends set by his predecessors to make IIITDM Kancheepuram a global centre of excellence. His efforts will be to improve the ranking of the Institute in design centric engineering education to make IIITDM Kancheepuram a destination for quality students and faculty to exhibit their potential.

Chancellor of Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswa Mahavidyalaya

Prof Dr S Jayarama Reddy, M SC., PH.D is the Chancellor, at Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswa Mahavidyalaya (Deemed to be University), Kanchipuram.

Formerly Vice-Chancellor, Venkateswara University, Tirupati. President, PRIST (Deemed to be University), Thanjavur. Chairman, UTF, Centurion University, Bhubaneswar. Chairman, University Advisory Board, Shri Guru Ram ai University, Dehradun. Chairman, University task force, Jain University, Bengaluru.

A meticulous planner

Dr S V Kota Reddy is a veteran academician & administrator with more than 30 years of teaching, research & administrative experience. He joined VIT – AP family on November 16th 2020. Previously he worked as Academic President at Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) Dubai Campus. Under his able leadership MAHE Dubai secured 5-star rating in the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) rating framework with height points among the participating Universities in Dubai, U.A.E.

It is his sheer determination and meticulous nature that has driven him to being the Vice – Chancellor of this prestigious institution.

Dr Kota holds a Doctorate Degree in Mechanical Engineering from I.I.T Bombay. He firmly believes in commitment, teamwork and efficient completion of any task undertaken. He leads several disciplines on to the path of excellence to ensure consistent delivery of quality education.

He has been responsible for identifying and establishing student exchange programs through collaborations with various universities across the globe. He also focuses on technology in teaching, R&D initiatives, Innovation & Incubation activities, and Professional Societies activities, Industry collaborations for internships & placements and international accreditation's. He has established several Centers of Excellence and laboratories in collaboration with industries.

Dr. Kota filed seven patents, one US, two international and four Indian, in association with I.I.T Bombay. He also published several research papers in Scopus/Web of Science Indexed Journals and Conference. One of his research papers was published in the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Journal in Spanish.

His research project on Plastic Solar Water Heater won the Meritorious Award at KAIF 2007, a state level project exhibition organized by TATA Power, Mumbai, India. His R&D projects on Heat Pump Assisted Dryer and Hybrid Air Conditioning System have won the 'National Award for Excellence in HVAC&R', which was instituted by the Bry-Air Asia Pvt Ltd in the year 2008 and 2009 respectively.

He was the recipient of 'Award for Outstanding Contribution to Education' for two consecutive years at the Middle East Education Leadership Awards by Asian Confederation of Businesses with CMO Asia, Dubai, U.A.E in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Dr Kota also received the Indywood Educational Excellence Award for the best "Engineering & Architecture Education" in the U.A.E in the year 2016 and 2017. He was presented the MaGEX – 2016 Award for the "Best Academic Administration" for 2015-16 by Manipal Global Education Services, Bangalore, India.

A teacher, researcher and consultant

Dr S Sreenivasa Murthy is currently Professor of Finance and Director at IPE. He is also the Chairman Placements Division. He holds a Masters Degree in Commerce from Sri Venkateswara University, Masters Degree in International Business from Pondicherry University and Doctorate Degree from University of Madras. He is a recipient of UGC Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) for the doctoral programme. He is a merit scholarship holder throughout the academic career and was awarded National Merit Scholarship twice during the academic career.

He has got around two decades of experience in teaching, research, training and consultancy. He is a visiting faculty to IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore, NIT Warangal, IIIF, JNTU, ANGRAU and many Universities. He has done consultancy assignments for World Bank, ADB, Ministry of Rural Development GOI and many State level enterprises.

He has conducted many conferences, symposia and workshops in various areas of Finance. He has organized about 80 training programmes under both open and inhouse category for senior and middle level executives of various public and private sector enterprises and banks. He has authored five books and many course materials and published a number of articles in reputed journals and presented papers in many national and international conferences. He is the Managing Editor of the IPE journal 'The Journal of Managerial Finance and Research', he has received Dewang Mehta Award for Best Professor in Financial Management. His areas of interest include Corporate Finance, Project Appraisal and Financial Services.

An empowerment to success

CA. A Shubhraa Maheshwari, a Chartered Accountant (CA) from Hyderabad recently took charge as chairperson of the FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), Hyderabad Chapter. Shubhraa was the Director of the Bluestones Group of Companies. Shubhraa serviced customers such as Tirumala Thirupati Devasthanam, Aarogyasri Healthcare Trust, National Highways, various NBFCs, and over 300 corporations as a chartered accountant.

Well-versed in education systems

Dr.Ramesh Regional Director, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Hyderabad initially joined IGNOU in June, 2011 as Deputy Director for Distance Education Council (DEC), IGNOU, New Delhi. During his experience at DEC he was actively involved in the accreditation of the Universities for affiliation and distribution of funds from DEC. On dissolution of DEC of IGNOU, Dr.Ramesh was on deemed deputation Distance Education Bureau, UGC from 2013- 2015. Thereupon he reported back to IGNOU and was posted at Regional Services Division, IGNOU, New Delhi. Dr. Ramesh joined Regional Centre, Hyderabad in July, 2015.

During his experience of working with IGNOU at RSD and Regional Centre, Hyderabad he has been involved in activities related to Establishment of LSCs and Admissions. Dr.Ramesh has participated in Six National / International Conferences. He has authored four books and has published 12 Research Papers in various journals/magazines and published 12 articles in leading English and Telugu dailies and participated in discussions over Electronic Media on Education. He has translated two text books of NIOS into Telugu language.

Proficient in Petroleum Engineering

Deepak Amban Mishra, Associate Dean, Department of Petroleum Engineering & Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Petroleum & Energy, Visakhapatnam. His interests are in Sedimentary and Petroleum Geology, Well Logging, Geothermal Energy. Ha served as Postdoctoral Fellow in Institute of Geonics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ostrava, Czech Republic from 2014-2016. In 2017, he took charge as Assistant Professor, Department of Petroleum Engineering & Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Petroleum & Energy, Visakhapatnam.

An outstanding Concrete Engineer

Prof N V Ramana Rao worked as Rector and Professor of Civil Engineering at JNTU Hyderabad before joining as the Director, NIT, Warangal. He did his BE in Civil Engineering from (Osmania), M.Tech from (IIT Delhi), Ph.D. and Post Doctorate from U.K. in Civil and Structural Engineering from University of Wales, Swansea , UK. He has held several Administrative posts as Registrar, JNT University Hyderabad, Kukatpally, Hyderabad from 30.04.2012 to 21.07.2015, as Principal, JNTUH College of Engineering Hyderabad, Kukatpally, Hyderabad from 30.04.2008 to 24.11.2011, as Director, Bureau of Industrial Consultancy Services, JNT University, Hyderabad from 05.09.2003 to 05.05.2006, as Co-ordinator, Entrepreneurship Development Cell, JNT University, Hyderabad from 01.08.2002 to 31.01.2004. He has edited three books and published 157 papers in International journals/International Conferences/ National Journals/ National Conferences.

He has Organized 12 Conferences/workshops, Delivered 15 invited lectures. He has Guided more than 60 M.Tech's, 12 Ph.D's and guiding at present several Ph.Ds. He has won Several Awards/ Prizes/Certificates. To name a few, Outstanding Concrete Engineer Award for the year 2012 by A.P. Chapter of the Indian Concrete Institute., Sir Arthur Cotton Memorial Prize by the Institute of Engineers (India) for the best paper in the IEI Journal, December, 2012), Sir Arthur Cotton Memorial Prize by the Institute of Engineers (India) in 2015, State Best Teacher Award for the year 2011 by the Government of Andhra Pradesh., Best Designer Award for year the 2004 by Indian Concrete Institute, AP, Hyderabad.