Ranked 14th among India’s top 25 most powerful women, she has driven innovative strategies in education to enhance global outreach. She has served two terms on the University Grants Commission (UGC), the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), significantly influencing higher education policies.
As part of the UGC’s expert group on Global Outreach of Higher Education, Dr Vidya has contributed in the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020, introduced by the Ministry of Education. She also collaborates with the World Bank, the International Association of Universities (IAU), and Muscat University, Oman on various policy initiatives. Currently, she Chairs the FICCI Higher Education Committee (third term) and serves as the Vice President of Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA).
Dr Vidya’s influence spans cultural and administrative domains. She is a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Indian Museum, Kolkata, a Member of the Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC), and serves on multiple government, corporate, and not-for-profit boards, including Emcure Pharmaceuticals and Bajaj Holdings. She has been appointed as the inaugural Chair of the OBREAL Global India Chapter for a three-year term, showcasing her leadership in advancing global education initiatives. With hands-on experience in the field of Higher Education, in the year 2016, she published a book titled “Internationalisation of Higher Education in India.”
She has served as a member of the Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme (EQUIP) Committee under the Ministry of Education. She has contributed to the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, Yeshwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University, the State Knowledge Advisory Board of Higher Education in Andhra Pradesh and the Sub-Group on Higher and Technical Education and Skill Development under the Chief Minister’s Advisory Council in Rajasthan.
Her relentless efforts have earned her numerous awards and accolades, reflecting her commitment towards higher education research, innovation and excellence. Through her visionary leadership and continuous endeavour, Dr Vidya plays a pivotal role in elevating Symbiosis to its esteemed status and is now focused on shaping the global impact of Indian higher education, particularly through her dedication to the internationalization of higher education.

Since founding the Manipal Centre for European Studies (MCES) in 2009, Dr Neeta has been instrumental in its evolution into India's first Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence. Over the past 13 years, her leadership has garnered grants totalling nearly two million euros, enabling the establishment and growth of pivotal initiatives. Under her guidance, the Centre for Foreign Languages and the Dvaita Philosophy Resource Centre have expanded into the Department of Languages and the Department of Philosophy at MAHE. She also established the Centre for Intercultural Studies and Dialogue, which facilitates summer and winter schools for students in Europe and India. Furthermore, the Centre for Education Research (CER), founded in 2018, has emerged as a hub for education-focused research.

Dr Neeta's academic contributions include leading a Jean Monnet Module (2014–2017) and a Jean Monnet Project (2015–2017) on the Bologna Process and Internationalization of Higher Education. Her achievements earned her the prestigious Jean Monnet Chair (2017–2020) and the designation of Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence for MCES in 2018. She also initiated India's first master’s program in European Studies in 2010, which remains a flagship program of the Centre.

In addition to her academic accomplishments, Dr Neeta served as Principal Coordinator for a Capacity Building Project in Higher Education (CBHE) on Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), worth of over half a million euros aimed at promoting bilingual teaching in India's multilingual education system. As an authority in higher education research, she consults for universities on internationalization strategies and has co-edited three notable books: Internationalization of Higher Education: The Dynamics of Educational Ecology (2019), Contours of India-EU Engagements: Multiplicity of Experiences (2021), and Reimagining Borders in Cross-border Education (2022). She is also the Founding Secretary of the Association of European Studies in India.

With over a decade of experience in fostering international collaborations, Dr Neeta supervises PhD research on topics including internationalization of higher education, global citizenship education, higher education regionalism and the like. Her active participation in international consortia, such as IESCP, IBIES, Marie Curie Programs, and CLIL@India, reflects her global outreach. Recently, she was honoured with a Fellowship by the India Higher Education Research Network (IHERN), where she is actively involved in strengthening the network further.

Currently, Dr Neeta leads the Symbiosis Centre for Higher Education Research and Policy Advocacy (SCHERPA). Her vision includes developing it into a premier policy observatory on higher education, assembling a team of researchers to synthesize national research efforts, and producing outputs aligned with India’s educational priorities.

She has played a significant role in establishing one of India’s leading schools of Economics, committed to providing students with an educational journey – of academic excellence and lifelong learning. She is also responsible for nurturing and creating the Symbiosis Centre for Urban Studies. Her research areas include topics associated with Urban Economic Development (urban poverty, urban infrastructure, urban mobility, urban policy, etc.), Further, Prof Jyoti keenly studies and follows contemporary trends in International Development Cooperation – from the MDGs to the SDGs and beyond. She is presently working on Pune - centric cases, which include census towns in the Pune district, calculating city GDP for Pune (PMC), future of growth in PMRDA, and growth strategies for districts of Maharashtra. She has been guiding a number of PhD scholars and has also undertaken various research projects and consultancy projects in collaboration with NABARD, NIUA, ITDP, Cybage India, Sulochana Thapar Foundation, and many other reputed think tanks in India. She also undertakes impact evaluation and assessments of corporate CSR initiatives.

At SSLA, Dr Deshpande provides strategic leadership in curriculum design, academic governance, faculty development, and internationalisation. She has played a key role in advancing global engagement through international partnerships, collaborative research, COIL and virtual exchange initiatives, visiting faculty programmes, and joint academic events with institutions across Asia, Europe, and North America. She conceptualised and implemented the CBALwRAS (Curriculum- Based Academic Learning with Research, Action, and Service) model, integrating academic learning with community engagement and socially impactful research. Through these initiatives, she continues to strengthen SSLA’s global outlook while ensuring that internationalisation remains grounded in local contexts, intercultural dialogue, and meaningful student learning

Dr Dani holds an M.S. in Higher Education and Administration and Policy from Northwestern University, Chicago, USA, and a PhD in Educational Leadership from Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand, with a management cognate from the Kellogg School of Management, USA. Her foundational training in English Literature, Linguistics, Psychology, and Philosophy informs her interdisciplinary approach to educational research and leadership studies.

Her research lies at the intersection of higher education leadership, curriculum reform, sustainability, and policy implementation, with emphasis on academic leadership models, curriculum governance, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary undergraduate education (NEP-aligned), sustainability and financial resilience, global citizenship, internationalisation, equity, affordability, and instructional resource policy.

Her doctoral research led to the development of an academic leadership model contextualised for Indian higher education, contributing to leadership discourse in emerging education systems.

Dr Dani’s work has been published in peer-reviewed, Scopus-indexed journals and presented at international conferences across education, sustainability, finance, and management. She mentors doctoral scholars across Education, Humanities, Management, and Social Sciences, with a focus on policy-relevant and institutionally impactful research.

Her research philosophy is grounded in the belief that educational leadership is both an intellectual and ethical practice—one that must respond to policy, society, and student realities while remaining academically rigorous and globally informed.

Her research spans educational psychology, mind mapping, assessment frameworks, life skills, and multiculturalism in education, with publications in Scopus-indexed journals and national and international conferences. She has been honoured with one National Award by NCERT (2021) for her project work in school education. Apart from this she has also completed many sponsored Projects from different funding agencies over the years. She has 12 literary copyrights to her credit.

At Symbiosis, Dr Mitra oversees the functioning of seven schools across Maharashtra (IB, CBSE, SSC, and pre-primary), driving curriculum innovation aligned with NEP 2020, professional development for teachers, international collaborations, university – school partnerships and student exchange programs. She has conceptualized initiatives like Symbi-Inspire, Books for a Cause, Abhivyakti, Global Culture in Local Classrooms, Symbi Mirror, and has been instrumental in planning and executing many study tours to Japan and Singapore.

Widely invited as a national level resource person under the Malviya Mission Training Programme and as a faculty development expert, she regularly delivers sessions on differentiated instruction, alternative assessments, life skills, mind mapping, work-life balance, and NEP based reflective teaching. Her collaborations with many Universities and international students’ internship programs reflect her strong commitment to global education.

Dr Mitra’s work embodies a blend of research, innovation, leadership, and internationalization, with a vision to transform education into a more learner-centric, holistic, and globally connected system.

Her areas of work include Andragogy, Educational Technology, differentiated instruction and assessment, and Inclusion in Higher Education. Over the past 12 years, she has led the organisation of over 800 Faculty Development Programmes, engaging national and international experts from academia and industry. These FDPs span domains such as Andragogy, Techno-Pedagogy, emotional well-being, and subject-specific pedagogy.

She is listed as a Resource Person for topics related to Information and Communication in Education under the Malaviya Mission Scheme – Teachers' Training program, an initiative of the Government of India. https://mmc.ugc.ac.in/Home

She also oversees MOOC creation at SIU and training under MoU with MSFDA, focusing on Techno-Pedagogy and Active Learning across Maharashtra.

She is an approved PhD Supervisor at SIU and is currently guiding three researchers, and mentoring scholars at Lincoln University College, Malaysia.

Teaching is her passion, and she remains deeply committed to research, innovation, and value-based education.

Dr Piplani Kapur represents India as the youngest and only Indian (Asian) elected member of the General Council—the highest governing body—of the European Association for International Education (EAIE), based in the Netherlands. With over 15 years of experience in international higher education, her work focuses on advancing internationalisation through institutional strategy, policy development, and practice-led initiatives, while strengthening research, innovation, and engagement across the EU–India corridor.

At Symbiosis, she conceptualised and established the Symbiosis Centre for European Studies (SCES), facilitating research-driven and strategic partnerships with European institutions. She works closely with the Delegation of the European Union to India and diplomatic missions of EU Member States to foster collaboration in research, innovation, and higher education.

She has led and contributed to projects in collaboration with key national and international stakeholders, including AIU, FICCI, WICCI, the European Commission, the Delegation of the European Union to India, the British Council, and the World Bank, aimed at advancing the internationalisation of Indian higher education.

Dr Piplani Kapur is a recipient of the Europe–India 40 Under 40 Leaders Award (2021) and is a Founding Member of the WICCI India–EU Business Council, advocating stronger India–EU relations with a focus on women’s leadership.

Her research and policy interests include internationalisation of higher education, Internationalisation at Home (IaH), Internationalisation of the Curriculum (IoC), global and comparative higher education policy, global citizenship education, equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), sustainable internationalisation, and India–EU higher education cooperation and knowledge diplomacy.

A recipient of gold medals in both B.Sc. (Zoology) and B.Ed. from Nagpur University and a topper in M.Ed. from Savitribai Phule Pune University, she holds dual master's degrees in Science (Chemistry) and Education, has qualified the UGC-NET, and a Ph.D. in Education. With over 15 years of experience in teacher education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, she has contributed significantly to reputed institutions, including Savitribai Phule Pune University and MIT World Peace University.

A recognized Ph.D. supervisor at SIU, Dr Ashwini focuses her research on inclusive education, teacher training, learner engagement, and educational assessment. She has authored 30 research publications in peer-reviewed, UGC-CARE listed and Scopus-indexed journals and has successfully mentored more than 30 postgraduate research projects.

Her academic contributions include completing both minor and major funded research projects and receiving numerous accolades, such as the Best Paper Award (Education), 2022, in the National Conference and a Silver Medal in the SWAYAM MOOC on Designing Learner-Centric MOOCs (IIT Bombay). Beyond academia, she actively contributes as a resource person, guest speaker, jury member, and expert in various faculty development and capacity-building initiatives. She has actively contributed to a diverse range of institutional initiatives and projects, including UGC-MMTTCs, ISSER, MSFDA, YCMOU, IGNOU, and several leading schools, thereby strengthening teacher education and advancing professional development.

Her doctoral research focused on the development and effectiveness of an inclusive teaching competency model, employing mixed-methods and product development approaches. She has published in UGC CARE and SCOPUS-indexed Q2 journals, authored a book on Inclusive Teaching Competency, and contributed book chapters to edited volumes.

Her scholarly work engages with contemporary issues in education, including inclusive pedagogies and policies, assessment literacy, open educational resources, and the integration of AI and digital tools in the teaching-learning processes. Her research interests center on inclusive education, teacher education and development, research methodology in education, and educational technology.

His areas of teaching expertise include Science Education, Biology Education, Inclusive Education, Educational Technology, Action Research, Classroom and School Management, Assessment for Learning, Gender, School and Society, and advanced pedagogy courses across teacher education programs. His research areas include Multilingual Education, Science Education, Biology Education, and Inclusive Education, focusing on gender diversity, disability inclusion, transgender education, and health-related inclusion in schools.

He has contributed extensively to institutional development through administrative responsibilities such as IQAC Coordinator, Examination In-charge, Research Cell Coordinator, Nodal Officer for Gender Champion Club, Persons with Disabilities, and AISHE. He is also an active resource person and invited speaker, delivering sessions for SCERT, ONGC training programmes, AICTE–STTP initiatives, national seminars, colleges of education, higher education institutions, and government bodies.

Currently, her research is on the global politics of higher education, keenly working at the intersection of international relations and international higher education research. Her ongoing work reflects a strong commitment to deepening knowledge in these areas and contributing meaningfully to both academic research and policy discussions. She is actively involved in the research project on higher education regionalism.

In the last couple of years, she has been writing for popular media as well as research journals in the area of conflict and peace studies and higher education. She has a few research articles and book chapters to her credit.

At SCHERPA, she plays a central role in managing day-to-day administrative operations. She supports the Centre’s academic and research activities through effective coordination of meetings, documentation, institutional communication, and internal workflows.

Known for her professionalism, clarity, and commitment to process efficiency, she contributes significantly to the smooth functioning and administrative strength of SCHERPA.