Introduction
The Educational and Research Divisions of the Trust / Society i.e. Finolex Academy of Management and Technology (FAMT), Ratnagiri; International Institute of Information Technology (I²IT), Pune and the Pralhad P. Chhabria Research Center (PPCRC), Pune are entering a challenging and exciting phase in the field of higher education and research.
The Advisory Council of the Hope Foundation and Research Centre (Hope Foundation) has been set up comprising of eminent personalities with respected knowledge and rich experience to provide the right impetus to our educational and research divisions to strengthen the academic, research and development in India.
Members of the Advisory Council
Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, FRS
Padma Vibhushan Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, National Research Professor, is presently also the President of Global Research Alliance, a network of publicly funded R&D institutes from Asia-Pacific, Europe and USA with over 60,000 scientists.
Dr. Mashelkar served as the Director General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), with thirty-eight laboratories and about 20,000 employees for over eleven years. He was also the President of Indian National Science Academy and President of Institution of Chemical Engineers (UK). Deeply connected with the innovation movement in India, Dr. Mashelkar is currently the Chairman of India’s National Innovation Foundation, Reliance Innovation Council, KPIT Technologies Innovation Council, Persistent Systems Innovation Council and Marico Foundation’s Governing Council. He co-chairs the Maharashtra State Innovation Council.
Dr. B. B. Ahuja
Prof. B. B. Ahuja is the Director, College of Engineering, Pune and Professor at Department Production Engineering & Industrial Management.
Prof. B. B. Ahuja is a graduate in Mechanical Engineering with a post-graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering. For his doctorate, he did his research in the area of Hybrid Bearing Design for High Speed Spindles at College of Engineering, Pune (COEP). He also holds a Master’s degree in Management Science. He has to his credit over 130 technical published papers in National & International Journals and Conferences.
For his zeal and commitment recognizing his excellent teaching skills he was honoured with Best Teacher Award by Government of Maharashtra in the year 2009-10.
Mr. Nanik Rupani
Nanik Rupani is an Indian Entrepreneur and Philanthropist who is the Chairman of Roopmeck Electricals Pvt. Ltd. He is also the Chairman, Emeritus of Priyadarshni Academy, Mumbai; a prominent NGO which provides educational scholarships to needy and deserving students. He is also Director of Echo Valley Developers, Points Projects Pvt. Ltd. and Aon Global Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd.
Nanik Rupani was honoured with an opportunity of addressing the Central Hall of Parliament where the Academy paid a tribute to the nation’s beloved leader, late Mr. Rajiv Gandhi. He has arranged Film Talent Contests and contributed large amounts for the welfare fund of three wings of India’s Defence Forces – 1971. He was also conferred with H.H. Jagadguru Sankaracharya Sri Jayendra Saraswati 3rd National Eminence Award 2003, the first Kriyasheel Global Award from Sadguru Shri Mangeshda Kriya Yoga Foundation and many more awards in his credit.
Mr. Shyam G. Raheja
Raheja Realty has been an integral part of India’s real estate landscape over the last six decades. With three generations into the business, the group has truly perfected its craft and developed numerous landmark projects. Ethics, Experience and Expertise are the pillars that sustain S. Raheja Realty Pvt. Ltd.
In the corporate development vertical, S. Raheja undertakes the designing, building, and interior work as per the client’s specification and hands over a completed, ready to use work environment. The group also strongly believes in multiple uses of one space. An example of this is the Hinduja Healthcare and Surgical, Khar (W) which blends healthcare and hospitality to create a boutique experience.
Today, S. Raheja paves the way forward with a vision to incorporate evolved architectural practices and develop projects that are both sustainable and secure. Civil engineers and architects at the management level coupled and an integrated team of experts; enable the group to deliver on its commitment to quality and efficiency.
Dr. Ganesh Natarajan
Dr. Ganesh Natarajan is the Executive Chairman and Founder of 5F World, a platform for Digital Start-ups, Skills and Social Ventures in the country. He is also the Chairman of Global Talent Track and Skills Alpha and a Co-Founder of two Indo-US Joint Ventures – Kalzoom Advisors and the Center for AI and Advanced Analytics.
Ganesh is also the Global Board Director and Chairman of the India Board of Social Venture Partners and Chairman of Pune City Connect, a unique collaborative platform that enables corporations to work with the Government on social and city innovation.
Dr. SrikanthThiagarajan
Dr. SrikanthThiagarajan is a Medical devices expert and an academic researcher in applied computation related to bio-signals and images. Previous academic and research experience in IIT Chennai, University of California, San Diego along with academic teaching and management experience at I²IT shaped the teaching and research expertise of Dr. Srikanth Thiagarajan.
Dr. Srikanth is currently in a leadership role in research and development in Philips Healthcare, North America, as part of Connected Sensing group. He is the author of more than 30 Journal and conference publications and 5 International Patents on Bio-signal processing.
Dr. Sujata Naik – Tolani
Dr. Sujata Naik – Tolani by profession is a medical doctor since 1985, with a Master of Surgery in Otolaryngology. Later, she moved to the US and obtained professional certifications from the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care Medicine.
Dr. Sujata Naik – Tolani has also been on the Board of Tolani Group of Companies since 1984, often participating in the activities of development of higher education by the group companies and charitable trusts promoted by the Group.
In 2007, she was elected Vice Chairperson of the Board of Tolani Shipping Company Limited and in 2009; she was appointed Chairperson of the Board of Tolani Shipping Company Limited. Since then, she is actively steering the growth and well-being of the Company. Dr. Sujata Naik – Tolani is also the Chairperson of the Governing Body of Tolani College of Commerce and the Governing Council of the Tolani Maritime Institute.
Mr. Rajiv Vaishnav
Rajiv is heading the Ecosystem & Partnerships Development at GenNext Hub, a Reliance Enterprise. In this role, Rajiv is responsible to evangelize the Start-Up ecosystem, identify and connect with the deserving start-ups, academia, government agencies, mentors, angel investors and VC networks globally.
He was the Vice President – Member Outreach at NASSCOM for over 13 years. He has been an integral part of NASSCOM’s Trusted Sourcing Initiative and has led the Cyber Labs and cyber awareness initiatives in Mumbai, Thane and Pune in partnership with the enforcement agencies.
Narendra Goidani
Narendra is the Founder of Life School and has been conducting inspirational training programs for people from all walks of life, for more than 14 years now. His main focus is training people on “EMPOWERED LIVING”. He has a magical ability to identify talent and nurture it. He is a mentor to thousands across the globe. His emphatic long standing ‘Life Value’ has been these three words, ‘Inspire OR Expire’.
He believes the youth of this country have the potential to bring India its deserved pedestal in the world. To empower students towards this destination, he has started a social initiative – “Keep Moving Movement”.
Prof. Dr. Aditya Abhyankar
Aditya Abhyankar received the BE degree in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from Pune University in 2001. He received MS and Ph.D. degrees from Clarkson University, New York, USA in 2003 and 2006 respectively. He worked as a post-doctoral fellow at Clarkson University in the academic year 2006-07. He worked as a consultant for Biometrics LLC, West Virginia, USA in 2007. Currently he is Dean, Faculty of Technology, University of Pune and Professor, Department of Technology, University of Pune and Research Associate at Clarkson University. He is on lien from his duties as Professor at Computer Engineering Department of Vishvakarma Institute of Information Technology (VIIT), Pune and Dean of R&D and Director of CERD (Center for Excellence in Research and Development) at VIIT, Pune. He is also associated as Adjunct Professor with Government College of Engineering, Pune (COEP). He is an approved Ph.D. guide of University of Pune and is guiding students at multiple research institutes. He has also obtained an MBA degree with specialization in Finance in 2013 and MA degree in Sanskrit with specialization in Vedant in 2012. He is involved in consultancy with number of private industries. His research interests include signal and image processing, pattern recognition, wavelet analysis, biometric systems and bioinformatics, machine learning, computer vision, data analytics etc. He has in his name 8 US and 12 Indian patents and has received national and international awards.
Mr. Sameer Dua
Founder, Institute for Generative Leadership, India Founder, Gift Your Organ Foundation Bestselling Author: Declaring Breakdowns-Powerfully creating a future that matters, through 6 simple steps Second book, published by Harper Collins Publishers, the number 1 publishing company in the world, being released in November 2018. The book is titled “Become-The 5 critical conversational practices that shift ‘who you be’ as a leader” TEDx Speaker Over 25 years of experience in the field of management and leadership education, and worked with program participants from 52 different countries Clients include organisations like Mercedes Benz, John Deere, Siemens, NetApp, T-Systems, BMC Software, Reliance Entertainment, Faurecia, amongst many other global and Indian organisations Leadership faculty member for the Naval Higher Command Course at the Naval War College, Goa Lead institutions in India and in the UK, and worked with top global universities from the US and the UK.
