Nalanda 2.0 has an exceptional team Board of Directors, and Global Advisory Council consisting of leaders from the academia, industry and civil society. The team collectively has leadership, academic, administrative, and educational experiences from several world-class multidisciplinary research universities such as Stanford, Harvard, UC Berkeley and UC San Diego, and India's premier institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). Team also includes a growing group of volunteers and supporters.
empowering people. benefitting society.
Nalanda 2.0 has a growing group of dedicated volunteers. Some have been part of the journey since the inception and some have joined more recently. Their zeal, commitment, and value to advancing the mission is exemplary.
VOLUNTEERS
Subhamoy Das
Dr. Subhamoy Das is a Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford University. He completed his B.Tech in Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering from IIT Kharagpur and M.S.E. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from University of Texas, Austin. He was born and raised in Rourkela, Odisha.
He is volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 because: "I firmly believe that education is the key to the success of not only the individual but for the society, community and the country. Knowledge is power! I have personally embarked on the journey of becoming an academician to contribute to this noble cause. Nalanda 2.0's vision and ideas resonate with me. I'm passionate and hopeful that we will be able to bring Nalanda 2.0's mission to fruition."
Dr. Das has been an integral member of Nalanda 2.0 team since the inception. He is currently contributing to Nalanda 2.0 fundraising and related outreach efforts, and research for building for UFI initiative.
Vignesh Ganapathi-Subramanian
Dr. Vignesh Ganapathi-Subramanian is a AR/VR engineer at Apple. He received his PhD. from the EE Department at Stanford University and B.Tech in EE, M.Tech in communication engineering from IIT Madras. He was born and brought up in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
He is volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 because, "Over the course of my PhD., I realized the role a wholesome, world-class university can make to the way one thinks. I believe this is a crucial problem to be solved, and am excited to be involved with all of you on this mission."
Dr. Ganapathi-Subramanian has been volunteering since 2019. He is currently contributing to the social media outreach and building UFI initiative.
Pracheer Gupta
Mr. Pracheer Gupta is a MBA candidate at the Harvard Business School. Prior to that he was a founding engineer at HyperCube Inc., and a senior engineer with Amazon, Boston, building AI services for their cloud-computing division. He received his Masters from Cornell University, and B.Tech. from VIT, Vellore. He spent most of his childhood in New Delhi.
He is volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 because "Education plays a critical role in shaping lives, societies, and economies. This is especially true for institutes of higher education which serve as the nerve-center for path-breaking ideas, for new-age thinking and for solving the most critical of problems. As one of the fastest growing economies, India has multitude of complex economic and societal challenges ahead and world-class higher education holds a key to the solutions."
Mr. Gupta has been volunteering since 2018. He is currently contributing to survey and fundraising and related outreach efforts, and building UFI initiative.
Usha Rani Jonnalagadda
Ms. Usha RJ received B.Tech and M.Tech from IIT Madras and MBA from IIM Kozhikode. Currently, she works as a manager with Amazon. She was born and brought up in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh.
She volunteers at Nalanda 2.0 as she believes that “Wholesome education has the power to transform society by equipping individuals with original, free and responsible thinking. In the age of artificial intelligence, it is imperative that institutions impart not just the necessary skills, but also educate, sensitize of the impact on the surroundings. An interdisciplinary understanding is the way forward in order to create sustainable and effective systems. One such mindful effort is UFI of Nalanda 2.0 which aims in setting up an interdisciplinary world class University in India.”
Ms.Usha has been actively working with Nalanda 2.0 since early 2020. Currently, she is involved with social media efforts and building UFI initiative.
Shailabh Kumar
Dr. Shailabh Kumar is a Postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University. Formerly a post-doc at Caltech, he received his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and B. Tech/M. Tech - dual degree in Biotechnology from IIT Kharagpur. He was born and brought up in Patna, Bihar.
He is volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 because "I feel a strong resonance with the mission of Nalanda 2.0. Improvements in higher education and research in India have the capacity to turn into the country into a technological hub providing solutions to problems not only in the country but to the world. We have the potential to make significant impact in areas such as artificial intelligence, management of infectious diseases, overcoming antibiotic-resistance, climate change, water-management and sustainable energy. A higher education infrastructure which can lead our young population to innovate and solve such challenges are essential for India to accelerate as a major force in world economy."
Dr. Kumar has been an integral member of Nalanda 2.0 team since the inception. He is currently contributing to research for building for UFI initiative.
Srilakshmi Lingamneni
Ms. Srilakshmi Lingamneni is a PhD Candidate at Stanford University. She received her B. Tech from IIT Madras and MS from Stanford University. She was born and brought up in Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh.
She is volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 because "I strongly believe that India has immense potential yet to be unleashed. This can only be accomplished by making world class education available and affordable to one and all in India. Volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 is my way of working towards making this vision a reality."
Ms. Lingamneni has been actively working with Nalanda 2.0 since early 2018. Currently she is contributing to survey and related outreach efforts, and building UFI initiative.
Suryakumar Mane
Mr. Suryakumar Mane is an Assistant Manager at Bharat Dynamics Ltd, Hyderabad. He received his Bachelors of Technology (Honors) in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Gandhinagar. He was born and brought up in Kolhapur, Maharashtra.
He is volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 because “Nalanda 2.0 mission resonates with my perception of the education system. I gained insights from the book authored by Mr. Shail Kumar where in he has rightly pointed out the crisis and need for change in the education system. All stages (early, primary, secondary & higher education) of education in India need to be reformed. Higher Education is the immediate target to bring noticeable changes in the near future. With the growing technological advancement, research needs multi-disciplinary universities, a key factor for an innovative culture. ”
Mr. Mane has been volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 since 2018. He is currently contributing to fundraising and related outreach efforts, and research for building for UFI initiative.
Rakesh Misra
Dr. Rakesh Misra is Director, R&D at VMware. He previously co-founded Uhana (acquired by VMWare). He received his PhD from Stanford University, and B.Tech & M.Tech from IIT Madras. He was born in Bhubaneswar and grew up in Berhampur, Odisha.
He is volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 because he shares Nalanda 2.0's vision of a world-class higher education system in India.
Dr. Misra has been an integral member of Nalanda 2.0 team since the early days. He is contributing to Nalanda 2.0 across all its key initiatives: building Ekagrid, conducting research, drafting key documents, fundraising, outreach to donors, and social media.
Lavanya Poreddy
Ms Lavanya Poreddy is Program manager at Facebook Inc in Menlo Park, California. She received her B.Tech from College of Engg, Osmania University. She was born and brought up in Hyderabad, India.
She is volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 because "I am what I am today because of my higher education and I believe Nalanda 2.0's mission statement strives to provide similar opportunities to the youth. Higher education is critical to the growth of any country and I strongly believe that at the pace India's economy is growing that the higher education system is not ready to support and sustain the growth. There is more need than ever before to provide world class organization to Indians and Nalanda 2.0 is striving towards that."
Ms. Poreddy has been volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 since 2018. She is currently contributing to Nalanda 2.0's fundraising and outreach efforts.
Deepan Raj Prabakar
Dr. Deepan Raj Prabakar is a Post-Doctoral Researcher, Univ. of California at Irvine. Formerly a post-doc at Cornell, he received his Phd from UC Berkeley, and B.Tech./M.Tech. from IIT Madras, He was born and raised in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
He is volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 because "Transforming India's higher education is critical to prepare the growing young population for their lives and address many of India's grand challenges that accompanies the aspirations of this young population, which is food, water, health, clean environment and clean energy. In this regard, Nalanda 2.0's commitment for the same cause is timely, critical and commendable. Personally, I am very driven to do my part in addressing this grand challenge and so my support and time for Nalanda 2.0."
Dr. Prabakar has been an integral member of Nalanda 2.0 team since the inception. Currently he is contributing to several Nalanda 2.0 initiatives such as conducting research and reviewing key documents for the NCT of Delhi initiative, survey and related outreach efforts, and building UFI.
Dibyendu Rana
Mr. Dibyendu Rana is an engineer at Apple. He received his master’s degree from Texas A&M University and B.Tech from IIT Kharagpur. He was born and raise at Bokaro Steel City, Jharkhand.
He is volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 because "India’s transition from a poor nation to one of the fastest growing nation has been so far remarkable. But as we transition to a knowledge based economy, in order to sustain this growth, the vast potential of youth needs to be unlocked. Availability of world class higher education for the youth in India can truly transform our economy and lead India into the 21st century. Nalanda 2.0 is making a bold but necessary attempt to make this happen. Its success could fuel rest of the universities in India to seek similar excellence. Nalanda 2.0’s mission and the urgency to turbocharge India’s higher education through UFI resonates with me. "
Mr. Rana has been volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 since 2018. He is currently contributing to Nalanda 2.0's fundraising and related outreach efforts.
Hrishikesh Ranjalkar
Mr. Hrishikesh Ranjalkar is Principal Engineer for Special Projects at Sea6 Energy Private Limited headquartered in Bangalore. He received his Masters and Bachelors of Technology in Engineering Design from IIT Madras. He was born and brought up in Nizamabad, Telangana.
He is volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 because “India must invest in quality higher education to prepare the next generation for the challenges of the present and the future. It is a challenge that must be addressed immediately now. Nalanda 2.0 has a compelling vision for building world-class university of future in India. I am willing to contribute my time and efforts and work with the extraordinary team that is working towards the common goal."
Mr. Ranjalkar has been volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 since 2018. He is currently contributing to fundraising and related outreach efforts and research for building for UFI initiative.
Sumedha Rao
Ms. Sumedha Rao has a background in interdisciplinary sustainability, with a specialization in the urban and built environment. Currently, she leads the urban sustainability program at the Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC). Previously, she has worked in the green building and higher education sectors. Sumedha holds an MS in Sustainability Science from UMass Amherst and a BS in Environmental Science from St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore.
She is volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 because "India has no shortage of challenges, but we also do not lack in talent, innovation, and creativity to address them. We need a bold and comprehensive vision to nurture our intellectual potential through a world-class higher education system, build a knowledge economy, and solve these problems. Nalanda 2.0 has been making consistent progress towards developing and implementing this vision. This issue resonates with me strongly, and I am proud to be working with this exceptional team!"
Ms. Rao has been actively engaged with Nalanda 2.0 since early 2018. She is currently contributing to Nalanda 2.0 fundraising and outreach efforts.
Raj Shekhar Singh
Dr. Raj Shekhar Singh is a senior executive at Innovaccer Inc., San Francisco. He received his PhD from UC Berkeley and B.Tech. from IIT Kharagpur. He was born and brought up in Bokaro Steel City, Jharkhand.
He is volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 because "I firmly believe that higher education is one of the key challenges facing India and a key blocker in making India a developed nation in the next couple of decades. I can also have much more impact in actually helping to solve this problem with my background and experience. My personal friendship with Shail Kumar and belief in his leadership also motivates me to volunteer for Nalanda 2.0."
Dr. Singh has been an integral member of Nalanda 2.0 team since the inception. He is currently contributing to Nalanda 2.0's fundraising and outreach efforts and building UFI initiative.
Momo Singh
Ms. Momo Singh operates various social media accounts both in English and Chinese, as a freelance vloger and blogger, as well as a key opinion leader among China's online community. She received her bachelors in finance and accounting from Xiamen University, China and masters in finance from IESEG School of Management, France.
She is volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 because "I have benefitted greatly from China's higher education system. I grew up in China, when I was 18, there were 20 to 30 top tier universities I could choose from, each of them would grant me high chance of admission to top universities around the world for further education. And there were more than 200 second tier universities that were multidisciplinary, providing excellent quality of higher education. I believe India should develop a vibrant higher education system as soon as possible. Not only the huge mass of India's youth would have a brighter future. But as a nation to rise and stand tall in the world, higher education is surely on the top of the list."
Ms. Singh has been volunteering for Nalanda 2.0 since 2018. She is currently contributing to Nalanda 2.0’s social media and related outreach efforts.