An Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay alumnus of BTech 1969 Electrical Engineering batch has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Institute's Board of Governors (BoG). Dr Sharad Saraf is the new Chairperson of IIT Bombay's BoG now. Dr Saraf has been serving as a member of the BoG at IIT Bombay for the past four years and is also serving as the Chairperson of the BoG at IIT Jammu. He is currently the Chairman and Managing Director of Technocraft Industries India Ltd., which he co-founded in 1972 along with his brother, IIT Bombay alumnus Sudarshan Kumar Saraf.
“This is the first time an alumnus of IIT Bombay has been bestowed with this prestigious status,” an IIT Bombay statement said. The position of Chairperson, Board of Governors, IIT Bombay was earlier held by Dr Pawan Goenka, Chairperson of INSPACe - Department of Space, Government of India.
Commenting on his recent appointment, Dr Saraf said: “I am very excited about this new responsibility that I have been granted. This is the first time in history that an alumnus of IIT Bombay has been appointed as the Chairperson of BoG and I think this is a very bold step by the Ministry of Education.”
Enumerating a three-fold objective as the Chairperson of BoG at IIT Bombay, Dr Saraf said that he wants to improve the quality of education and student life at the IIT Bombay campus, focus on research work that is relevant and commercially viable and support start-ups, especially those that are being funded by the alumni.
Speaking of Dr Saraf's appointment, Professor Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director, IIT Bombay said: “It gives me immense joy to see a member of the IIT Bombay family being appointed as the Chairperson of the Institute's Board of Governors. I would like to thank Dr. Pawan Goenka for his visionary leadership that has contributed to IIT Bombay's continued success.”
“I am confident that with his expertise as well as commendable work over the past years, Dr Saraf will make his alma mater soar to new heights. I look forward to collaborating with him on this shared mission,” he added.
