UPES appoints top academic leaders as deans to drive innovation in Health Sciences and Technology, Computer Science, and Design Education
New Delhi/Dehradun, March 22, 2023: UPES, a leading private multidisciplinary university recently announced the appointment of Deans for three schools- The school of Health Sciences and Technology, School of Design, and School of Computer Science. These appointments will boost the university’s efforts to further enhance its pedagogy, research, and overall student experience across its respective schools.
UPES welcomes Dr. Padma Venkat as the Dean for the School of Health Sciences and Technology. She brings with her 31+ years of experience in the fields of Microbiology, Biochemistry, Phytochemistry, Ayurveda, and Public Health. She was previously Dean, the School of Public Health at SRM Institute of Science & Technology. Earlier to that she worked at the Trans-Disciplinary University, Bangalore, and the University of Cambridge, UK. She completed her Ph.D. from Queens’ College, University of Cambridge, UK, her MMgmt program (International Masters for Health Leadership) from McGill University, Canada, and her M.Sc. (Applied Microbiology) from Bharathiar University, Coimbatore. Her research and outreach have mainly been on safe drinking water, anemia, wellness, and nutrition. Her current focus is on integrating innovative pedagogies to achieve wellness and sustainability in university campuses. She has published numerous articles in scientific journals and is a part of scientific advisory bodies.
An esteemed illustrator and award-winning designer, Professor Phani Tetali joins UPES as Dean of School of Design. An animator, educator, and cartoonist with more than 30 years of experience, he was the Head of IDC School of Design, IIT, Bombay prior to joining UPES. He has also been associated with the animation and gaming industry in India for 18 years before joining the academic domain. He has been imparting his knowledge on character design, game design, animation processes and principles, drawing, and sequential storytelling to students. As Vice President and CTO, he was involved in establishing and running some of the biggest animation and gaming studios in India like DQ Entertainment, Danlaw Technologies, and FXLabs in Hyderabad, India. He completed his B.Tech from the Institute of Technology, BHU, and Master of Design in Visual Communication from the Industrial Design Centre, IIT, Bombay.
Dr. Ravi Shankar Iyer joins UPES as Dean, the School of Computer Science, with over 25 years of global experience in transforming ideas into successful products and businesses. Dr. Iyer is an expert in the conceptualization, design, development, and management of large-scale and complex distribution systems, leveraging technologies for operational efficiencies and resilience. In the past, he has been associated with Siemens, Motorola, and Conexant and has founded and mentored over 30 start-ups. He was recently the CEO of the Accenture Centre of Excellence at IIT Madras. He is an IIT Madras graduate and completed his MS and Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
On the appointments, Dr. Ram Sharma, Vice Chancellor at UPES, shared “We are delighted to welcome our new Deans. Their knowledge and vision in their respective fields will undoubtedly strengthen the innovative capabilities of their respective schools and of UPES. Their profound expertise will help enhance our academic programmes and we welcome their contributions as we work to achieve our goal of transforming students into change-makers and leaders of tomorrow.”
