People

 

The DSSE team comprises three full-time faculty members, five adjunct faculty members, four officers and four support staff. The post-graduate committee includes seven inter-disciplinary faculty members to review and approve various activities of the School. The advisory committee includes ten senior faculty and industry professionals, who provide global perspective and strategic direction to various activities of the School.

​

​

​

​

Core Faculty

​

Core faculty are full-time professors of IIT Bombay associated with DSSE activities, including administration, courses, programs and outreach activities.

​

​

Prof. Bhallamudi Ravi

​

Prof. B. Ravi is Institute Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Professor-in-Charge of DSSE since July 2019. He is also founder of E-Foundry, OrthoCAD and BETiC (Biomedical Engineering and Technology incubation Centre) labs at IIT Bombay. He is well-known for translational research and product development leading to technology licensing to industry, especially in metal casting and medical device sectors. He has mentored many innovators and start-up companies, who have successfully launched their product in the market. His work is recognized by India Innovation Growth Programme Gold Medal, Abdul Kalam Technology Innovation National Fellowship, HH Mathur Award for Excellence in Applied Sciences and PK Patwardhan Technology Development award. He is a Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineers, member of governing councils of a few institutes, and expert committee member for BIRAC, DBT, DST, DSIR, MHRD, MSME and other agencies.

​

​

​

Prof. Milind Atrey

​

Prof. Milind Atrey is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and in-charge of the Refrigeration and Cryogenics Laboratory. He was Professor-in-Charge of SINE – Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship during 2012-2018, and is currently Dean (R&D), Industrial Research & Consultancy Centre at IIT Bombay. He is closely associated with DSSE since its inception and teaches in entrepreneurship courses as well as outreach programs. Earlier, Prof. Atrey acquired hands-on experience in technology development and product innovation through his stints at Tata Research Development and Design Centre, Pune; Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore; University of Giessen, Germany; and Oxford Instruments Superconductivity, UK. At IITB, he developed various pulse tube cryocoolers, mixed refrigerant Joule-Thomson cryocoolers and thermo-acoustic coolers supported by DAE, DST and ISRO. His recent research includes cryogenic heat pipe, cold compressors, heat exchangers and cryosurgery. His work has been recognized through several honours and awards, including Fellowship of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (UK), Dr. PK Patwardhan Technology Development award and IRCC Industrial Impact Award at IIT Bombay.

​

​

​

Prof. P. Kumaresan

​

Prof. P. Kumaresan is Assistant Professor specializing in product design at IDC School of Desig/n in IIT Bombay. He is in-charge of Ignition Studio – the Proof of Concept Centre of DSSE, and also involved with research activities of Bamboo Studio. He has Bachelors in Architecture from School of Architecture and Planning, Anna University, Chennai and Masters in Design from IDC, IITB. 

​

He worked as a product designer in different companies and at Kanwal Rekhi School of Information Technology, IITB in a variety of areas ranging from craft to ICT products, before joining IDC as full-time faculty. He handles the Proof of Concept (Basic and Advanced) lab courses for DSSE students, and two courses related to design and communication skills for IDC students. He also contributes to all design and signage related decisions of the School.

​

​

​

Adjunct Faculty

​

​

Prof. Anand T. Kusre

​

Prof. Anand Kusre has been Professor of innovation and entrepreneurship in Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management at IIT Bombay, and Professor-in-Charge of DSSE from 2014 to 2019, after which he continues to be associated as adjunct professor. He has over 30 years’ experience in commercial and development banking. He has been responsible for formulation and implementation of national and international programs aimed at development and commercialization of new technologies. He has been associated with more than 250 companies and institutions as well as a large number of first-generation entrepreneurs. He is member of governing board of the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India and Member of High-Powered Committee, New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative.

​

​

Prof. Devdip Purkayastha

​

Devdip has three decades of Country & Indo-Pacific level experience with global leading companies such as P&G and DHL. He has served in a variety of CEO, Strategy, Marketing, Sales and Business Restructuring assignments.

​

Currently Devdip serves as President – Enactus India. Enactus is the global leading community of Students, Academicians, Social Entrepreneurs & Business Leaders working to ‘Create a Better World’. Around the world, over 70,000 students across 37 countries and 1700 colleges are working on Enactus Projects to empower the under-privileged & improve the planet Devdip is also an Adjunct Professor at the Center of Entrepreneurship – IIT Bombay where he teaches entrepreneurship courses & mentors high technology startups. He is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur & IIM Calcutta, and attended Executive Programs at Wharton and INSEAD.

​

​

Prof. Rajen Jaswa

​

Raj Jaswa is an accomplished technology entrepreneur. He became the CEO of Dyyno in 2009. Dyyno's user-friendly communication platform seamlessly transports audio, video, text, graphics and voice for live, interactive instant sharing with audiences of unlimited size across multiple devices. From 2003-2008, he volunteered full-time for TiE Silicon Valley, serving as President from 2005 to 2008 and as a Director from 2003 to 2004. TiE is the world’s largest nonprofit dedicated to helping entrepreneurs. Raj continues to serve on TiE’s Global Board of Trustees. Before TiE, Raj was co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Selectica from 1996 to 2002.  Selectica went public in 2000 with a peak market value of $5 billion, and was named to the Forbes 500, Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 500, Software 500, Inc 500, and Interactive Week 500. Previously, Raj co-founded Opti in 1988, where he served first as EVP of Sales and Marketing and then as President until 1996. 

​

He received a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto, and an MBA from Stetson University.

​

​

Prof. Rajkumar R. Hirwani

​

Dr. Raj Hirwani has nearly 40 years of techno-commercial experience in Research and Industry. He holds a Ph.D. in Technology Management from IIT, Mumbai. He is a Fulbright Scholar and was recipient of Hubert Humphrey Fellowship in Technology Policy and Management. His focus is on IP Management in Academic and Publicly funded R&D Institutions .Till recently he was Head of Intellectual Property Directorate in CSIR and Director of CSIR’s Unit for Research and Development of Information Products (URDIP) at Pune. He pioneered the Patent Analytics services in the country.   He coordinated World Bank funded Technology Institutions Support Services programme at NCL. He was a member of World Bank Consultancy Team for Strengthening of R &D Institutions in China and Indonesia. He has won many national awards and honors. He is also member of number of CSIR and Government committees. He has traveled world over in a number of countries on official assignments and addressed international audience at WIPO, Geneva; Washington, USA and Fukuoka, Japan.

​

​

Prof. Vinay Dabholkar

​

Vinay works as a catalyst in three areas: systematic innovation, design thinking and mindfulness. Since starting his consulting practice in 2006, Vinay has worked with 50+ organizations in various sectors such as IT, manufacturing, aerospace, telecom, banking, apparel, energy, healthcare and education based in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkatta, Kuppam, Mumbai, Pune, Raipur, Sydney and Veraval. He is currently a visiting faculty at IIM Bangalore and IIT Bombay. “8 steps to innovation: Going from jugaad to excellence”, a book co-authored by Vinay, was awarded first prize by Indian Society of Training and Development (2014). Vinay has facilitated 100+ workshops on innovation and design thinking in corporate, Government and social sectors. As a visiting faculty, Vinay has taught innovation management and design thinking at IIM Bangalore since 2011. He has also taught at IIT Bombay (2016-17), IIM Indore (2016), TISS Mumbai (2011-14), IIM Visakhapatnam (2018). He has been an invited speaker at various events such as CII India Innovation Summit, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Innovation Educators’ Conference (IEC), CIO leadership forum. Before starting consulting career, he has spent over a decade in the IT industry in Motorola, Austin and Sasken, Bangalore. Vinay did his Ph.D. in Computer Science from SUNY Buffalo and B.Tech. in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Bombay.

​

​

Prof. Salil Donde

​

An alumnus of the Institute he brings with him rich industry experience in leading technology and data companies; has a diverse background in the broader financial services industry and a proven track record of transforming companies and creating value for shareholders. Mr Salil Donde has been Head, Global Information Services and Executive Vice President, Nasdaq OMX Group INC. He is responsible for leading the strategic direction of the business and manages the success and growth of Nasdaq's current data and index products.

He is the Managing Director for Sterling Atlantic Partners. Some positions held by Mr Donde inlcude President, Rackley Solutions Inc., CEO, Lewtan Technologies, Inc., CEO, Marshall & Swift, President, Fizerv's Life & Financial Software and Solutions Business, President, Vertafore, Inc., Managing Director and Senior Vice President, The Hartford Steamboiler Inspection and Insurance Company, President, Ascent Computing Group, Inc.

​

​

​

Support Team

​

​

Dr. Aparna Rao

​

Dr. Aparna Rao is senior project manager at DSSE, overseeing all operations and coordinating various courses as well as hand-holding student startups. She holds a doctorate in management and double master’s in management and English. Her experience of over 25 years spans KG to PG, including corporate training for communication and soft skills as well as institutional sales and consultancy. Starting her career with Bhavan’s College, Andheri, she has been associated with several engineering and business schools in Mumbai including SPCE, SPIT, Fr. Agnel’s, DBIT, JBIMS, KJ Somaiya, SIES and Chetana’s. She also consults for educational institutions and is a Cambridge certified English Language Examiner.

​

​

​

Dr. Love Sarin

​

Dr. Love Sarin is the coordinator for various mentoring programs of DSSE, including IDEAS-MAP, I-WiE and I-NCUBATE. He is an alumnus of IIT Bombay (B.Tech, Chemical Engineering, 2004), and has a PhD from Brown University (2010). He holds 4 US patents. He has won grants from the National Science Foundation (USA), taught entrepreneurship programs for TiE Boston and co-founded an entrepreneurial venture in the USA. After returning to India in 2012, he worked in Reliance Industries before joining DSSE in 2018. Dr. Love leverages his rich experience in R&D, innovation management and business development for mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs.

​

​

​

Shakti Prasad Tripathy

​

Shakti Tripathy is project manager at DSSE, handling a variety of responsibilities, including system administration, interfacing with the student bodies (E-Cell, Tinkering Lab, STAB) and mentoring early stage student start-ups. He also coordinates partner events such as E-Summit and TechConnect. He has a bachelor’s in Civil Engineering and master’s from The Energy and Resources Institute School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi (2010). He worked at Accenture and Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission for a few years before joining DSSE in 2014. He has been associated with entrepreneurship since his college days and enjoys teaching and writing in his free time.

​

​

​

Rachana Shiriskar

​

Rachana Shiriskar is project manager at DSSE, handling all information and documentation (soft and hard) as well as the logistics associated with various programs and events. She holds a diploma in Textile Engineering from VJTI Mumbai, followed by an MBA in operations management. She worked in the apparel export industry for over ten years, gaining rich experience in liaising with international clients and coordinating with multiple departments. In 2012 she came to IIT Bombay and worked in the Train 10,000 Teachers (T10KT) program for five

years before joining DSCE.

​

​

​

Shweta Mane

​

Shweta Mane is assistant project manager at DSSE, leading the accounts team. She handles all purchases, students’ grant release, expense monitoring and vendor management, as well as logistics support for various events organized by the School. She has a bachelor degree in arts and diploma in computer management. She has been working in IIT Bombay since 1992, in different labs of Mechanical Engineering department, gaining rich experience in the procedures and accounting norms of the Institute.

​

​

​

Alka Chavan

​

Alka Chavan is assistant project manager at DSSE Ignition Studio, where student teams develop proof-of-concept and prototypes based on their startup ideas. She is responsible for monitoring the micro-grants provided to these students, as well as purchase and documentation of equipment and consumables for Studio. Alka holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management after graduating in Commerce from Mumbai University. She worked in the accounts team of the Securities and Exchange Board of India for one year before joining IITB in 2014.

​

​

​

Abhimanyu Kumar

​

Abhimanyu Kumar is project assistant at DSSE and helps in organizing various events of IDEAS-MAP, I-NCUBATE and I-WiE, such as Crusade Bootcamp and Mentor Connect. He is a young Mechanical Engineer enthusiastic about creativity and innovation, and had his own entrepreneurial experience of running a Cloud-based food delivery startup before joining DSSE in 2019. He is a keen contributor in the different tasks of the School. 

​

​

​

​

Committees 

​

​

Post-graduate committee (PGC) of DS School of Entrepreneurship includes seven inter-disciplinary faculty members. They meet once every quarter to review the latest progress and practices as well as approve future programs and policies. Current members of PGC of DSCE include the following.

​

Prof. Anand Kusre, School of Management

Prof. P. Kumaresan, Industrial Design Centre

Prof. Milind Atrey, Mechanical Engineering

Prof. Bhallamudi Ravi, Mechanical Engineering

Prof. Preeti Rao, Electrical Engineering

Prof. Rohit Shrivastava, Biosciences and Bioengineering

Prof. Sanjay Mahajani, Chemical Engineering

​

Advisory Board of DSSE includes senior faculty from other institutes and high-profile professionals from industry, who have a wide range of backgrounds and experience. They provide global perspective and strategic direction to various activities of the School, including education, training, outreach and partnerships.

​

Prof. Ali Contractor, Chemical Engineering

Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Electrical Engineering

Prof. S. Bhargava, School of Management

Prof. B. K. Chakravarthy, Industrial Design

Prof. S. Shashikant, Mechanical Engineering

Prof. Anil K. Gupta, University of Maryland

Prof. Jagdish Sheth, Emory University

Mr. Pratap Nair, Ingenero, Mumbai

Mr. Sanjay Nayak, Tejas Networks, Bangalore

Mr. Shridhar Shukla, GS Lab, Pune