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A Power-Packed Regional Dialogue for Future Ready HEIs
Shaping Andhra Pradesh’s Edge in Higher Education
- Friday, 17th July 2026
- 09:30 AM – 06:00 PM
- Hyatt Pune, Kalyani Nagar
Digii100x comes to Maharashtra
Maharashtra is not just India’s economic engine. It’s the state where institutional ambition and the Viksit Bharat 2047 mandate meet their greatest opportunity: leading the country’s economy, serving millions of students across urban centres and rural districts alike, and now tasked with ensuring that scale and quality rise together.
Built as a series of curated, closed-door dialogues, Digii100x Maharashtra convenes senior leaders from academia, policy, and industry from across the state, gathering in Pune for a day of candid conversation and collaboration.
Grounded in regional context and peer experience, these discussions move beyond broad ideas to practical judgement – what’s working, what needs rethinking, and where to focus next.
*Image Source: Google
Thoughtfully Designed for: Clarity. Conviction. Momentum.
Thoughtfully Designed for
Clarity. Conviction. Momentum.
Each session moves past vision statements to examine the structural, cultural, and strategic moves required over the next five years.
A Mix of Legacy and New Ideas
The room is curated to ensure high-value exchange. By bringing together seasoned institutional leaders with voices shaping digital education and governance, we create dialogue grounded in experience and informed by emerging models.
Focusing on One Region
Discussions reflect the realities of institutions operating across Maharashtra, a state with one of India's largest and most diverse higher education ecosystems spanning engineering, management, medicine, and liberal arts, with shared challenges and transferable lessons.
Moving From Ideas to Action
This is not a forum for product pitches. The intent is to surface clear next steps, covering governance choices, operating models, and capability shifts that translate ambition into campus-level action.
Event Schedule
9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Starts - Ends
Session
Agenda
Venue 1 - Istana Ballroom
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Registration & Networking Tea/Coffee
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Registration & Networking Tea/Coffee
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Inaugural Ceremony
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Registration & Networking Tea/Coffee
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Registration & Networking Tea/Coffee
9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Inaugural Ceremony
Venue 1 - Istana Ballroom
11:00 AM - 11:15 AM
Keynote Address
When the World Comes to India: Why
the Top Global Universities Are Betting
on India and What It Means for Our
Institutions
11:00 AM — 12:00 PM
Panel Discussion
Decoding Great Institutions:
What Are the Essential Ingredients of Institutional Excellence?
12:00 PM — 1:00 PM
Panel Discussion
The Entrepreneurial Institution:
Nurturing Founders, Driving Innovation, and Building Viksit Bharat
Venue 2 - The Terrace Area
11:15 AM — 12:45 PM
Roundtable
One State, One Higher Education Ecosystem:
Unlocking Collective Excellence Through Collaboration
Venue 3 - Business Centre
11:00 AM — 12:00 PM
Roundtable
The Digital Transformation Mandate:
Building the Foundation for AI-First Campuses
12:00 PM — 01:00 PM
Roundtable
The Research Excellence Playbook:
Building High-Impact Research Capabilities in Indian Institutions
01:00 PM - 01:45 PM
Lunch
Venue 1 - Istana Ballroom
02:00 PM - 02:50 PM
Panel Discussion
The New Student Genome: Decoding
the Future Learners
01:45 PM — 03:00 PM
Panel Discussion
The Future of Work:
Which Industries Will Create India’s Next Million Jobs?
03:05 PM — 04:20 PM
Panel Discussion
Maharashtra’s Education Legacy:
The Journey So Far and the Next Leap
Venue 2 - The Terrace Area
01:45 PM — 03:00 PM
Roundtable
Beyond Campus Boundaries:
Building High—Impact Education Ecosystems for Innovation, Talent, and Growth
03:05 PM — 04:20 PM
Roundtable
Leadership for Institutional Excellence:
Attracting, Nurturing, and Retaining the Talent
Venue 3 - Business Centre
02:00 PM — 03:00 PM
Roundtable
Re-Architecting the Tech Function:
The People, Power, and Processes Needed to Lead Transformation
03:00 PM — 04:00 PM
Roundtable
Beyond Marks and Rankings:
How Should We Assess Great Students in the 21st Century?
Venue 1 - Istana Ballroom
04:30 PM - 06:00 PM
Valedictory Ceremony
06:00 PM Onwards
Networking Tea/Coffee
Event Schedule
09:30 AM – 06:00 PM
Detailed agenda coming soon
Leaders Joining Us
India’s most influential voices in higher education, policy, industry, and innovation.
Shri. Jishnu Dev Varma
Hon’ble Governor of Maharashtra
Shri. Chandrakant (Dada) Patil
Hon’ble Minister for Higher and Technical Education, Government of Maharashtra
Shri. Anandrao Vishnu Patil (IAS)
Additional Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India
Shri. B. Venugopal Reddy (IAS)
Additional Chief Secretary – Higher and Technical Education Department, Government of Maharashtra
Shri. Kaustubh Dhavse
Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister, Government of Maharashtra
Dr. Ganesh Natarajan
Chairman – GTT Data Solutions Ltd | 5FWorld | EPPS | Honeywell Automation India | Lighthouse Communities Foundation
Sanjay Ghodawat
Founder & Chairman,
Sanjay Ghodawat Group
Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar
Principal Director, Symbiosis Society & Pro Chancellor, Symbiosis International (Deemed University)
Dr. Ashwin Fernandes
Chair, QS India and Vice President, Strategic and International Engagement QS Quacquarelli Symonds
Aatash Shah
Senior Vice President & Business Head, UNext Learning
Dr. Abhay Jere
MD & CEO, DEXIT Global and Former Vice-Chairman, AICTE
Abdul Qadir Abdul Rahman Buhari
Pro-Chancellor, B.S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science and Technology
Aditya Malik
Director & Group CEO,
SNVA Veranda
Prof. Ajay Kapoor
Vice Chancellor, Somaiya Vidyavihar University
Akshay Saxena
Co-Founder & Co-CEO,
Avanti Fellows
Dr. Akshay Malhotra
Chief Operating Officer,
University of York, Mumbai
Alok Kumar Tiwari
Founder Secretary,
National Youth Network
Amey Mashelkar
Head,
JioGenNext
Amit Nitinrao Kolhe
Managing Trustee,
Sanjivani Group of Institutes
Amit Kumar
CTO and Director,
Easebuzz
Dr. Aravind Chinchure
Founder & CEO,
QLeap Academy
Aryan Jha
Officer on Special Duty to the Chairman, Sandip University
Ashish Mishra
Trustee,
Aditya Group of Institutions
Dr. Ashok. G. Verghese
Pro Chancellor,
Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science
Dr. Asmita Jagtap
Executive Director,
Bharati Vidyapeeth Health Sciences
Prof. Atul Khosla
Vice Chancellor,
Shoolini University
Avnee Khosla
Trustee and Vice President,
Shoolini University
Dr. B. B. Ahuja
Vice Chancellor,
JSPM University Pune
Dr. Bhimaraya Metri
Director, Indian Institute of Management Nagpur
Prof. Bhushan Patwardhan
Chancellor, Deccan College Post Graduate & Research Institute and Former Vice Chairman, UGC and Former Chairman, EC-NAAC
Bhushan Lawande
Founder & MD,
E4 Development & Coaching Ltd.
Charu Malhotra
Co-Founder & Managing Director, Primus Partners
Devayani Bhosale
Director,
SNBP Group of Institutions
Digvijay Karad
Founder,
Wari Art
Dr. Dishan Kamdar
Vice Chancellor,
FLAME University
Dr. Ganesh Rao
Director,
Pune Business School
Dr. Girish Desai
Executive Director,
Pimpri Chinchwad Education Trust (PCET)
Prof. Gopalkrishna Joshi
Founding Vice Chancellor,
MIT Vishwaprayag University
Hemant Sahal
Founder & CEO,
Digii
Dr. Hrridaysh Deshpande
Former Vice Chancellor,
Ajeenkya DY Patil University
Hrishikesh Deshmukh
Head – IT Services & Operations, JSPM University
Hrishikesh Dhande
Deputy Director,
Pune International Centre
Jaya Deshmukh
Director & CEO,
MICA Ahmedabad
Joutishman Dutta
Vice President,
Assam down town University
Prof. Kannan. M. Moudgalya
Emeritus Fellow, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Bombay
Kavita Dasan
SVP – Talent Management & Mfg HR Head, Suzlon Energy Limited
Dr. Jyoti Mcwan
Registrar,
Atharva University Mumbai
Dr. Lalitbhushan. S. Waghmare
Vice Chancellor,
Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research (DU)
Dr. Madhu Chitkara
President & Co-Founder,
Chitkara University
Mekin Maheshwari
Founder & CEO, Udhyam Learning Foundation
Dr. Manish Bhalla
Vice Chancellor,
D. Y. Patil International University, Akurdi
Mayank Kumar
Co-Founder & CEO, BorderPlus And Co-founder & MD, upGrad
Mudit Dalmia
Vice President,
N. L. Dalmia Educational Society
Prof. Mukund Kulkarni
In-Charge Vice Chancellor,
Vishwakarma University
Narayanan Ramaswamy
Partner & National Leader – Education and Skill Development, Government and Public Services, KPMG – India
Dr. Netra Neelam
Founder Director,
Nurturing Facets
Nimish. C. Tolia
Secretary,
SDNB Vaishnav College
Prof. Nitin. R. Karmalkar
Ombudsperson, Symbiosis University of Applied Sciences & Former Vice-Chancellor, Savitribai Phule Pune University
Dr. Palak Sheth
Project Director,
Jio Institute
Prof. Parag Kalkar
Pro-Vice Chancellor, Savitribai Phule Pune University And President, Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS)
Pravin Kumar
Vice President of IT & Digital – Higher Education (BITS PILANI – Mumbai), Aditya Birla Management Corporation
Prathap Das
Regional Head – South Asia,
AACSB
Dr. Rajan Saxena
Former Vice Chancellor,
SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) Deemed University
Dr. Rajendra Vikhe Patil
President & Chancellor,
Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences
Rajesh Kumar
Co-Founder & CEO,
Kalvium
Dr. Rajesh. S
Vice Chancellor, MIT Art, Design and Technology University
Rajendra Belgaumkar
Founder and Principal,
Seneca Consulting
Rajiv Agarwal
Managing Director, PE Investments RaRe Enterprise
Dr. Rajlakshmi Patil
Managing Trustee,
D. Y. Patil University
Prof. Ramakrishnan Raman
Vice Chancellor,
Symbiosis International (Deemed University)
Prof. Ravindra Dattatray Kulkarni
Vice Chancellor,
University of Mumbai
Ravin Nair
Chief Operating Officer,
QS I- Gauge
Rishab Mehta
Founder,
GrayQuest
Ruchi Tewari
Associate Dean – Marketing, Communication and Public Affairs, MICA
Dr. S. Vaidhyasubramaniam
Vice-Chancellor & Tata Sons Chair Professor of Management SASTRA DEEMED University
Dr. Samir Karkhanis
Founder & CEO,
Yangpoo University Partners
Sanjay Padode
President,
Vijaybhoomi University
Dr. Sanjay Patil
Chancellor,
D. Y. Patil Kolhapur
Dr. Santosh. S. Sonavane
Vice Chancellor, Pimpri Chinchwad University
Shantanu Rao
Sr. Product Designer,
Microsoft
Shardul Gangal
Executive Director,
Indira University
Shyamal Gupta
Chief Operating Officer,
Illinois Institute of Technology – Mumbai Campus
Dr. Simon Mak
Founding Vice Chancellor,
Universal AI University
Sudhir Kalkar
Chairman – Managing Council,
S.P. Mandali Trust
Sunil Madhusudan Joshi
Member & Chairman – College Development Committee,
WeSchool
Prof. Sunil. G. Bhirud
Vice Chancellor, COEP Technological University
Sunil Dahiya
Executive Vice President,
Skilling Wadhwani Foundation
Dr. Swati Mujumdar
Pro-Chancellor (Active Vice Chancellor), Symbiosis Skills & Professional University
Tejas Satej Patil
Trustee,
Dr. D. Y. Patil Pratishthan
Uday Virmani
Chief Business Officer,
University of Bristol Mumbai Enterprise Campus
Dr. V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai
Vice-Chancellor & Provost, Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Chancellor, ICFAI University & Former Chairman, UGC & Advisor & Professor of Eminence, Jio Institute
Dr. V. S. Kanchana Bhaaskaran
Vice Chancellor,
Vellore Institute of Technology
Prof. Vivek. A. Saoji
Vice Chancellor,
Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University)
Vik Singh
Consul (Commercial) & Trade and Investment Commissioner, South Asia – Australian Trade and Investment Commission
Moments that defined progress
Know a Leader Who Should Be in This Room?
Digii100x brings together a curated group of education leaders and industry practitioners.
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Address
Hyatt Pune,
Adjacent to Aga Khan Palace, Kalyani Nagar, Pune, Maharashtra – 411006
