“The visionary starts with a clean sheet of paper, and re-imagines the world,” Malcolm Gladwell.
Prof Vajja Samba Siva Rao, a visionary and the new Vice-Chancellor of SRM AP commenced his quest for knowledge as an avid researcher at BITS Pilani, India. He re-imagined the world of education, envisioning opportunities that were invisible to others. It is this foresight he brings to the New Age University- SRM University AP- Andhra Pradesh.
Prof. Rao’s academic achievements began at BITS, Pilani as a student of M.Sc followed by CSIR Junior Research Fellow and continued in various capacities for over four decades. It led to the foundation of BITS Pilani, Hyderabad campus, which made giant leaps quickly and earned him the glory as an institution-builder.
Prof. Rao’s dream of making a difference through Deep Industry Engagement to education lies at the core of his philosophy. This passion, coupled with his vast experience, constitutes his productive wisdom culminating in winning many accolades which includes the Eminent Educationist Award by Indo Global Education Council.
Amongst Prof. Rao’s many pioneering initiatives, was, the establishment of a University centred on its industry relationships. As the President of NIIT University, he pioneered the implementation of new programmes and digital learning approach and simultaneously fostered several industry linkages that have benefitted the students immensely.
Throughout his career, Prof. Rao has been committed to knowledge creation through research. He has guided PhD scholars and students in their research pursuits and published papers around the world. He was invited by the German Foundation for International Development for a training programme in Vocational Education and obtained a certificate in Educational Planning and Economics from the University of Bielefeld, Germany.
Currently, Prof. Rao is on the advisory board of several institutions and universities across the country. He is also a member of many prestigious national and global committees. As SRM AP embarks on an exciting phase with its growing reputation for innovation, cutting edge research, and interdisciplinary studies, Prof. Rao has the experience and the vision to make it a globally connected, nationally relevant, and regionally transformative university.