Sharad Saraf appointed as the new Chairperson of the Institute’s Board of Governors
Sharad Kumar Saraf, a Distinguished Alumnus of IIT Bombay (B.Tech. 1969, Electrical Engineering) has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Institute’s Board of Governors (BoG). This is the first time an alumnus of IIT Bombay has been bestowed with this prestigious status.
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. Sudarshan Kumar Saraf, another Distinguished Alumnus of IIT Bombay. The position of Chairperson, Board of Governors, IIT Bombay was earlier held by 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. My objective as the Chairperson of BoG at IIT Bombay is three-fold:
i) To improve the quality of education and student life at IIT Bombay campus, be it enhancing hostel infrastructure or academics; ii) To focus on research work that is relevant and commercially viable; iii) Supporting start-ups, especially those that are being funded by our alumni. ”
Speaking on Saraf’s appointment, Prof. 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.”
Sharad Saraf has played a key role in the advancement of IIT Bombay through his generous contributions. Technocraft Centre for Applied Artificial Intelligence (TCA2I) has been established at the Institute with support from Saraf and his brother Sudarshan Saraf. The objective of this Centre is to help academia and industry leverage the immense power of AI/ ML, Data Sciences, and Optimisation at IIT Bombay to solve pressing challenges across various sectors, including healthcare, education, automation, and cybersecurity. The Centre also aims to build strong synergy with the defense agencies to provide full-fledged AI/ ML-based solutions to improve the operational efficiency of defense forces. TCA2I’s mission is to make IIT Bombay an enabler of the national goal of leadership in applied AI through the expertise of its faculty in AI, Data Sciences, Machine Learning, and Optimisation.
Sharad Saraf, a Distinguished Alumnus of IIT Bombay, was recently conferred with an Honorary D. Litt degree by Shri Jagdishprasad Jhabarmal Tibrewala (JJT) University at Raj Bhavan, Mumbai.