Dr. Girish Desai

It was a privilege to be invited as a panel speaker at the 𝐀𝐁𝐏 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐄𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐞 in , for an insightful discussion centered around the theme “𝐀𝐈, 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲: 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.” A distinguished platform, the conclave brought together leading educationists, policymakers, and industry leaders to deliberate on the future of education in a world being rapidly transformed by Artificial Intelligence and innovation.

One of the defining moments of the conclave was receiving the “𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧-𝐋𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧” recognition for Pimpri Chinchwad University from 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢 𝐃𝐫. 𝐉𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐡, 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 (𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞), 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲. This recognition reflects our sustained commitment towards building an education ecosystem that seamlessly integrates academic excellence, design thinking, emerging technologies, innovation, and strong industry relevance.

I'm pleased to share further insights during an exclusive interview with ABP Live, which is scheduled to be broadcast on 25th June 2026. Looking forward to continuing this important conversation on how education institutions must evolve to shape the next generation of innovators and changemakers.

Pimpri Chinchwad Education Trust | Pimpri Chinchwad University | ABP Live SmartEd Conclave | Higher Education | Future University

It was an honour to welcome Ms. Papachsorn Meepa, Founder & Managing Director, Phuket9 Real Estate Development to Pimpri Chinchwad Education Trust campus for a meaningful interaction aimed at strengthening international relationships and exploring opportunities for global collaboration.

Ms. Papachsorn Meepa was felicitated in the esteemed presence of 𝐏𝐂𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐬 — 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢 𝐃𝐧𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐰𝐚𝐫 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐠𝐞, 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧; 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢 𝐕𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐥 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐡𝐨𝐫, 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲; 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞, 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐫; 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐫. 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐫. 𝐀𝐣𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐲𝐚 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐡𝐨𝐫, 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬.

What makes Ms. Meepa’s journey truly inspiring is her remarkable contribution towards the establishment of the revered 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢 𝐃𝐚𝐠𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐢 𝐆𝐚𝐧𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 in , , a powerful reflection of devotion and an extraordinary effort in carrying India’s spiritual heritage beyond national boundaries. Her commitment towards preserving and promoting Indian culture on the global stage is deeply admirable.

It is truly profound to witness how the blessings of 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐆𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐚 transcend borders, bringing together people, cultures, and communities across the world while strengthening the timeless values of faith, unity, and cultural connection that define our civilization.

During the interaction, Mr. Sachin Itkar, Vice President, Maharashtra Economic Development Council (MEDC) and Governing Body Member, PCU extended an invitation to Pimpri Chinchwad Education Trust and Pimpri Chinchwad University to organize 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐞 in Phuket next year, opening exciting possibilities for international collaboration, entrepreneurial exchange, and building stronger global academic-industry partnerships.

I extend my sincere appreciation to Mr. Shubham Nale, Director and Mr. Dnyanesh Kawade, Co-Founder and CEO, Regan HR Hub, for facilitating this valuable visit and for playing an important role in building this meaningful international association.

Pimpri Chinchwad Education Trust | Global Collaboration | International Relations | Industry Academia Collaboration | India To World

I had the privilege of attending the India Grand Launch of the 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐮𝐦 (𝐒𝐏𝐁𝐅), an important global initiative that was successfully launched in the hashtag two weeks ago and has now expanded its vision to hashtag with a strong focus on empowering the Indian business community.

The core purpose of SPBF is truly commendable — to 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐀𝐄 and accessing international opportunities through collaboration, partnerships, and strategic networking.

It was an honor to witness this landmark inauguration in the presence of distinguished leaders including Dr. Rajendra Jagdale, Director General & CEO, Science and Technology Park, Pune; Shri Subhash Deshmukh, Member of Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra; Shri Santosh Salvi, State Representative, New Hampshire, USA; Shri Kalyan Taware, Developer & Entrepreneur; and Shri Rajesh Pande, Director, National Book Trust, Shri Sachin Itkar, Vice-President Maharashtra Economic Development Council (MEDC) and Shri Sagar Babar, President and Chief AI Officer, Comsense Technologies whose presence reflected the significance of this growing global initiative.

I congratulate Shri. Somanath Patil, Founder & Chairman, Somnath Patil Business Forum (SPBF) for creating a visionary platform dedicated to strengthening business ecosystems, enabling entrepreneurship, and building global pathways for Indian businesses to scale internationally.

Initiatives like SPBF will play a significant role in accelerating cross-border business opportunities and creating stronger global connections that contribute to long-term economic growth and innovation.

Pimpri Chinchwad Education Trust | Somnath Patil Business Forum | Global Initiative | Entrepreneurs | Industry Academia

I'm deeply honoured to receive this special appreciation from the 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐢 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 during the 𝐏𝐁𝐒-𝐏𝐂𝐔 𝐇𝐑 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔, in recognition of contribution towards higher education, skill development, innovation, entrepreneurship, employment generation, and community welfare.

I sincerely thank Mr. Rajendra Kamble, Ex-President, Indrayani Industries Association, and Mr. Mahendra Phanse, General Manager – IR & Personnel, RINGFEDER POWER TRANSMISSION for this thoughtful felicitation and for acknowledging the collective efforts we continue to make in strengthening the education ecosystem.

This recognition is not just a personal milestone, but a reflection of the larger mission we continue to pursue at Pimpri Chinchwad Education Trust (PCET) and Pimpri Chinchwad University (PCU) and 𝐍𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐕𝐢𝐝𝐲𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐤 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥 (NMVPM) — building future-ready institutions that create meaningful impact for students, industry, and society.

Such encouragement further strengthens our commitment to creating stronger industry-academia partnerships, nurturing innovation-driven talent, promoting entrepreneurship, and contributing meaningfully towards nation-building through quality education and skill development.

The journey ahead continues with greater responsibility, stronger purpose, and an unwavering commitment to excellence and impactful transformation.

Pimpri Chinchwad Education Trust | Nutan Maharashtra Vidya Prasarak Mandal | Indrayani Industries Association | Education | Industry

It was a privilege to welcome the distinguished delegation from AMD to Pimpri Chinchwad Education Trust for engaging discussions focused on academic collaboration and strengthening 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲–𝐀𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬.

I extend my sincere appreciation to Mr. Sanjay Churiwala, Corporate Vice President, Adaptive and Embedded Compute Group, AMD India; Dr.Jayashree HV, Senior Member Technical Staff, AMD University Program (AUP) India; Dr. Sudhakar Yerneni, Country Lead – FAE, AMD India; and Mr. Abhijeet Sathe, Enterprise Sales Lead, AMD India for visiting our campus and sharing valuable insights on emerging technologies, innovation, advanced computing, and the future of semiconductor technologies.

Our interaction centered around exploring opportunities to 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲–𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 that equip students with the knowledge and capabilities needed for the technology-driven future. Dr. Ramkrishna Vadali, Head – IT & ITES, PCET, who was part of the interaction and contributed meaningfully to the discussions around building stronger collaborations, technology integration, and creating impactful learning opportunities for students.

I sincerely appreciate AMD India’s commitment towards nurturing future talent and advancing technology-driven learning. I look forward to building a strong and meaningful collaboration that empowers our students with future-ready skills, encourages innovation and research, and contributes significantly to the rapidly evolving global technology ecosystem.

Pimpri Chinchwad Education Trust | Pimpri Chinchwad University | AMD India | Industry Academia | AI Driven University

It was a privilege to be invited as a speaker for the panel discussion at the 𝐄𝐓 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔, joining distinguished university leaders, policymakers, and technology experts to deliberate on the theme, "𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐬: 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬."

The summit brought together distinguished voices from academia and industry, including Prof. Jennifer Howell, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement), The University of Western Australia; Dr. Eric Garfunkel, Vice President – Global Affairs, Rutgers University, USA; Dr. Aditi Chaturvedi Vats, Pro Chancellor, Rabindranath Tagore University; Prof. Nagaraj Ramrao, Vice Chancellor, KIET Deemed to be University; Mr. Venkat Sitaram, Senior Director & Country Head, ISG, Dell Technologies; and Mr. Neeraj Arora, Field CTO, Dell Technologies, among several other leaders shaping the future of education and technology.

A central theme throughout the discussions was the growing need for universities to move beyond digital adoption and towards intelligent transformation. As artificial intelligence, connected systems, and data-driven decision-making become integral to institutional success, campuses must evolve into dynamic ecosystems that continuously learn, adapt, and create value for students and society.

I also visited various technology demonstrations and innovation exhibits focused on the future of higher education. From 𝐀𝐈-𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 and 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 to 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 and 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬.

At Pimpri Chinchwad Education Trust and Pimpri Chinchwad University, we view this transformation as an opportunity to reimagine the role of universities in the AI era—where technology enhances human potential, fosters innovation, and creates lifelong learning pathways. Building an intelligent campus is ultimately about creating an intelligent institution—one that is agile, connected, responsive, and deeply committed to student success.

The future will belong to institutions that can transform connectivity into intelligence, intelligence into insight, and insight into meaningful impact for learners, industry, and society.

My sincere thanks to the ETEducation for creating a platform that brings together global thought leaders to collectively shape the next chapter of higher education.

Pimpri Chinchwad Education Trust | Pimpri Chinchwad University | ET Annual Education Summit 2026 | Intelligent Campus | AI in Education