As the Pro-President of Vivekananda Global University (VGU) in Jaipur, I am dedicated to fostering an environment of holistic development for our students. Our goal is not only to enhance their employability skills but also to cultivate their entrepreneurial abilities, enabling them to become visionary, strategists and managers capable of creating new job opportunities. At VGU, we firmly believe in the importance of practical knowledge shared by esteemed individuals from diverse backgrounds. That is why we consistently strive to invite experts from government offices, research institutions, academia, and industry leadership to our university. By facilitating the exchange of inspiring expertise, we ensure that our aspiring techno-managers receive a comprehensive education that combines theoretical foundations with real-world insights. We are committed to equipping our students with the necessary skills and knowledge to thrive in the dynamic professional landscape.
Through our continuous efforts and collaborations with renowned professionals, we are shaping our graduates into innovative thinkers and empowering them to make a significant impact in their chosen fields. At VGU, we are proud to provide a nurturing and stimulating environment where students can flourish, develop their potential, and contribute meaningfully to society. Together, we are building a community of future leaders who will drive positive change and shape the future with their unique perspectives and abilities.
Prof. (Dr.) Santosh Kumar
Pro-President (Academic Affairs), VGU, Jaipur
Santosh Kumar is an academician in Politics, Public Policy, Governance and Administration. Having pursued his academics at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), the University of Glasgow (on Commonwealth Fellowship), and Delhi University, his professional career commenced with the prestigious Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India, and subsequently, he has been associated with various Universities of national and international repute, in different capacities of academics and administration. Each of these positions involved a combination of research, teaching, and policy interventions.
Besides considering himself as a student of public policy, development, environmental economics, etc., he has been engaged in a quest to understand and assimilate pedagogical tools of inter and cross-disciplinary perspectives in the Liberal Studies Framework of generating and imparting knowledge. The multiple perspectives from liberal pedagogical frameworks have contributed immensely to the understanding of the policy sciences in a non-conventional mode. He has held Senior Faculty in a few national and international pioneering institutions pursuing Liberal Studies pedagogy.
As a specialist in the field of Public Policy, he remains engaged with Social Accountability Mechanisms in the Service Delivery Context, Community-based Monitoring and Evaluations, Decentralization and Good Governance Policies, etc. He has worked on many projects in Poverty Reduction programs, particularly in South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and in India -Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh), with the World Bank, UNDP, ADB and other institutions of eminence. He has also developed inter and trans-disciplinary curricula and syllabi in the various majors of Liberal Arts and Human Development, Public Policy, and Social Accountability for various academic institutions in South Asian countries.
For the various states of India, he has been in the policy formulation and implementation. At each stage, while interspersed with research and administrative responsibilities he has taught varied subjects. Prof. Kumar has reviewed state policies for various states of India and especially for West Bengal in the domains of Science and Technology, and Intellectual Property Rights before their adoption by the State Government.
On the editorial board of three Scopus international journals, Prof. Kumar has been associated with several international and national academic and policy planning bodies. He has participated in various national and international deliberations, presented papers, and chaired sessions in Seminars and Conferences. Author of two books, he has publications in national and international journals.
