The Union Ministry of Education has appointed Dr Shailendra Raj Mehta, President and Director of MICA, the Vice-Chairman of the Governing Body of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS).
Furthermore, the Government of India has re-established the Society of the IIAS, Shimla, with Dr. Mehta and 26 other experts as members. The reconstituted Governing Body will hold its first meeting on Thursday.
In his email to Dr Mehta, Chaman Lal Gupta, officiating director of IIAS, stated, “I feel extremely happy to inform you that the Union Ministry of Education, dated December 30, 2021, has nominated you as the Vice-Chairman of its Governing Body.”
This appointment comes nearly a one-and-a-half year after the Ministry of Education, Government of India appointed Dr Mehta as a member of the Mission High-Level Committee (MHLC) of the Indian Knowledge System (IKS).
The IIAS is a global research institute for advanced studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences. It was renamed Rashtrapati Niwas after independence, and in 1965, Dr S Radhakrishnan decided to establish the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS). Between 1888 and 1946, the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) in Shimla was the main administrative centre of the British administration.
Before MICA, Dr Mehta had headed Auro University (as Chairman of the Board of Management and Acting Vice-Chancellor) and Ahmedabad University (as Provost/Vice-Chancellor). He was also the Visiting Professor of Business Policy at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.
Prior to that, he taught Economics and Strategic Management at Purdue University for 16 years. He co–founded Simulex Inc., a high–tech company in the Purdue Research Park, while at Purdue, and he continues to mentor and support startups.
Dr. Mehta has conducted extensive research in the fields of entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, information economics, and experimental economics over the years.