2026
Founding Leadership Recognition Award
CIRT — Automotive Cybersecurity Talent Development Initiative
Vice Chancellor · PCET's Pimpri Chinchwad University, Pune
Dr. Santosh Shriram Sonavane
Leading academic transformation through governance, research and future-ready education.
An academic leader, administrator and researcher with 27 years in higher education, including 17 years in senior leadership as Vice Chancellor, Founding Vice-Chancellor, Chief Operating Officer, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean-Academics at universities across India. Ph.D. in Electronics Engineering from IIT (ISM) Dhanbad.
Ph.D.
IIT (ISM) Dhanbad
27
Years in Higher Education
17
Years in Senior Leadership
936
Google Scholar Citations
16
h-index
5
Patents Filed / Granted
100+
Active Industry MoUs at PCU
Citation metrics as per Google Scholar (2026).
Leadership Philosophy
Building universities that are accountable, industry-connected and future-ready.
Across roles as Vice Chancellor, Founding Vice-Chancellor, Chief Operating Officer, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean-Academics, Dr. Sonavane has led curriculum reform, accreditation, quality assurance, internationalisation and operations at scale — from planning 400+ programmes for 40,000 students to overseeing 1,750+ operations staff.
View the leadership journeyInstitutional Transformation
Leadership initiatives at PCU
NEP 2020 & Outcome-Based Education
An NEP 2020-aligned, AI-integrated academic framework with flexible CBCS and a Rural Immersion Programme in every third year.
Academic Quality Framework
Academic audits, course files, teaching plans and ATR monitoring, with 30% of the syllabus taught by industry professionals.
Future-Ready Programmes
Semiconductor & Quantum Technology, Generative AI, Agentic AI, Cyber Security, Mechatronics and more.
Industry–Academia Integration
100+ active MoUs and Centres of Excellence with Digitech Robotics and QNX / Pi Square Technology.
Internationalisation
Partnerships with Japan and South Korea, and the KOSME Pune Base Camp Center with South Korean industry.
Research & Innovation
PCU's first international conference IM3-2026 with IITs, BARC, IISc and international universities.
Recognition
Featured awards
2026
Lifetime Achievement in Higher Education
Pune Education Conclave 2026, organised by Plus Nine One Media
2026
Vice Chancellor Excellence Award 2026
Education Excellence Awards by EduSkills, Jaipur
2025
Distinguished Vice Chancellor of the Year 2025
University Leaders Forum (Simplilearn)
Research Interests
From wireless sensor networks to AI-driven systems
Latest
Activities & articles
General
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