BOSTON–Vanita Shastri, who last month retired as the Dean of Global Education & Strategic Partnerships at Ashoka University in India, says India’s higher education landscape is changing fast, offering new opportunities for both students, educators, and investors at a global scale.
In an exclusive video interview with INDIA New England News, Ms. Shastri also discusses this much needed change in India, her own experience of working in two countries for nine years, and India’s new education policy.
To watch the full interview, please click here, or on the image below.
At India’s first private liberal arts Ashoka University, Ms. Shastri led all international partnerships and developed prospective institutional partners, managed all global mobility and student exchanges for Ashoka and visiting students.
In addition, Ms. Shastri worked on building graduate admission opportunities for Ashoka students and alumni. Under the university’s new strategic plan, she spent time recruiting faculty, building strategic partnerships and collaborations to further the mission of Ashoka.
In addition to her global work, Ms. Shastri led all summer programs including the summer semester and the Young Scholars Program, a unique summer program which introduced high school students to a liberal arts & sciences education. Furthermore, she collaborated with different stakeholders to develop and run enrichment programs at the university.
Prior to this role, Ms. Shastri was the Founding Dean of Undergraduate Programs at Ashoka University in which role she laid the cornerstone of academic excellence, putting end-to-end processes and systems to establish an outstanding undergraduate student experience for Ashoka students.
She brought global best practices to Ashoka and has managed and mentored various teams at Ashoka.
Prior, Ms. Shastri served as Executive Director of TiE Boston, a non profit organization that promotes entrepreneurship. She holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University.
