DSSE | People
The team at the Desai Sethi School of Entrepreneurship (DSSE) comprises Institute faculty, Adjunct faculty, Post-doctoral fellows, Project Managers and Mentors. With the intent of creating a rounded academic unit focussing on academics, research and practice, the Institute faculty are drawn from academia and industry – the first Professors of Practice at IITB were recruited for DSSE in 2021. Starting 2023, DSSE recruited core faculty members whose research is in the areas of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. DSSE has had adjunct faculty from entrepreneurship, mentoring, and industry backgrounds, who since inception have been instrumental in teaching practice-oriented and experiential courses. With the start of its research program in 2024, DSSE also welcomes Post-Graduate fellows from eminent institutions and aligned research interests. DSSE’s project managers co-ordinate the academic and experiential programs and are always available to students for mentoring. The Post-Graduate Committee includes inter-disciplinary faculty members who guide and review various activities of the School. Mentors are drawn from the alumni community to coach and support course project teams as well as pre-incubation teams.
Institute Faculty
DSSE got its full-time faculty from 2021 when the first two Professors of Practice were recruited by IIT Bombay for Desai Sethi School of Entrepreneurship and came with 25-30 years of industry experience. Starting 2023, DSSE has recruited core faculty members whose research will help build the areas of Innovation and Entrepreneurship – entrepreneurship education, lab to market translation, inclusive innovation and social entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship support ecosystem etc.
Devdip Purkayastha
Anuradha Narasimhan
Sankalp Pratap
Rajesh Gopinathan
Lina Sonne Vyas
Ramesh Kuruva
Dr Ramesh Kuruva is Assistant Professor at the Desai Sethi School of Entrepreneurship at IIT Bombay, teaching and researching Entrepreneurial Finance, Startup Ecosystem and Venture Funding.
Adjunct Faculty
Adjunct faculty are experienced industry professionals and entrepreneurs who enrich the entrepreneurship courses and pre-incubation programs using real-life examples and case studies. IIT Bombay has also enhanced the faculty pool at DSSE by Honorary Professors of Practice who are involved with courses, practice programs and are providing strategic inputs to DSSE.
Raj Jaswa
Vinay Dabholkar
Rajkumar Hirwani
Umakant Jayaram
Ramesh Mangaleswaran
Milind Kopikare
Rizwan Koita
Anand Deshpande
Post-Graduate Committee
The Post-Graduate Committee of DSSE serves as the policy and oversight committee for the School. Best practices are drawn from different departments and centres at IITB and the committee members approve the various activities of the school.
Prof. Santosh Gharpure, Chemistry DeptKnow More
Prof. Pramod Wangikar, Chemical EnggKnow More
Prof. Trupti Mishra, SOMKnow More
Prof. Nishant Sharma, IDC Know More
Prof. Amit Sethi, Electrical EnggKnow More
Prof. Varun Bhalerao, Physics DeptKnow More
Project Managers & Institute Staff
DSSE project managers and Institute staff support the faculty in courses and mentoring programs, as well as in administration and outreach activities. They are always available to students for mentoring and for support.
Shweta Mane
Alka Chavan
Deepa Namagiri
Dr Shruti Gupte
Sanjay Kharat
Raja Shaw
Raja Shaw is a Junior Administrative Assistant at the Desai Sethi School of Entrepreneurship (DSSE), IIT Bombay, where he is responsible for managing accounts and administrative tasks.
Uneet Meena
Uneet Meena is a Project Manager at the Desai Sethi School of Entrepreneurship (DSSE), IIT Bombay, where he plays a key role in managing and supporting entrepreneurship programs.
Postdoctoral Fellow
With the start of its research program in 2024, DSSE has included Post-doctoral fellows from eminent institutions and aligned research interests. DSSE’s maiden cohort of 5 doctoral students come from diverse backgrounds like Engg, Social Sciences, Finance, and Management and they will focus on under-researched areas of Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Aparna Sharma
PhD Students
Mentors
Several senior professionals from industry, many of them alumni of IIT Bombay, are associated with DSSE as mentors for aspiring entrepreneurs and venture teams pursuing their entrepreneurial ventures. These mentors serve two diverse roles – entrepreneur mentors provide their own experiences to young venture teams and subject matter experts provide mentoring in functional areas like technology, finance, business planning, Go to Market etc.