In The Spotlight
Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla
An institution builder. A nation shaper. A guardian of legacy
After many years, our Chancellor Shri Kumar Mangalam Birla returned to the Pilani campus of BITS Pilani, a homecoming shaped by memory and meaning. He walked familiar paths, paused in spaces where young minds are shaped, and spent time at the Birla Haveli and Museum. In a moment of quiet reflection, he paid his respects at the memorial of his great grandfather, Shri G. D. Birla. Through conversations with students, entrepreneurs, and faculty, the inauguration of the Kakatiya Center for Rural Innovations, Technology & Impact (KRITI), and reflections on Project Vistaar, the road ahead came into clear view. From this year onward, his presence will be closer and more active carrying forward a legacy through thoughtful action.
BITS Exclusive
Young Entrepreneurs’ Bootcamp (YEB) | From Ideas to Impact
The 11th Edition of the Young Entrepreneurs’ Bootcamp (YEB) 2025 was held at BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus from 15–19 December 2025, followed by the 12th Edition of YEB 2026 at BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus from 4–9 January 2026. Open to school students from Classes IX to XII, the bootcamp provided an on-campus exposure to entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology through structured sessions and experiential learning.
Across both editions, students participated in hands-on workshops, team activities, and pitching exercises focused on idea development, problem solving, sustainability, finance, and emerging technologies. The programme helped participants build critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills while gaining practical insight into how ideas are shaped into viable solutions, reaffirming BITS Pilani’s focus on nurturing future-ready innovators.
Research Stories
Research Spotlight | Industry Collaboration
BITS Pilani faculty have secured a significant consultancy project from Siemens Energy India Limited, highlighting the Institute’s growing footprint in industry-driven research and advanced digital engineering. The project brings together a cross-campus team comprising Prof. Ashutosh Bhatia (PI), Prof. Arun Kumar Jalan, and Prof. Yashvardhan Sharma from the Pilani Campus, along with Prof. Shubhangi K. Gawali and Prof. Neena Goveas from the K. K. Birla Goa Campus.
Titled Rotor Balancing through Digitalization, the six-month project focuses on developing AI-enabled, digital twin–based solutions for rotor balancing in high-speed rotating machinery such as turbines and compressors. The research involves vibration data analysis, rotor dynamics modeling, and machine learning–based predictive models, supported by simulation and visualization tools to optimize rotor balancing in a single iteration. With a total project value of ₹20.93 lakh, the outcomes are expected to improve efficiency, accuracy, and turnaround time in industrial rotor balancing operations. This engagement further strengthens BITS Pilani’s collaboration with Siemens Energy and reinforces the Institute’s commitment to impactful research at the intersection of industrial AI and digitalization.
Faculty Spotlight
Double Grant Win for Prof. Srikanth Mutnuri!
Prof. Srikanth Mutnuri, Department of Biological Sciences, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus, has secured two major international research grants, strengthening BITS Pilani’s global engagement in sustainability and capacity building.
🔹 Under the Global Sanitation Graduate School (GSGS)-Regional Hub India initiative, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the project advances water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) education and research through national and multi-institutional collaboration. IHE Delft Institute for Water Education (The Netherlands) and CEPT University, Ahmedabad are key institutions involved in this initiative.
🔹 A British Council funded UK-India collaboration with Aston University (UK) and Indian partner institutions K J Somaiya Institute of Management, Mumbai; GITAM Deemed University, Visakhapatnam; and ABV-Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Gwalior. The project focuses on accelerating circular economy adoption through industry-led transnational education and sustainability capacity building.
Congratulations to Prof. Mutnuri on these impactful achievements at the intersection of science, sustainability, and global partnership.
Student Spotlight
BITS Pilani Shines at Smart India Hackathon 2025 with Two National Champion Teams
Students from BITSPilani were recognised at the Smart India Hackathon 2025, organised by AICTE and the Ministry of Education, Government of India, New Delhi. Two teams AxiomAI and Team Antardrishti emerged as National Champions, each securing the First Prize of ₹1.5 lakh and being named “𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬.”From over 72,000 teams nationwide, only 1,360 advanced to the Grand Finale. AxiomAI (Hyderabad & Goa campuses) addressed the POWERGRID problem statement issued by POWERGRID Corporation of India Ltd., while Team Antardrishti (BITS Digital) developed an AI-enabled offline solution for large-scale sports talent identification for the Ministry of Sports. Congratulations to the teams on this significant achievements. These outcomes reflect BITSPilani’s emphasis on problem-driven learning and solution-oriented innovation across its campuses and digital initiatives.
Alumni Spotlight
BITSian Spotlight: Harish Bhat
We are proud to spotlight Harish Bhat, an inspiring business leader, author, and proud BITSian whose work has shaped some of India’s most trusted brands. An alumnus of BITS Pilani (Batch of 1980–1985), he devoted over three decades to the Tata Group, leading transformational initiatives that bridged leadership, brand-building, and storytelling.
Beginning his career with the Tata Administrative Services, Harish went on to play defining roles across the Tata ecosystem. His leadership contributed to Tata Coffee’s global expansion, the worldwide growth of Tata Consumer Products, the rise of Tanishq as India’s most trusted jewellery brand, and his role as Brand Custodian of the Tata Group reinforcing its values of trust, integrity, and innovation.
Beyond the boardroom, Harish is an accomplished author whose books, including TataLog, The Curious Marketer, and Tata Stories, offer thoughtful insights into leadership, marketing, and values-driven organisations. His story reminds us that true leadership is about building legacies that endure, inspiring people, and creating impact that goes beyond business.
Suhane Pal
Once a BITSian, Always a BITSian: Alumni Reunions Across Campuses
From corridors once rushed between classes to conversations that resumed as if time had paused, the BITS Pilani campuses witnessed a heartwarming return of alumni in December 2025. The Batch of 1996 reunited at the Pilani campus from 18–21 December, with 96 alumni travelling from across the globe to relive memories, revisit familiar corners, and reconnect with friendships forged years ago. Around the same time, the Batch of 2006 returned to the K. K. Birla Goa Campus (19–21 December), filling the campus with familiar laughter, shared stories, and moments that brought back the essence of hostel life, classrooms, and friendships that defined their years at BITS.
Across both reunions, the campuses came alive with nostalgia, reflection, and gratitude for mentors, experiences, and values that shaped lives far beyond graduation. More than reunions, these gatherings were reminders that while years pass and paths diverge, the BITS spirit remains constant. Each conversation, shared memory, and warm embrace reaffirmed a timeless truth: once a BITSian, always a BITSian.
Events Gallery
BITS Pilani Hyderabad Hosts IndoML 2025
The Sixth Indian Symposium on Machine Learning (IndoML 2025) concluded at BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus after three intellectually enriching days of dialogue, discovery, and collaboration in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
The symposium brought together leading academics, industry practitioners, and graduate researchers through keynote talks, tutorials, panel discussions, mentoring sessions, a Datathon, and early-career research presentations, exploring emerging areas such as large language models, multimodal AI, agent learning, trustworthy AI, healthcare and geospatial applications, education technologies, and India-centric language systems.
IndoML 2025 fostered meaningful conversations on transparency, inclusivity, safety, and the future of AI research, while strengthening academia–industry engagement and mentoring the next generation of researchers. The event concluded with reflections on India’s growing role in the global AI ecosystem and the announcement that IndoML 2026 will be hosted at Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (Kolkata Extension Centre). BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus is proud to have hosted IndoML 2025 and to contribute to shaping impactful, responsible, and globally relevant AI research.
BITS Pilani Dubai Hosts IEEE MoSICom 2025
The Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus, successfully hosted its flagship 4th IEEE International Conference on Modelling, Simulation and Intelligent Computing (IEEE MoSICom 2025), reaffirming its commitment to high-impact research and global academic collaboration.
The conference featured an inaugural address by Suchit Kumar, CEO, TEXUB, and was honoured by the presence of distinguished Guests of Honour including Eesa Al Bastaki, President, University of Dubai; Souri Banerjee, Director, BITS Pilani Dubai Campus; and Vijay Kadam, General Manager, IRSG, Danway Emirates LLC. The inaugural session was coordinated by Jagadish Nayak, Vilas Gaidhane, and Trisha Ghosh, who served as the Conference Chairs.
IEEE MoSICom 2025 received 296 research paper submissions, with 140 accepted for oral presentation and 125 papers successfully presented across 31 technical sessions over three days. The conference featured keynote addresses by Milan Tuba, Zdzisław Pólkowski, M. B. Srinivas, Roman Danel, Tatiana Kalganova, and Santosh Gore. The event strengthened international collaboration, deepened industry engagement, and enhanced faculty and student participation in high-quality research. The campus thanks all speakers, delegates, organisers, and volunteers for making IEEE MoSICom 2025 a success.
Design Studio Exhibition – ArchiBITS 2025 | Celebrating Creativity & Innovation
On 30 December 2025, BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus proudly hosted the Design Studio Exhibition – ArchiBITS 2025, a vibrant showcase of creativity, innovation, and academic excellence by our architecture students.
The exhibition featured an impressive display of architectural models and posters, highlighting students’ design thinking, technical proficiency, and their ability to translate theoretical knowledge into practical and creative solutions. The enthusiasm and originality reflected in each exhibit demonstrated the depth of learning and passion our students bring to their work.
We were delighted to welcome parents, faculty members, and visitors who took the time to engage with the students, appreciate their efforts, and offer words of encouragement. Such interactions play a vital role in motivating our students and reinforcing a culture of learning and innovation. We invite our stakeholders to explore the highlights from the exhibition, capturing the creativity of the models and the vibrant energy of the event through our videos and images. ArchiBITS 2025 stands as a testament to our commitment to nurturing future-ready architects and fostering a strong foundation in design and innovation.
Awards
BITS Pilani Recognised for IP Excellence and Women in STEM at CII Summit 2025
Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani received two national recognitions at the CII Global Innovation & IP Summit 2025, New Delhi. The Institute won the “Best Patent Portfolio (2020–2025) – Second Runner-Up” award in the Academic Institutions – Private Universities category, placing it among the Top 30 IP-driven organisations in India. The award was received on behalf of BITSPilani by Prof. Sudhirkumar V Barai, Director BITS Pilani, Pilani campus, along with Prof. Deepak Chitkara, Prof. Swati Alok, and Mr. Rajneesh Kumar.
The Institute was also conferred the CII Women in STEM Award, received by Prof. Sudhirkumar V Barai Director BITS Pilani, Pilani campus, along with Prof. Meenal Kowshik and Prof. Jayashree Mahesh, recognising BITS Pilani’s efforts to advance women’s participation and leadership in STEM.
Innovation & Collaboration
Advancing Bamboo Valorization & Green Energy Ecosystems
On 17 December 2025, BITS Pilani, K. K. Birla Goa Campus signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Konkan Bamboo and Cane Development Centre (KONBAC), Dhananjay Bioenergy Private Limited, and Phoenix Foundation Sanstha to collaboratively advance bamboo valorization initiatives in India.
Aligned with the National Bamboo Mission, the partnership seeks to position bamboo as a sustainable energy and industrial crop while building an integrated ecosystem connecting farmers, academia, industry, and government.
The collaboration will focus on research and innovation in bamboo-based carbon products, specialty chemicals, composites, and engineered materials, alongside the development of process technologies, standards, SOPs, prototypes, and pilot-scale solutions. The MoU was signed by Pasha Patel, Sanjeev Karpe, Prof. Suman Kundu, and Dhananjay Kandakure, in the presence of Prof. Shibu Clement and Prof. Sampatrao D. Manjare. The mission-mode programme has been conceptualized by Prof. Abhishek Sharma, with key contributions from Prof. Sharad M. Sontakke and Prof. Mrunalini Gaydhane, reinforcing BITS Pilani’s commitment to sustainability-driven innovation
BITS Pilani Advances Its Innovation-to-Market Ecosystem through Technology Transfer
Three advanced biopharmaceutical technologies were transferred to Zernyx Innovations Pvt. Ltd., founded by Prof. Deepak Chitkara and Mr. Ajay Patel, in the presence of Prof. Sudhirkumar V Barai, Director, Pilani Campus strengthening the Institute’s innovation-to-market ecosystem.
Developed by the Department of Pharmacy, the technologies advance translational research by bridging academic discovery and industry adoption. Dr. Rajeev Taliyan, Head, Department of Pharmacy, emphasized the Department’s sustained focus on industry-relevant research with societal impact.
Col. Soumyabrata Chakraborty (Retd.), Registrar, highlighted support for homegrown deep-tech startups, while Mr. Rajneesh Kumar, Head Technology Transfer, announced the restructuring of the Technology Transfer Office into FACTT, a Section 8 company.
BITS Pilani Goa Signs MoU with NCPOR
An important milestone was marked with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between BITS Pilani, K. K. Birla Goa Campus and the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, at the BITS Pilani Goa campus. The MoU reflects a shared commitment to advancing collaborative research aligned with national scientific priorities in polar, ocean, and earth sciences.
The NCPOR delegation was led by Dr. Thamban Meloth, Director, and included Dr. Rahul Mohan, Dr. John Kurian P, Dr. Manish Tiwari, Dr. Shailendra Saini, and G. M. K. Nambiar (Retd.). The MoU was signed in the presence of Prof. Suman Kundu, Director, and Prof. Shibu Clement, Associate Dean (Research & Innovation), along with faculty members from the science and engineering departments.
A dedicated session on synergistic research initiatives led to fruitful discussions, identifying complementary areas for joint work in advanced marine and polar engineering, earth and ocean sciences, capacity building, innovation, and technology translation. As a follow-up, a joint workshop at NCPOR is being planned to enable deeper collaboration through PhD co-guidance, joint proposal development, and sustained institutional engagement. The MoU lays a strong foundation for advancing science, technology, and capacity building in alignment with national priorities.
Alumni-Instituted Scholarship
BITS Pilani receives USD 1 million endowment for female scholarships and innovation from its alumni Prof. Brij Bhushan and Mrs. Champa Bhushan
The endowment was contributed by distinguished alumnus Prof. Brij Bhushan (1960 batch) and his wife Mrs. Champa Bhushan, a BITSPilani alumna with a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering (1966), to support female scholarships and faculty-guided innovation.Established by Prof. Bhushan, founder of Reston Consulting Group, Inc. (RCG), the endowment aims to empower female students and promote innovative, faculty-guided solutions to real-world challenges.
Prof. V Ramgopal Rao, Group Vice-Chancellor, BITSPilani, acknowledged their long-standing association with the Institute, while Prof. Bhushan noted that the endowment fulfils a long-held aspiration to support student welfare. Building on two merit-cum-need scholarships instituted in 2009, the endowment will further support meritorious students and strengthen innovation at BITSPilani.
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