BENGALURU: The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has appointed educationist Prof Ganesan Kannabiran as its new director. Announcing this on Friday, NAAC stated that Prof Kannabiran took charge on July 28. Prof Kannabiran is a senior professor of Information Systems at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Tiruchirappalli, and has served in the education sector for over 30 years. He was also the Dean of Research and Consultancy, and Director-in-Charge of NIT Trichy and NIT Puducherry.
He was also the founding director of the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Andhra Pradesh, from 2018 to 2023. During this time, he made significant contributions towards the implementation of the National Education Policy at the institute, and promoted the adoption of neighbouring villages.
During his career, he has been the recipient of several fellowships, including the Commonwealth Professional Fellowship, Fulbright Fellowship, and British Council Study Fellowship. He has also carried out several projects for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the Department of Science and Technology, GoI, and UNESCO. He has carried out projects in the fields of computer-base learning, industry 4.0, entrepreneurship development, gender equality and data privacy among others.
His area of interest lies in software engineering, software project management, IT consulting, and business analytics among others. Prof Kannabiran also has a special interest in entrepreneurship, starting two companies -- Centre for Entrepreneurship Development and Incubation (CEDI) at NIT Trichy and Gyan Circle Ventures at IIIT Sri City – which focus on supporting up-and-coming entrepreneurs. He also holds a PhD in Information Systems and three Master degrees in Computer Science and Engineering, Business Administration and Mathematics.