University of Cyberjaya Confers Honorary Doctorate to Vice Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
University of Cyberjaya starts the year by awarding Professor Dr. Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, Vice Chancellor of Jawarharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi with an Honorary Doctorate of Social Sciences for her contributions in the field on Wednesday, 18th January 2023 at its campus. The honorary doctorate degree is the highest form of recognition offered by the University of Cyberjaya to persons of extraordinary distinction.
Professor Dr. Santishree started as a secretary at New Life India Movement, as well as the Youth Red Cross Unit at Presidency College in 1980. Holding numerous positions in associations, forums, and NGOs, she has always been a passionate person in what she believes in until today.
“I know I am in good company when I say that the world needs its most brilliant minds to dedicate themselves to figuring out how we can sustainably rebuild our world into a much more just and equitable one. Please accept my heartfelt gratitude for the tremendous honour of this honorary degree and I look forward to walking hand in hand with you as we meet the many challenges that lay before us in rebuilding the community,” said Professor Dr. Santhisree during her acceptance speech.
As an educator, she began her teaching career in 1988 at Goa University, and then at the University of Pune as a Senior Lecturer in 1992. In addition, she has also been the external examiner for Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) dissertations and Ph.D theses at various reputed Indian Colleges and universities.
As of 2021, she has supervised a total of 23 doctoral theses and 8 M.Phil dissertations. She is also a published author, having authored or co-authored scores of books and journal articles. Aside from that, she is also passionate about uplifting the rights for education particularly for women and children and is in fact the first female vice-chancellor of JNU.
One of JNU’s greatest achievements include having its alumni, Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee win a Novel Economics Prize in 2019 for his experimental approach to alleviating global poverty. As a direct result of one of his studies, more than 5 million Indian children have benefitted from effective programmes of remedial tutoring in schools. The award was jointly won by the Indian American, his wife, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer.
University of Cyberjaya looks forward to forming a lasting relationship with JNU through Professor Dr. Santishree’s leadership.
