First woman VC of MMMUT takes charge, eyes Top-50 ranking for univ

Gorakhpur: Prof Anupama Kaushik Sharma on Tuesday assumed charge as the fifth vice-chancellor of Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology (MMMUT), becoming the first woman to head the institution since its inception as Madan Mohan
Malaviya Engineering College.

Her appointment is also being seen as a landmark moment for technical education in Uttar Pradesh, as no woman is believed to have served earlier as vice-chancellor or director of a state-run technical institution in the state.

Outgoing vice-chancellor Prof JP Saini formally handed over the charge to Prof Sharma at the Vice-Chancellor’s Secretariat in Atal Bhavan in the presence of senior university officials, faculty members and family members. Prof Sharma’s husband Prof SK Sharma, vice-chancellor of Punjab Technical University, Bathinda, was also present.

A distinguished academician, Prof Sharma completed BE, ME, MBA and PhD degrees from Punjab University, Chandigarh. She also earned a postgraduate diploma in Statistics and a diploma in French language. She began her academic career in 1999 and later became Professor in Chemical Engineering at Punjab University.

With over 31 years of experience in teaching, research and administration, she has published around 100 research papers and supervised 10 PhD scholars. Addressing faculty members after assuming office, Prof Sharma said her priority would be to take MMMUT into the country’s top 50 institutions through collective efforts and teamwork.