Digii100x Maharashtra
One State, One Higher Education Ecosystem:
Unlocking Collective Excellence Through Collaboration
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“Strong institutions can do more when their strengths work together.”
What does it take to move higher education from individual institutional strengths to a connected state-wide ecosystem? That was the central question explored at the Digii100x Maharashtra Roundtable. Academic and education leaders explored how collaboration can create greater value through student mobility, faculty exchange, shared infrastructure, research partnerships, industry engagement and regional problem-solving, giving institutions more ways to learn from each other and students access to a wider range of opportunities.
Key Discussion Pillars
Building One Connected Higher Education Ecosystem
- Moving from individual institutional strengths to a connected ecosystem where universities can collaborate across academic, research, infrastructure, and other areas.
- Creating practical mechanisms for institutions to share expertise, resources, and capabilities while keeping student outcomes at the centre.
Enabling Student & Faculty Mobility
- Moving beyond institution-specific pathways to enable students and faculty to learn, teach, and collaborate across universities.
- Creating workable systems for credit transfer, student exchange, faculty exchange, visiting faculty, and shared academic opportunities across the state.
Connecting Research, Infrastructure & Expertise
- Moving beyond individual research efforts to build stronger connections between faculty, laboratories, institutions, and industry.
- Creating shared research platforms, statewide faculty expertise networks, resource-sharing models, and collaborative research opportunities that allow institutions to build on each other’s strengths.
Turning Collaboration into Shared Outcomes
- Moving beyond collaboration as an idea to define clear goals, incentives, and mechanisms that make partnerships deliver measurable value.
- Building stronger industry connections, regional partnerships, and statewide initiatives that translate collaboration into better student opportunities, stronger research, and greater institutional impact.
Voices From the Roundtable
Featured Speakers
Prof. Ajay Kapoor
Vice-Chancellor,
Somaiya Vidyavihar University
Shri. B. Venugopal Reddy (IAS)
Additional Chief Secretary – Higher and Technical Education Department, Government of Maharashtra
Charu Malhotra
Co-Founder & Managing Director, Primus Partners
Prof. Gopalkrishna Joshi
Founding Vice Chancellor, MIT Vishwaprayag University
Col. Dr. Hemlata K. Bagla
Vice-Chancellor,
HSNC University
Dr. Manish Bhalla
Vice-Chancellor, D. Y. Patil International University, Akurdi
Prof. Mukund Kulkarni
Vice-Chancellor,
Vishwakarma University
Prof. Nitin Karmalkar
Chairperson, NEP Task Force, Maharashtra, and Former Vice Chancellor, Savitribai Phule Pune University
Prof. Parag Kalkar
Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Savitribai Phule Pune University & President, Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS)
Dr. Palak Sheth
Project Director,
Jio Institute
Dr. Ravikesh Srivastava
Vice-Chancellor,
Vijaybhoomi University
Prof. Sanjeev Arjunrao Sonawane
Vice-Chancellor, Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University
Shyamal Gupta
Chief Operating Officer,
Illinois Institute of Technology – Mumbai Campus
Prof. Sunil G. Bhirud
Vice-Chancellor,
COEP Technological University
Prof. Umakant Dash
Vice-Chancellor,
Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics
Vinu Chakravarthy
Chief Operating Officer,
University of Aberdeen Mumbai
Dr. Vivek A. Saoji
Vice-Chancellor,
Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University)
Where These Conversations Happened
Digii100x Maharashtra was held on 17 July 2026 at Hyatt Pune, bringing together Vice-Chancellors, institutional heads, policy leaders, and international campus executives for conversations on the future of higher education.
One of the roundtable conversations centred on a key question: how can institutions build on their individual strengths to create greater value through collaboration across Maharashtra’s higher education ecosystem?
Leaders explored how institutions can enable student and faculty mobility, share infrastructure and expertise, strengthen research collaboration, deepen industry connections, and create stronger regional partnerships.
The focused discussion became the foundation for this playbook: “One State, One Higher Education Ecosystem.” It brings together the ideas, experiences, and practical directions that emerged from the conversation around how institutions can connect their strengths, create meaningful collaboration, and build greater opportunities for students, faculty, research, and the wider ecosystem.
HEI Leaders
Institutions
Policy & Funding bodies
Move from Individual Institutional Strengths to Collective Excellence
Connect the strengths already present across institutions through student and faculty mobility, shared infrastructure and expertise, collaborative research, industry partnerships, and regional engagement to create greater opportunities and outcomes across the higher education ecosystem.
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