I worked at Tata Consulting Engineers in Bangalore, BHEL Energy Systems & New Products Division in Delhi, and Corporate R&D Division in Hyderabad, Forbes Marshall as Chief (R&D), Mahindra & Mahindra in Nashik as Head (Technology & Knowledge Management) and Thermax India in Pune as Vice President (Innovation and R&D). I have been a visiting and adjunct professor at School of Management, IIT Bombay for 8 years, where I taught Innovation Management and Knowledge Management and New Products Development. I have also been a visiting faculty at the Tata Management Training Centre. Apart from that, I was a member of the Board of Governors at different reputed Government and Private engineering and management Institutes. I have lectured at the National University of Singapore (NUS) on Innovation Management and guided projects on healthcare innovation. Was Vice President, Indian Society of Heat & Mass Transfer (ISHMT). Figured in Marquis’s Who’s Who in the World and Marquis’s Who’s Who in Science & Technology.
Currently I am a member of the Board of Editors of the peer-reviewed, award-winning, international journal, Research Technology Management (RTM). I also conduct programs for industry managers and advise industries on setting up and implementing Innovation Management, Knowledge Management, Technology Management, R&D Management, IP Management and New Products Development. Through my foundation MAITRI (Making Academia Innovative and Technically Relevant to Industries) I arrange and monitor annual industry sabbaticals for engineering teachers. In my spare time, I publish articles and (Marathi) cryptic crosswords. I recently published AWAAK –a collection of Marathi poems consisting of devotional & romantic songs, bhavgeets, ghazals and limericks.
Nostalgic remembrances from my IIT days
Practically fifteen days a month our gang consisting of Ashank (Desai), Pramod Bapat (Bapu), Chandrakant Shirwaiker (Muchhakda –his moustache was very prominent), Sunil Deshpande (Deshpo) and me (Kamlesh Pande) used to religiously go for after-dinner walks to the temple side . Each one used to hum the tunes (mukhdas) of old Hindi film songs and the rest were expected to guess the actual song as well as the name of the hero/heroine for whom the song was picturised and the name of the film. In the end, we ended up being an encyclopedia of Hindi film songs and all the associated details.
What impact IIT days had on me and how it changed me
Coming from Nagpur (and educated in Marathi medium till HSC), I was quite diffident in my approach and weak in English conversation. This was in spite of the fact that I had done BA in English Literature. But my batchmates and hostel mates helped me overcome the diffidence. I was, and still am, a very strict vegetarian. Hostel life taught me to eat food –and enjoy it—sitting next to a non-veg fish-eating friend. IIT provided me the platform to benchmark myself and an opportunity to constantly improve upon myself. Also, it was in IIT that I learnt the value of sharing everything –including knowledge. IIT also taught me to see the bigger picture and link all my actions to it. My guide taught me not to take life unduly seriously. Alas! If only IIT had taught me how to fall in love!!
My Family
Married in March 1976 to Anju, a Bombayite who is MA in English Lit. She has been a visiting prof of English. My daughter Aarti , Masters in Media Management from Bournemouth University, UK is married and settled in London. Son Abhinav is a masters in Mech Engineering from University of Cincinnati and MBA from Kelly School of Business is now with Nike in Portland as a Supply Chain Operations Manager.
My hobbies and passions
My hobbies: Reading, writing and sharing what I read with others. I love reading poetry and biographies. Listening to old Hindi & Marathi songs is my second love. My passion: Making (i) Higher Technical Education (HTE) multi-disciplinary and industry-oriented and (ii) making engineering teachers much more competent and practically-oriented, and (iii) exposing students at all levels to innovation and helping them implement it.
IIT Bombay 1974 Reunion 