The Dean

Message

Welcome to the dynamic world of engineering at SIT, where innovation is not just a goal but a way of life. At the forefront of technological advancements, we blend expertise, technology, and creativity to propel our community towards excellence. SIT stands as a centre for creativity, a beacon for learning, and a convergence point for ideas that shape the future. Our success is rooted in the unwavering commitment of our faculty members to academic rigour, groundbreaking research, and mentoring. Their dedication goes beyond the confines of classrooms, influencing the lives of our students in profound ways. Our overarching objective has always been to bring out the best in our students, moulding them into professionals with strong ethical and moral values. As you embark on your journey at SIT, you join a diverse community engaged in hands-on learning and cutting-edge research, paving the way for successful careers in business, government, or academia. Our faculty, involved in high-impact research across various domains, including Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Blockchain, Data Science, Robotics, GIS, Nanoscience, Cloud Computing, Embedded Systems, Infrastructure Design and Building Information Modelling (BIM), ensures that our students are exposed to the latest advancements in their field. Through creative instruction, hands-on projects, and involvement in various student competition teams, our undergraduates and postgraduates receive an exceptional educational experience. Industry-sponsored capstone projects and internships further foster professional ties, laying the groundwork for post-graduation success. At SIT, we strive to create an inclusive and dynamic environment where excellence in teaching, research, and service is paramount. I look forward to working with each one of you and contributing to the success and growth of our vibrant engineering community. Should you have any comments, questions, or ideas, please feel free to email me at director@sitpune.edu.in.

Expertise

Dr. Ketan Kotecha is a highly acclaimed researcher and educator in deep learning, artificial intelligence, computer algorithms, and machine learning, with a passion for cultivating higher-order thinking skills and critical thinking. He has mentored over 20 PhD students to success, and his editorial board appointments with IEEE Access, PeerJ Computer Science journal, Cogent Journal by Taylor & Francis, and Frontiers Journals reflect his standing as a thought leader in the field.

Experience

Dr. Kotecha is a world-renowned expert in AI and deep learning, with over 30 years of experience at the forefront of the field. He has recently achieved global recognition as one of the top 2% scientists worldwide, a distinction conferred by Stanford University. Dr Kotecha has published over 300 Scopus-indexed papers, and his work has been cited over 6,000 times. He also has an impressive i-10 index of 118. He has also published 10 patents.

He has secured prestigious research funding for Applied AI projects, including a PURSE grant from DST under the Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence scheme worth INR 5.2 cores and a grant from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, worth INR 199.04 lakhs. These grants reflect his standing as a leading researcher in the field, and his work has the potential to make a significant impact on society.

A highly acclaimed researcher with a track record of securing prestigious funding and awards, he has recently received the Indo-Canada Shastri grant SSTSG 2023-24, in collaboration with the University of Winnipeg, for his project on Multimodal Co-learning tolerance soft computing for Real-life Deep Learning Applications. In the past, he has been awarded SPARC projects worth INR 166 lacs from MHRD, Government of India, for AI projects with Arizona State University, USA, and the University of Queensland, Australia, respectively. He is also the recipient of numerous other prestigious awards, including the Erasmus Plus Faculty Mobility Grant to the University of Wroclaw, Poland; the DUO-India Professors Fellowship for research in Responsible AI with Brunel University, UK; a grant from the Royal Academy of Engineering, UK, under the Newton Bhabha Fund; the Going Global Partnerships Exploratory Grant from the British Council, UK, in collaboration with Aston University; and two projects from DST under the Indo-Italy and Indo-Serbia schemes, worth Rs. 70 lacs.

Dr. Kotecha has also secured consultancy projects on AI in healthcare with Philips and Avegen, two leading global companies in the healthcare and technology industries. Under his acumen leadership, SIT Pune has grabbed a significant INR 30 crore CSR grant from Bajaj Auto to establish the Bajaj Engineering Skills Training Centre (BEST) and a grant of INR 50 Lakhs from the Ministry of Telecommunication to setup 5G usecase lab in the domain of AI+telemedicine at SIT Pune. The BEST skill centre will provide advanced manufacturing skills training to engineering graduates, helping to bridge the skills gap and prepare them for the future workforce. Dr. Kotecha was awarded the prestigious LEAP grant from the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, to participate in a leadership training program at Cambridge University, UK, and IIT Kharagpur.

Dr. Kotecha has also been appointed as an Adjunct Professor at Swinburne University, Australia, a prestigious university with a global reputation for excellence in research and education. He is also a visiting professor at the prestigious UCSI University Malaysia. Under his leadership Symbiosis Institute of Pune has partnered with prominent global universities such as Aston University and Loughborough University, United Kingdom for collaborative undergraduate programs.

A highly sought-after keynote speaker in the field of AI, Dr. Kotecha has been invited to address prestigious forums such as the Machine Intelligence Lab at USA, Pretoria University, South Africa, IIT Bombay under World Bank Project, Global Meet on Sensors and Sensing Technology in Italy, and the 2nd International Congress on AI and Machine Learning in the Czech Republic. Under Dr. Kotecha's visionary leadership, SIT Pune has become the most sought-after destination for students and faculty alike.