Achuthsankar S . Nair is new vice-chairperson of Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC),taking over from social scientist P.M . Rajan Gurukkal, who stepped down with rise of UDF government. Nair's rich academic and public service background suits this role .
Dr. Nair's journey in education began at Government Engineering College,Palakkad. He moved to Department of Computer Science at Kerala University in 1995 after time at Model Engineering College, Kochi. His leadership roles include Director of Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C-DIT) from 2001-2004 and several key positions at Kerala University — like Dean of Faculty of Technology and Director of Internal Quality Assurance Cell .
Retiring in 2024, Dr. Nair led Department of Bioinformatics at Kerala University for two decades. His academic work stands out; he supervised ~30 PhD theses, authored 25+ books. Research in Artificial Intelligence and bioinformatics earned him strong reputation.
His awards include Kerala’s Young Scientist Award and first National Teacher Award from INSA. Also Vakkom Moulavi Foundation’s Award for Social Work and Kerala University’s Excellence Award. Uniquely,Dr. Nair holds two doctorates from Kerala University,in Engineering and Music. His broad expertise and leadership are set to impact KSHEC as it faces challenges of higher education evolution in state…but how will it play out?
