UNESCO Chairholder

swatimam
Dr. Swati Mujumdar
MBA, MS (USA), Ph.D (Skill Development)
Principal Director, Symbiosis Open Education Society
Pro-Chancellor, Symbiosis Skills & Professional University, Pune Pro-Chancellor, Symbiosis University of Applied Sciences, Indore Director, Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning
Dr. Swati Mujumdar is an international Vocational Education/Skill Development and Higher Education expert. With 20+ years of professional experience in education & skill development, she has been advising the Government of India and state Govenment of Maharashtra at national & international levels on policy related matters in higher education, blended education model, vocational education (TVET), skill development and distance learning.
She is a policy advisor on skill development & self-financed universities. After years of research, Dr. Swati has developed a unique skill university model and under her able leadership, Symbiosis has established two skills universities namely Symbiosis Skills & Professional University, Pune and Symbiosis University of Applied Sciences, Indore.
With an investment of over $100 million, the two universities have a strategic focus on developing skills & competencies in students, aligned to the needs of the industry. Dr. Swati has been awarded the 2024-2025 Fulbright-Nehru International Education Administrators Seminar (FlNEAS) grant.

Areas of Expertise

Skill Development & Vocational Education

Dr. Swati has chaired the Skill Development and Vocational Education Committee of Maharashtra State Government for defining the State’s Policy. She has been advising Govt of India’s Ministry of Education (MoE) and Skill Ministry on policy matters related to skill development in the country. She was a member of the working group of MoE and Planning Commission for providing inputs in the area of Vocational Education and Skill Development to Government of India for the XII Five year plan. She is a Member of the Institute Advisory Board (IAB) of NCERT’s Pandit Sunderlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education (PSSCIVE).
Dr. Swati has been nominated for UNESCO Prize for Girls & Women’s Education 2021 as a recognition of her contribution to women education through various skill development initiatives. Dr. Swati is also a member of the Government of Maharashtra committee for redesigning curriculum at secondary & higher secondary level in accordance with New Education Policy-2020.
Dr. Swati has recently been appointed as Member of CII National Committee on Skill Development and Livelihood 2023-24. She was appointed as a member of B20 Task Force on future of work, skilling & mobility and she represented India in B20 deliberations. In recognition of her contribution to Vocational Education & Skill Development, Dr. Swati was awarded the Vocational Excellence Award 2023 by Rotary Club of Pune. 
She has developed a module on Community Colleges/Vocational Education for Digital Guide on Internationalization: Simplifying U.S.-lndia Higher Education Institution Collaboration and Partnerships, a project implemented by University of Denver and funded by US Consulate.

Higher Education​

Dr. Swati has vast academic and administrative experience of running higher education institutions. Dr. Swati has been advising government bodies and ministries in India and internationally in areas ranging from policy frameworks, legislations, credit systems, curricula design, use of ICT, higher education reforms and quality assurance. 
She contributed towards drafting of Govt. of Maharashtra’s Self-Financed Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Bill.
Dr. Swati was a member of EQUIP-7 committee constituted by Ministry of Education (MoE) for reforming higher education system in India and presented the recommendations of the group towards skill development to MoE. 
Recently, she represented India in UNESCO deliberations on Credit Recognition and Transfer Systems in Asia-Pacific. She was also the only Indian invited by UNESCO to Shenzhen to participate in Regional Consultation on ICT-Driven Innovation in Higher Education. 
She is a member of the Governing Body/ Advisory Council of L&T Edutech. Recently, Dr. Swati was invited as a speaker in Economic Times World leadership Forum 2024.

Open & Distance Learning​

Dr. Swati Mujumdar has been a policy advisor both at national & international level in the field of Open and distance learning for over 2 decades. 
She heads one of the largest autonomous distance learning institutions in India – Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning (SCDL). Under her able leadership, today SCDL has more than 100,000 students from all states of India and 42 different countries at any given point of time.
Her case studies on ‘Effective of Use of ICT’ have been published by UNESCO, Bangkok & Deloitte Consulting, USA. She has been an active member of ICDE and AAOU and has worked as an elected member of the Executive Committee of AAOU.
Dr. Swati has been nominated as a member of the committee to suggest model of Distance and Online Education for the New Education Policy-2020 by Govt. of Maharashtra.