B. K. Chakravarthy

Dr. B. K. Chakravarty, the distinguished founding dean of Mahindra University, is a visionary educator and innovator with a rich legacy of accomplishments. Before his role at Mahindra University, Dr. Chakravarty established the Shenoy Innovation Studio at IIT Bombay, a pioneering initiative aimed at cultivating a culture of innovation and design thinking among students and faculty. With a profound commitment to fostering creativity and excellence in education, and his leadership and dedication in driving innovation have left an indelible mark on the field of education and continue to inspire the next generation of innovators at Mahindra University.
In recognition of his commitment to education, creativity, and business, Dr. Chakravarthy received the esteemed Institute Chair Professorship in 2015. His partnerships with governmental organizations and professional associations demonstrate his faith in the transformative potential of design, producing significant products like an arsenic filter for Varanasi and an easy-to-maintain mailbox for India Post.
Beyond the classroom, Dr. Chakravarthy’s initiatives extend to the establishment of the Design Innovation Center at IIT Bombay in 2014, funded by the Ministry of Education. This centre has played a crucial role in bringing student projects to fruition, resulting in an impressive portfolio of patents and technology transfers with industry partners. Through online courses and video case studies under the Open Design School project, Dr. Chakravarthy’s methodologies have reached a wide student audience, garnering over 150,000 nationwide registrations.

Dr. Chakravarthy’s main areas of interest are product design, innovation, creativity, and design management. He holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Management Studies at IIT Delhi and a master’s in industrial design from IIT Bombay. His experience and passion for education have shaped the next generation of design pioneers at the IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay, where he has taught subjects including design basics, product design, and innovation by design.

• B.Tech (Mech), Osmania University

• M.Des (Industrial Design), IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay

• Ph.D. (Management), IIT Delhi

Books

• Chakravarthy, B. K. (2020). Innovation by Design: Lessons from Post Box Design & Development. Springer.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (2022). Design for Human Factors – A light weight Palki for Vaishno Devi.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (2022). Design for longevity – A Maintenance Free Letterbox for India Post
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (2022). Design for Novelty – Serial Innovation in Gasoline Dispensers

International Conferences and Papers

• Chakravarthy, B. K. (2015, January 19–20). Creativity & Innovation. Keynote at International Workshop on Cultures of Creativity and Innovation in Design (CoCreaID’15), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (2006, December). Reliable Innovation Process for New Product Design. Sixth Global Conference on Flexible Systems Management (GLOGIFT-06), Bangkok, Thailand.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (2005, May). Methodology for Innovation. Institute of Design Strategy Conference, Illinois Institute of Design, Chicago, USA.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (2005, March). Methodology for Innovation. International Seminar on Product Life Management, Noida, India.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (2004, December). Collaborative Network for Entrepreneurial Innovation. Fourth Global Conference on Flexible Systems Management, Mussoorie, India.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (2004, May). Collaborative Network for Entrepreneurial Innovation. Cumulus Conference, Oslo, Norway.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (2004, April). Methodology for Innovation. Marcusevans Conference – Collaborative Product Development, India.
• Chakravarthy, B. K., & Shatdal, A. (2002, November). Innovation: A Collaborative Approach. Indo-Japan Symposium on Technology and Innovation Management, IIT Delhi, India.
• Chakravarthy, B. K., Shatdal, A., & Ghatgey, A. (2002, September). Collaborative Networking for New Product Concept Management. International Conference on Multimedia Development, Aptech Worldwide.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (2002, January). Application Development Methodology – Is it Different for Aluminium? ALTECH 2002, Bangalore, India.
• Chakravarthy, B. K., Albers, A., & Schweinberger, D. (2001, October). Collaborative Environment for Concept Generation of New Products. ICSID Conference, Senognam City, Korea.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (2000, December). New Product Design Management with CPC (Collaborative Product Commerce). First Global Conference on Flexible Management Systems, New Delhi, India.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (2000, March). Design of Safe Ride-on Toys. International Conference on Injury Prevention and Control, IIT Delhi, India.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (1999, August). Design Methodology. TNO Product Center, Eindhoven, Netherlands.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (1999, July). New Product Development. University of Karlsruhe, Germany.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (1999, July). User Interface – The Missing Link. International Workshop on Missing Link, Stuttgart, Germany.

National Conferences, Seminars, and Workshops

• Chakravarthy, B. K. (2007, December). Design of Letterbox for India Post. 7th CII–NID Design Summit, Bangalore, India.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (2006, September). Industrial Design Case Studies. CII Workshop on Protection of Industrial Design, Mumbai, India.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (2006, April). Role of Design in Enhancing Competitiveness of Indian Design Industry. National Seminar on Industrial Design and IPR, NID Ahmedabad, India.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (2005). Design for Senior Managers – Manufacturing Excellence Workshop, Ashok Leyland, IIT Bombay, India.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (2003, December). Collaborative Model for New Product Innovation. CII Design Summit, Mumbai, India.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (1997). Concurrent Engineering in Indian Industry. National Conference on Concurrent Engineering, Indian Navy, New Delhi, India.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (1996). Human-Centered Concurrent Engineering. National Conference on Concurrent Engineering, DRDO, Pune, India.
• Chakravarthy, B. K. (1994). Innovative Methods in Product Development. National Conference on Product Design, IISc Bangalore, India.

Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=C2jwfOMAAAAJ&hl=en

• Dean, School of Design and Innovation, Mahindra University, 2024- Present
• Professor, IDC IIT Bombay, Mumbai, 2001- 2024
• Associate Professor, IDDC IIT Delhi, New Delhi, 1999-2001
• Assistant Professor, IDDC IIT Delhi, New Delhi, 1994-1999
• Principal Designer, Larsen and Toubro Limited, Mumbai 1988-1994

• Organizing Committee In European Union Sponsored Collaborative Project on eco design involving three institutes, IIT Delhi, Tu Delft, Netherlands And Ineti Portugal From Feb-1999 To April-2002.
• Nominated by DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) for Research visit to University of Karlsruhe, Germany on the topic, ‘New Product Design Management’, from Feb 2001 to July 2001.
• Visit to Design Expo 2000 Hanover fair Germany to study future projections in design, July 2000
• Undertook a one-month research visit to Dept of Mech Engineering University of Karlsruhe Germany under the DAAD faculty exchange programme. Research theme “New Product Design Management Tools and Methodologies”. July 1999.