FOUNDING DEAN — AU-QUASAR
Alliance University Quantum AI School for Advanced Research | Bangalore, India
The Opportunity
AU-QUASAR is seeking an exceptional academic and institutional leader to serve as its Founding Dean—someone ready to build India’s premier Deep-tech institution from the ground up, not manage an inherited structure.
AU-QUASAR (Alliance University Quantum AI School for Advanced Research) is India’s first institution built around Quantum-AI convergence. Located in Electronic City, Bangalore, it integrates education, research, and entrepreneurship across five interconnected departments:
- Quantum Science
- Quantum Computing & Technologies
- Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
- Robotics & Automation
- Cyber Physical Systems
These are not academic silos—they are five lenses on a unified mission: advancing India’s technological sovereignty through Quantum and AI innovation, in direct alignment with India’s National Quantum Mission (₹6,000 crore, 2023–2031).
What sets QUASAR apart: Students program real quantum circuits on QVidya 8-qubit and 16-qubit processors, train billion-parameter models on NVIDIA DGX H200 GPU clusters, and build autonomous robots integrating computer vision and machine learning—from day one. Research, entrepreneurship, and industry engagement are embedded into the educational model, not added as afterthoughts.
The Role
As Founding Dean, your mandate spans eight interconnected areas:
I. Academic Leadership & Vision Define QUASAR’s academic philosophy and research priorities. Establish governance structures (Academic Council, Research Committee, Faculty Senate), set quality standards across faculty, admissions, and curriculum, and represent QUASAR at national and international forums.
II. Faculty Recruitment & Development Recruit 5 Department Chairs and 60–70 faculty members over five years. Attract high H-index researchers, build inclusive teams spanning theory and experiment, and create mentoring and development systems to support faculty excellence. Establish compensation competitive with IITs and global standards.
III. Research Strategy & Infrastructure Build QUASAR’s research agenda aligned with National Quantum Mission and Digital India priorities. Secure major grants from DST, SERB, MeitY, DRDO, ANRF, and international agencies. Establish partnerships with TIFR, IISc, IISERs, and global institutions. Develop IP strategy through AURIIC and ensure optimal utilization of quantum and GPU infrastructure.
IV. Academic Programs & Student Success Oversee B.Tech, M.Tech, and Ph.D. programs across all departments. Ensure curricula are cutting-edge, research-integrated, and industry-relevant. Build interdisciplinary programs that leverage QUASAR’s convergence model, and track student outcomes—placements, doctoral admissions, and startup founding.
V. Accreditation & Rankings Lead NAAC accreditation targeting A++ grade, NBA accreditation across all engineering programs, and NIRF rankings (engineering top 25, innovation top 10). Develop a long-term international ranking strategy (QS, THE) and build continuous quality improvement systems.
VI. Industry & Government Partnerships Build strategic partnerships with Google, Microsoft, IBM, NVIDIA, Amazon, and others. Engage with National Quantum Mission as an institutional research partner. Establish relationships with DST, MeitY, DRDO, and ISRO, and develop corporate labs, executive education programs, and internship pipelines.
VII. Resource Management & Sustainability Collaborate with Alliance University leadership on budgets and financial planning. Develop revenue diversification through research grants, executive education, consultancy, and IP licensing while ensuring world-class operational quality.
VIII. Institutional Culture & Values Foster scientific rigor, intellectual curiosity, ethical responsibility, and a culture where failure in service of innovation is valued. Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion across faculty, students, and programs. Build leaders, not just technologists.
Who You Are
Essential Qualifications:
- Ph.D. in Computer Science, Quantum Engineering, AI/ML, Robotics, or a related field from a top-tier global institution
- 15–20 years in academia and/or leading industrial research labs, with 7–10 years in senior leadership (Dean, Department Chair, Lab Director)
- Proven institution builder: you have established departments, recruited outstanding faculty cohorts, and built research centers from inception to international recognition
- Deep research credibility: high H-index with publications in top venues (Nature, Science, Physical Review, NeurIPS, ICML, or equivalent)
- Track record securing ₹20+ crore in cumulative research grants from DST, SERB, DRDO, NSF, EU, or industry
- Experience mentoring 15+ doctoral students to successful careers in academia or industry research
- Mastery of India’s higher education system: NAAC, NIRF, NBA, with demonstrated success achieving top rankings
- Strong networks in academia (IITs, IISc, global universities) and industry (Google, Microsoft, IBM, NVIDIA, defense research)
- Entrepreneurial experience: founded startups, commercialized technology, or led innovation centers
The Philosophy We’re Looking For:
- You believe India can lead globally in quantum computing and AI—not merely adopt technology, but create it
- You’ve lived at disciplinary intersections yourself—publishing across quantum physics and computer science, collaborating with roboticists and AI researchers
- You believe students learn through research, building systems, and deploying technology—not through textbooks alone
- You want to prepare students to define India’s technological future, not just occupy roles in existing companies
- You’re ready to challenge assumptions about what an Indian institution can achieve, holding QUASAR to the standard of MIT, Stanford, and ETH Zurich
- You see National Quantum Mission as India’s moonshot—and you want to be central to it
Evidence of Building: We need someone who has proven they can create, not just theorize. You may have built academic departments that achieved national or international recognition, established globally recognized research centers, recruited star faculty despite competitive offers, secured multi-crore infrastructure grants, or mentored students who went on to faculty roles at IITs/IISc or research positions at Google, Microsoft, and IBM.
Compensation & Benefits
This is a senior leadership position with compensation reflecting its strategic importance:
- Salary: Highly competitive, benchmarked to Dean-level positions at top IITs and global standards
- Performance bonuses tied to institutional milestones: accreditation, rankings, research funding, faculty quality
- Research startup grant: ₹1–2 crores for establishing your professional research group
- Annual research budget for lab, students, conferences, and collaborations
- Housing: Premium on-campus or nearby accommodation
- Relocation support for candidates based internationally or outside Bangalore
- Health insurance, retirement benefits, and a comprehensive executive benefits package
- Professional development: Support for international conferences, sabbaticals, and global academic engagement
Location
Electronic City, Bangalore — India’s technology capital, home to Infosys, Wipro, 400+ AI and tech startups, venture capital, and world-class research institutions including IISc and TIFR. Well-connected internationally with direct flights to the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
Institutional Context
QUASAR operates within Alliance University, a UGC-recognized, NAAC A+ accredited private university in Karnataka. Alliance provides regulatory framework, degree-granting authority, administrative infrastructure, and a firm commitment to QUASAR’s institutional autonomy and distinctive educational model.
If you’ve felt constrained by traditional academic models and are energized by building India’s Deep-tech future from first principles, this is your opportunity.
…