Shailendra Raj Mehta


Shailendra Raj Mehta is an Indian academic administrator, economist, and entrepreneur. He has served as president and director of the Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad.
Mehta has held several leadership positions in Indian higher education, including Chairman of the Board of Management at AURO University, and Provost as well as Vice-Chancellor of Ahmedabad University. He is a member of the Mission High-Level Committee of the Indian Knowledge System and serves as Vice-Chairman of the Governing Body of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla.

Early life and education

Mehta was born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. He completed his Bachelor of Arts at St. Stephen's College, Delhi, followed by his Master of Arts from the Delhi School of Economics. He earned an M.Phil. from Balliol College, Oxford, and holds a Doctor of Philosophy from Harvard University.

Career

Mehta’s research has focused on industrial organization, information economics, and experimental economics.
From 1990 to 2006, Mehta served as a tutor at the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University. During this time, he directed the Krannert School's Entrepreneurship Initiative and the SEAS Simulation Lab, and received Purdue University's Class of 1922 Award for Teaching, Innovation, and Helping Students Learn. While at Purdue, he co‐founded Simulex Inc., a technology company based in the Purdue Research Park.
He returned to India in 2007 and worked on a collaboration between Duke Corporate Education and the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, which operated in India, West Asia, and the Middle East. He also served as a visiting professor of Business Policy at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.
Mehta was appointed Provost and Vice-Chancellor of Ahmedabad University in 2014. The following year, he became chairman of the Board of Management at Auro University, where he also served as Acting Vice-Chancellor and Distinguished Professor of Strategy.
In 2017, Mehta became the President and Director of MICA (institute), and was appointed Distinguished Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The Ministry of Education appointed him Vice-Chairman of the Governing Body of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study.

US patents

  • System and method for analyzing and structuring data records
  • System and method for automated document generation
  • Industry Simulation Environment

President and director of MICA

During his tenure as president of MICA, Mehta oversaw the establishments of partnerships between the institute and management schools in the United States, including Emory University, Michigan State University, Northwestern University, and the University of Southern California, as well as with Chinese universities. During his tenure as President, MICA received the 'Great Place to Work' certification.
After completing his term at MICA, he joined O. P. Jindal Global University in May 2024.