Rajendra Mishra (1919–1977) was an Indian Professor and education pioneer known for being one of the founders of the first of the

Indian Institutes of Technology The Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) are a network of engineering and technology institutions in India. Established in 1950, they are under the purview of the Ministry of Education of the Indian Government and are governed by the Inst ...

(IIT) at

IIT Kharagpur The Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur or IIT-KGP) is a public institute of technology, research university, and autonomous institute established by the Government of India in Kharagpur, West Bengal. Founded in 1951, the in ...

, in 1951. He helped establish the institute's infrastructure, pioneered the engineering disciplines of mechanical, production, and industrial engineering, and launched the study of management science in India. His contributions were unprecedented when he forged a relationship between industry and academia through collaborative programmes. He brought his industrial experience to the educational system of IIT Kharagpur and embraced the best engineering and management practices from the US and Europe to build the foundation for a world-class engineering university over a time span of 27 years in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Mishra was an influential personality in the field of industrial engineering and management in India. He is reputed to be the first management teacher in the country. He established the Department of Management Studies in 1954 at IIT Kharagpur along with Sir Jahangir Ghandhy, former president of India Shri;

V. V. Giri Varahagiri Venkata Giri (; 10 August 1894 – 24 June 1980), better known as V. V. Giri was an Indian statesman and activist who served as the president of India from 24 August 1969 to 24 August 1974. He also served as the vice president of ...

, former minister of higher education; Dr. Triguna Sen, developer of one of the first executive development programmes in India. In his tenure at

, he held several academic positions including head of Mechanical Engineering Department, dean of planning and coordination, and deputy director of the institute. He was also principal of Regional Engineering College, Rourkela. In 2010, IIT Kharagpur named its new engineering entrepreneurship center the " Rajendra Mishra School of Engineering Entrepreneurship" in honor of Mishra. The school was set up with generous grants from the sons of late Professor Mishra, Devendra Mishra and Amarendra Mishra, who are also alumni of IIT Kharagpur.

References

Further reading