GIFT City staff

Dr Swati Kumari is a senior lecturer at Deakin University GIFT City Campus. She has a PhD from Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology and prior to joining Deakin was a postdoctoral fellow at Trinity College, Dublin. She is an expert in quantum and post-quantum cryptography and brings over a decade of academic experience in cyber security.

Dr Hridoy Sankar Dutta is a lecturer in cyber security at Deakin University GIFT City Campus. A former postdoctoral researcher at University of Cambridge, he holds a PhD from Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology-Delhi. Hridoy specializes in data-driven cyber security and social network analysis for innovative education and research.

Dr Bhardwaj holds a PhD from NIT Kurukshetra. Her research interests span network forensics, machine learning and threat detection. She was a visiting scholar at Purdue University, USA.

Dr Ram Krishn Mishra holds a Master of Engineering and PhD in computer science from BITS Pilani and is a faculty member in the School of Information Technology at Deakin University GIFT City Campus. He taught at universities in the UK and UAE before joining Deakin. His expertise spans machine learning, deep learning and recommender systems, with research interests in natural language processing, sentiment analysis and social media analytics.

Dr Biswajit Acharjya is a lecturer in business analytics at Deakin University GIFT City Campus, bringing over thirteen years of combined industry and academic experience. He holds a doctorate in applications of soft computing in finance and behavioral finance from Vellore Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu, India. Dr Acharjya specializes in data science management and computational analytics with extensive experience in teaching, training and delivering consultancy projects for reputed organizations.

Vedant is a government relations, policy and communications professional with 9+ years’ experience across national and international organisations. He is responsible for media & public relations, government engagement, strategic communications, & student recruitment at Deakin's GIFT City campus, building partnerships, community programs and campaigns to expand and promote the university's presence in India.

Sonu Prince is an Administrative Officer – Campus Operations and Finance at Deakin University’s GIFT City Campus. He brings experience in higher education administration, programme coordination and campus operations, having worked with IIT Gandhinagar, Rashtriya Raksha University and the National Forensic Sciences University. With an academic background in psychology, he is passionate about fostering a supportive campus environment and enhancing the student experience.

As Student Advisor at Deakin University’s GIFT City Campus, Prathmesh supports students in achieving their academic and personal goals. Prathmesh is passionate about fostering a supportive and inclusive higher education environment. and is skilled in student relations, counselling, and engagement to enhance the campus experience.

Santosh keeps the campus’s IT environment secure, reliable, and running smoothly, from networks and systems to user support. He holds a Master’s in Cybersecurity and a CCNA certification and is pursuing a PhD in ICT at PDEU. With a practical, security-first approach, he supports academic excellence at GIFT City.

Ayushi brings over seven years of dedicated experience in guiding and mentoring students. She is passionate about helping young learners make informed career choices and supports them with personalised advice throughout their higher education journey. Through her empathetic approach and strong communication skills, she strives to ensure every student finds the path that aligns with their goals and potential.

With over a decade of experience in higher education marketing, strategic partnerships, and academic administration, Rahul  serves as Senior Marketing Consultant at Deakin University – India, leading domestic marketing strategy and institutional engagement from the GIFT City campus. His earlier roles span Strategic Alliances, Marketing & PR leadership, regional operations management, and foundational academic experience as an Assistant Professor. He brings strong expertise in stakeholder engagement, partnership development, and advancing collaborative pathways within the education sector.