Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar

Education empowers individuals and drives progress in communities, impacting social, cultural, and economic development. Educationists, as leaders in this field, play a crucial role in shaping the educational system. They introduce innovative approaches with resilience, empathy, humility, and an entrepreneurial mindset, embodying transformative leadership philosophies.

These motivating leaders aren’t reluctant to dream big because they see the bigger picture. They confidently operate, take measured chances, and significantly impact the constantly evolving educational landscape. Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar is a shining example of women making a difference in the educational sector. Being the Principal Director of Symbiosis and Pro-Chancellor of Symbiosis International (Deemed University), she is determined to foster positive transformations that will craft a student-centric environment.

Her journey in the education sector is a tale of destiny. She was a practicing medical doctor, having her hospital in India and then working with the Ministry of Health in Muscat, Oman. After about six years of working, she returned and started helping her father in the daily operations of Symbiosis, and that is how she got into the education sector.

Since then, she has been in the higher education sector, and she thoroughly enjoys being an education leader, not just working for Symbiosis but also working on Government and Quasi-Government bodies such as FICCI, where she is the Chair for Higher Education. Thus, she gets to be a part of policymaking for the Indian Higher Education sector.

Encouraging Women Empowerment

As a woman in the higher education sector, what Dr. Vidya likes the most is that she sees many women entering this sector as professionals. At Symbiosis, more than 50 percent of the leadership positions are taken by women. She is happy to say that even among the student population, 55 percent are women. As a university, Symbiosis has established the Symbiosis Medical College, which is exclusively for women. She feels that including women in professional careers is essential, especially in a country like India, which will help empower women.

Expanding the Institute

In 2024, Dr. Vidya and her staff in Symbiosis have set the goal of establishing their first international campus in Dubai. SIU Dubai has been approved by the Ministry of Education, Govt. of India. It is under process of accreditation by CAA, the Ministry of Education, UAE.

This will be a multidisciplinary campus in Dubai. As Symbiosis gets a lot of students from the Gulf region, West Asia, and Africa and a huge Indian diaspora in the Gulf Region, this campus will help these students to get a quality education with the Symbiosis International University degrees right there in Dubai.