Deepak B. Phatak

Dr. Deepak B. Phatak is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Bombay, with a distinguished career spanning over five decades. Joining IIT Bombay in 1971, Phatak has held various leadership positions, including Head of the CSE department, Dean of Resources, and founding head of the Kanwal Rekhi School of IT. His research focuses on technology application and deployment, with a particular emphasis on improving education quality at a large scale. Phatak is renowned for his contributions to several groundbreaking initiatives, including upgrading the Aakash tablet, introducing smart cards in Indian payment systems, fostering business incubation for startups, conducting large-scale teacher training programs, developing the IITBombayX MOOC platform, and advocating for blended MOOCs. As an Open Source evangelist, he has championed the use of Free and Open Source Software. Phatak's expertise has been sought by financial and industrial organizations, and he has served on numerous boards. His significant contributions to science and technology were recognized with the Padma Shri award in 2013. Throughout his career, Phatak has remained committed to leveraging technology to address India's educational challenges and national aspirations.