The Alumni Ambassadors Programme was conceived for the promotion of quality people-to-people ties between India and France, particularly in education and research. In the 2023-2025 cohort, we have 16 prominent Alumni with diverse profiles and remarkable careers from across the country. They will be supporting our “Choose France” campaign through their social media promotions, participation in high-profile events, and engagement with aspiring students and Alumni to invigorate both these communities in India.
Meet the Alumni Ambassadors
In their new role as Alumni Ambassadors, they endeavour to bring closer and invigorate the Alumni network in India, especially during these times of physical distance.
[ESCP Business School (2016) Masters – Management]
Ayush Gupta is an alumnus of ESCP Europe Business School, and has received Erasmus+ and Charpak scholarships. His final year project on fine spices and teas laid the foundation for his entrepreneurial venture, Tassyam Organics, which offers a range of food and beverage products. He has taken his family legacy of 100 years forward under Tassyam and has recently expanded its reach to continental Europe, the UK, and the USA. He has also been honing his creative side with his latest venture, an exclusive handmade leather goods brand named after his favourite dessert, Éclair.
[Sciences Po (2017) Masters – Public Policy & Economics]
Bhavya Yadav is a skilled human resources professional with a strong background in both HR business partnering and HR operations. She earned her degree in Public Policy and Economics from Sciences Po, where she was awarded the prestigious Emile Boutmy scholarship for academic excellence. With three years of experience working in HR, Bhavya has honed her expertise in talent management, employee engagement, and HR strategy. She has previously worked with BCG in HR operations, and now works as a freelancer, taking on HR projects for a variety of clients.
[Université de Rennes (2010) – PhD – Space Electronics]
Dr B. Chagun Basha is currently with the Policy Analytics and Insights Unit of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India (OPSA-PAIU) as Chief Policy Adviser. He is closely associated with India’s Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy ecosystem, and belongs to the first cohort of the DST-Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy Fellowship Programme. Dr Basha holds a PhD in space electronics from the Institute of Electronics and Telecommunications of Rennes at the University of Rennes 1, and pursued his postdoctoral research at the Polytechnic School of the University of Nantes. He was also a researcher at INRIA-Institut de recherche en informatique et systèmes aléatoires.
[ESSEC Business School (2017) Masters – Business Administration]
Debayan. K Chandra currently leads the Responsible AI practice and the Pharma Analytics & AI Transformation proposition for consulting firm PwC in India. He works closely with the Global AI and Sustainability teams of PwC, and provides strategic advice on AI adoption to private enterprises and public institutions. A graduate of ESSEC Business School, he is passionate about technology-enabled business transformation. He has worked in the past at Deloitte. He is also the ESSEC Alumni India representative for Kolkata.
[ISAE Supaero (2021) PhD – Aerospace Engineering]
Dr Priyanka D. Rajkakati is an artist and aerospace engineer (PhD) with a passion for sustainable space exploration. An alumnus of St. Stephens College (Delhi), Ecole Polytechnique and ISAE-Supaéro, she has been part of several projects spanning technology and the arts. In 2022, her artwork, Bhedadipika, spent a year on board the International Space Station, via the Moon Gallery project. She has been featured in Forbes India – 30 Under 30 and India Today – The Next 100 Innovators and the Karman Project. A co-founder of the Franco-German startup, The Exploration Company, she is now setting up her own art-tech studio, Atelier Arth in Toulouse.
[École des Mines de Paris (2012) PhD – Mechanics of Materials]
Dr Prajwal Sabnis is the co-founder and product architect of Orxa Energies, where he has spearheaded the development of the Mantis, a zero-emission electric motorcycle. He specializes in Electric Mobility Systems, Materials Modelling, Numerical Mechanics, and Energy Systems. Prajwal has extensive experience in engineering and management roles, including Static and Dynamic Structural Simulations, Material Modelling, Product Development, and Project Management in Aerospace and other domains. Prior to co-founding Orxa, he led a technology team focusing on industry-university collaborative research projects.
[ESSEC Business School (2013) Masters – Business Administration]
Ranjita Ravi is the co-founder of Orxa and conceived its flagship product, Mantis, a zero-emission electric performance motorcycle. She handles scaling the business within the company’s India, South Asia, and Southeast Asia operations and also oversees other organizational affairs. An accomplished leader, Ranjita has over 15 years of experience working across several industries internationally. Prior to co-founding Orxa, Ranjita was with AB InBev, working on risk and internal audits. At Tracxn, as a Biopharma lead analyst, she was responsible for start-up analysis and research. She led internal audit teams at Sanofi, Paris, where she executed multiple assignments across 20 countries. She has experience in fields such as CSR, marketing, and technology.
[ESSEC Business School (2012) Masters – Luxury Management]
Sakshi Vij has been instrumental in shaping the personal mobility space in India over the last 16 years. Having represented Global Car rental brands in India, she built one of the largest radio taxi brands and a B2B Chauffeur drive rental brand. She launched Mylescars in 2019 with the aim of providing an affordable, flexible, and convenient alternative to vehicle ownership through Subscription and Sharing solutions. An alumna of Harvard Business School, she also studied Luxury Management at ESSEC Business School Paris and IIM Ahmedabad and has been working on investing and building opportunities in the sector.
Shambhavi Tiwari is a talented designer and the founder of STUDIO ST, a boutique design studio that specializes in print design services for businesses in the Home Furnishing, Fashion and Apparel, Wallpaper, and Tableware industries. Shambhavi is an alumna of the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad and EnsAD Paris. With a Bachelor’s degree in Textile Design, she has a special expertise in Print Design, with a focus on chintz. Her creative vision and passion for design have enabled STUDIO ST to deliver high-quality and unique designs that set their clients apart in a competitive marketplace.
[Lycée Hôtelier de Santos Dumont (2000) Certificate of Professional Competence – Catering]
Chef Sahil Mehta is a French pastry poster boy who spent his early life in Paris, France. He graduated from l’Ecole Internationale de Sèvres, and went on to study at prestigious institutions such as Lenôtre, and 3 Michelin-starred-Alain Ducasse’s studio. He has been instrumental in introducing French bakery and patisserie to India, and establishing bakeries across the country. He now has his own brand, Paris my love, through which he filled the gap of patisserie de luxe in Delhi. He believes that success for him is to make his clients happy by his creations.
[Université de Rennes (2010) PhD – Organic Synthesis and Process Chemistry]
Dr Saibal Das is a seasoned researcher at CSIR-IICT (Indian Institute of Chemical Technology) with over 15 years of experience. He pursued his Bachelor’s degree with Honours in Chemistry from Gurucharan College, Silchar, followed by a Master’s degree from Assam (Central) University. He completed his PhD at Université de Rennes 1 (UR1) in France on a fellowship from CEFIPRA. He has been selected twice for the Indo-French Joint Laboratory Programme at CSIR-IICT, where he worked on joint projects with CNRS-UR1-ENSCR-INSA Rennes in 2008 and 2017. Dr Das has also worked on a project at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore.
[ESSEC Business School (2013) Masters – Business Administration]
Sriram Raghavan is an Associate Director at Krea University, where he manages the careers department, partnerships, and alumni relations. Before entering the field of higher education, he worked as a software developer, and then transitioned into business studies. He earned his degree from Essec Business School in France, and completed a short-term programme at Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. In his free time, he actively engages with Essec Alumni’s India chapter, and has served as a member of the higher education committee of the Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IFCCI).
[Université Paris 5 René Descartes (2005) M.Phil – International Cooperation & Development]
Shivali Lawale has an M.Phil. in International Cooperation in Education and Training from Université Paris 5 René Descartes, and an M.A. in European Studies from Sciences Po, Paris. Prior to joining the Symbiosis School of International Studies as Director, she worked for over a decade at the UNESCO HQ in Paris as a Programme Specialist in education and international development. She teaches courses on the European Union, French foreign policy, and Sustainable Development issues; she has presented papers at international conferences and writes on French society and politics for a leading Indian news portal. Her interest in culture and art led her to complete a diploma from Christie’s Education, Paris.
[La Fémis (1996) Masters- Cinematography]
Samir Sarkar is an Indian national award-winning film producer. He has produced eight feature films, and more than 100 TV commercials, documentaries, and music videos under the banner of MAGIC HOUR FILMS, an award-winning film production company he founded in 2008. Samir offered production support and consultancy on Ang Lee’s Oscar-winning feature film “Life of Pi”. He has collaborated on several Indo-French co-productions. His films have travelled to major International Film Festivals, winning many awards. Samir is an alumnus of the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, Pondicherry. He obtained a scholarship to study film production at La Femis in Paris.
[Université de Bordeaux (2015) PhD – Recombinant proteins and purification]
Dr. Vignesh Janakiraman is the country head of TIMAC AGRO, a French multinational and pioneer in soil plant and animal nutrition. He has worked with two biotech start-ups, including his own life sciences company on an affordable haemophilia therapy. He holds a PhD in life sciences from the University of Bordeaux and VIT Vellore, and was a recipient of the Eiffel Excellence Doctoral Fellowship in 2012. He obtained his Business Foundations Certificate from INSEAD in 2017. He is an elected member of the Governing Council of the Indo French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IFCCI).
[Université de Tours (2012) Masters – Urban & Regional Planning]
Thirupurasundari Sevvel is an architect and urban planning specialist. She runs an architectural consultancy “Studio Conclave” and a social initiative called Nam veedu Nam oor Nam kadhai. A graduate of SRM University in Chennai, she chose France for her Master’s degree at the University of Tours. In the past 11 years, her team has worked on social history and heritage documentation of people and places, as well as rehabilitating traditional techniques and materials. She is an author, restorer and conservator of building materials, and works closely with women and children from disadvantaged backgrounds. She is the first woman Secretary of the 200+ year old institution “The Madras Literary Society.”
[Sciences Po (2017) Masters – International Security]
Drushti Joshi is an alumna of Sciences Po Paris and the London School of Economics, where she obtained a specialisation in international security and humanitarian intervention. She also holds a B.A. (Hons.) in Journalism from Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi. She has worked at India’s national investment promotion and facilitation agency, Invest India, and interned at NITI Aayog, Doctors Without Borders, and the United Nations. Currently, she leads the operations in India for Assist International, an international NGO specializing in humanitarian intervention, with a focus on healthcare, energy access, sanitation, and skilling.
Watch highlights of the investiture event here:
Did you know?
The France Alumni – India Chapter is over 11,000 members strong. Register here if you are a France Alumnus/Alumna and wish to be a part of this prestigious group.
You have two platforms to exchange, introduce yourself and look for collaborations or tips with other France Alumni: the Alumni Facebook and LinkedIn groups. Have you joined them?
Alumni may now organize an alumni project and apply for funding from the Embassy of France in India. Types of projects:
- Thematic exchange
- Workshops for alumni
- Networking events