Team

Dr-D-nila

Dr. D. Nila Priyadharshini Dhanasekaran

Pro-Chancellor, Takshashila University 

 

Qualifications
  • Master of Science in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Lancaster University, England, 2022
  • Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, 2021

Dr. T. Nagarajan is a Professor and Associate Dean with over 30 years of academic and research experience in Computer Science. He holds a doctoral degree from IIT Madras and a post-doctoral fellowship from the National Institute of Scientific Research, Montreal, Canada. His research interests span natural language processing, machine learning, and intelligent systems. He has mentored numerous doctoral scholars and actively collaborates with industry partners on applied AI initiatives.

2018
Present
Professor & Associate Dean

Takshashila University, Chennai

2005 - 2007
Post-Doctoral Fellow

National Institute of Scientific Research, Montreal

Tamil NLP Corpus Development

Large-scale annotated corpora for Tamil POS tagging, NER, and sentiment analysis.

DST Funded 2021–2024

Tamil NLP Corpus Development

Large-scale annotated corpora for Tamil POS tagging, NER, and sentiment analysis.

DST Funded 2021–2024

Tamil NLP Corpus Development

Large-scale annotated corpora for Tamil POS tagging, NER, and sentiment analysis.

DST Funded 2021–2024

Best Research Paper Award – IEEE ICCCI 2023

International Conference on Computer Communication and Informatics

Excellence in Teaching Award – Takshashila University, 2022

DST Fast Track Young Scientist Award, 2010

Fellow – Institution of Engineers India (FIE), 2019

Bio
Work Experience
Certifications
Projects
Publications
Awards
Honorable Mentions

Bio

Dr. Nila Priyadharshini Dhanasekaran trained as a physician before moving into university and hospital administration. She completed her medical degree at Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research and later pursued a master’s degree in entrepreneurship and innovation at Lancaster University, combining clinical training with a formal grounding in business strategy.

Her early exposure to management came through internships across her family’s ventures, including a management training stint at Indbazaar and clinical internships at Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital and Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, where she treated patients directly under physician supervision. She joined SMV Healthcare’s leadership as Director in 2019, taking on sales and talent management responsibilities while the company was still an early-stage medical startup.

Since 2023, she has held Pro-Chancellor duties at Takshashila University alongside trustee roles at two Puducherry-based educational trusts, applying her clinical background to the oversight of the university’s hospital and medical college construction. She continues to study healthcare technology through executive programs, having completed coursework in AI applications for medicine at Harvard Medical School in 2024.

Volunteering
Organising Committee Member, Medical Camp, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Hospital, April 2019 to May 2019
Helped organise an eye camp serving rural communities.

Technical Skills

Windows, Python, Microsoft Office

Languages

English, Tamil, Hindi (Read, Write, Speak)

Hobbies

Playing Guitar and Keyboard

Work Experience

February 2023
Present
Pro-Chancellor

Takshashila University, Tamil Nadu

Led admissions and marketing strategy at a university established in 2022 with eight schools, achieving record enrollment in its first year. Directed recruitment across teaching and non-teaching roles. Oversaw planning and construction of a 600-bed hospital and medical college from December 2023, covering design, civil works monitoring and vendor coordination. Procured medical equipment ranging from stethoscopes and BP monitors to CT and MRI scanners. Managed academic operations across the university's eight schools, including curriculum development, strategic planning and placement support.

February 2019
Present
Director

SMV Healthcare Private Limited, Mymedicalshop.com

A family-owned medical startup with ten million in turnover and fifteen employees. Manages sales and talent for a five-person team, guiding the brand to annual revenue of INR 30 million. Votes on target setting, recruitment and other operational decisions as part of a three-member board of directors. Initiated a telemedicine service under Government of India guidelines during the COVID-19 period, with a potential reach of one million customers.

October 2023
Present
Trustee

Sri Manakula Vinayaga Educational Trust

A Puducherry-based trust founded in 1998, steering a group of ten or more professional institutions across engineering, medicine, nursing and polytechnic disciplines. Serves a learner community of approximately 15,000 students and 3,500 faculty and staff, with a focus on accessible, industry-aligned education and community healthcare.

October 2023
Present
Trustee

Mailam Subramaniya Swamy Educational Trust

Established in 1997 to expand higher education access in semi-urban and rural Tamil Nadu. Oversees Mailam Engineering College and allied nursing, paramedical and hospitality institutes, serving approximately 4,000 students through technical training, placement support and social impact scholarships.

March 20202023
March 2020
Internships

Intern, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Puducherry

Ranked 48th in India in 2019 by India Today. Gained hands-on experience across General Medicine, General Surgery and Pediatrics, maintaining patient health records and receiving clinical training from Dr. Girija and Dr. Jayashree.

Intern, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research

A private deemed medical university rated 13th among the top 100 medical colleges in India. Studied community medicine and treatment approaches for widespread conditions including tuberculosis and diabetes, and conducted consultations for two thousand rural patients under expert supervision.


April 2018
May 2018
Management Trainee, Indbazaar

An omnichannel grocery chain with an annual turnover of 21 million and 160 employees at the time. Studied marketing, customer service and purchasing functions, and took part in recruitment processes.

April 2018
May 2018
Positions of Responsibility

Cultural Secretary, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, May 2018 to April 2019
Organised cultural events and meetings, arranged sponsorships and coordinated guest invitations.

Certifications

AI in Healthcare, Harvard Medical School Online, November 2024

Entrepreneurship Essentials, Harvard Business School Online, April 2020

The Entrepreneurial Edge Programme, London Business School, June to August 2020

Honorable Mentions

Awards and Extracurricular Activities

Trained in Indian Classical Dance, Bharatanatyam, since 2008

Winner, school dance competition, 2009, among 85 participants

Winner, intra-school table tennis competition, 2013, among 35 participants

Presentations and Conferences

Takshashila Logo5

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