TNR News Network
Dharamshala
Vice Chancellor, Professor (Dr.) Sat Prakash Bansal, was awarded the “IAB International Award for Excellence in Teaching and Academic Contributions – 2025” via virtual platform in Washington, D.C. November 22, 2025, marked a historic day for the Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Dharamshala, when Vice Chancellor, Professor (Dr.) Sat Prakash Bansal, was awarded the “International Award for Excellence in Teaching and Academic Contributions – 2025” at the International Academy of Business (IAB) Annual Conference held in Washington, D.C., United States.
This honor is an international recognition of his dedication to education, research, service, leadership, and global academic excellence.
The core of this honor is the virtuous spirit described in the Bhagavad Gita—“yattadgre vishamiva parinamane’amritaopamam,” meaning that the path that appears difficult in the beginning but ultimately yields nectar-like results is the true, sustainable, and beneficial path. Vice Chancellor Prof. Bansal is a living embodiment of this ideal—with dedication, discipline, devotion, and foresight, he has consistently guided future-oriented education models, ethical leadership, and institutional development. For this reason, he is known throughout the academic world as an “institution builder.”
This international honor for 2025 symbolizes the continuation of his long-term contributions. As Vice Chancellor of the Central University of Himachal Pradesh, he energized the effective implementation of the National Education Policy 2020, the restoration of the Indian knowledge tradition, skill upgradation and reskilling, and the internationalization of the education sector. His leadership has been crucial in signing MoUs with world-renowned institutions, establishing global collaborations, and realizing the academic vision of a “Developed India @ 2047.”
In 2023, under his leadership, several important international academic collaborations were established—landmark MoUs were signed with Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, and Tribhuvan University, Nepal. This initiative paves the way for new academic partnerships in higher education between India, the United States, and Nepal and marks an important chapter in global knowledge exchange.
Previously, as Vice Chancellor of Maharaja Agrasen University in 2015, 2014, and 2013, he formalized international agreements with the Lyceum of the Philippines University, the University of European Tourism (UET Milano), the University of Ghana, and the University of Leicester (UK). These initiatives facilitated institutional development, student exchange, research collaboration, and brought India’s higher education to global prominence.
During 2012 and 2011, as Director of the Indian Institute of Himalayan Studies, he signed important agreements with Russia’s Altai State Technical University and Altai State Agrarian University, strengthening India-Russia academic ties. Furthermore, the establishment of the Altai-Indian Himalayan Scientific and Cultural Exchange Forum served as a significant academic and cultural bridge.
The period from 2010–2015 was a golden period of his leadership and scholarship. During this period, he contributed significantly to delivering opening remarks at international conferences, chairing technical sessions, and reestablishing India’s role in global research discourse. His role in the partner conferences of the Indian Tourism Congress, held in Dubai, Bangkok, Tashkent, Manila, Bali, and Malaysia, was not only pivotal but also brought international recognition to research, innovation, and policy discourse in the field of tourism studies.
During the years 2007–2010, his academic collaborations with American, Chinese, and European institutions opened new avenues for Indian academics. His papers presented at world-class conferences at the Institute for Tourism Studies (Macao), Purdue University (USA), and Peking University (China) established India’s model of tourism development, branding, and community empowerment on the international stage.
Between 2003 and 2006, he influenced his scholarship and research leadership at leading universities in the US and Europe—Stanford University, UCLA, Connecticut State University, Quinnipiac University, Fairfield University, and the University of Surrey. In 2003, he presented research on terrorism and the tourism business at the “Responsible Business in a Global Economy” conference in Connecticut.
During this period, he participated in international workshops on tourism and hospitality education held in Switzerland and Hong Kong, ensuring the coordination of global standards in business studies and hospitality education in India. In 1999, he received a prestigious two-month research fellowship under the Indo-French Social Science Exchange Program of the French Government and the University Grants Commission (UGC), during which he conducted extensive research on the socio-economic impacts of tourism in France, Switzerland, and the UK. This became the cornerstone of his international research career, which later shaped tourism research and policy discourse in India.
In his academic career spanning over three decades, Prof. Bansal has been awarded the “Man of the Year 2002,” “21st Century Excellence Award,” and “Economic Achievement Award.” He has received numerous honors from India and abroad, including the Nobel Prize in Science Award-2003”, the Nobel India Award-2007”, the National Vidya Saraswati Award-2010”, the CCI Technology Education Excellence Award-2014”, the Most Iconic Vice Chancellor Award-2021”, and the Malaviya Pragya Samman-2022. However, the IAB International Award-2025 is a global recognition for his comprehensive, multifaceted, and visionary contributions to date.
Ultimately, Vice Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) Sat Prakash Bansal’s achievements are not merely a collection of awards, but the culmination of a virtuous asceticism, a karma yoga, and a nationalistic vision that relentlessly strives to make Indian higher education self-reliant, global, innovative, and future-ready. This honor is not merely personal but an international testament to India’s knowledge tradition, Himachal’s educational heritage, and the excellence of the Central University of Himachal Pradesh.
