PROFILE

Prof. Raja Shekhar Bellamkonda, Vice-Chancellor of Yogi Vemana University, Kadapa, and a Senior Professor at the School of Management Studies, University of Hyderabad, is an academician, researcher, and administrator. Since joining the University of Hyderabad in 1999, he has been instrumental in shaping the growth and reputation of the School of Management Studies, combining academic excellence with visionary leadership. He has been coordinating a Diploma in Business Management offered by the Centre for Distance Education and Virtual Learning, University of Hyderabad, for the past 20 years. He was also associated with the Telangana State Public Service Commission as a committee member responsible for formulating the scheme and syllabus. Prof. Shekhar successfully coordinated two MOOC programmes (ARPIT) on Research Methodology for Social Sciences and Data Analysis for Social Science Teachers through the SWAYAM Portal of the Government of India. Prof. Shekhar participated in the LEAP (Leadership for Academicians Program) of MHRD at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He also attended a one-week training program on “Becoming a Top 100 University” at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Prof. Shekhar successfully coordinated LEAP (Leadership for Academicians Programme) of MHRD at the University of Hyderabad as Associate Coordinator. The Hyderabad Management Association established the Academicians Excellence Award in 2020, with Prof. Shekhar being the first recipient.

Prof. Shekhar holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Civil Engineering from Acharya Nagarjuna University (1990). He possesses four Master’s degrees in diverse domains: Business Administration (Osmania University, 1993), Psychology (Sri Venkateswara University, 2006), Education (Indira Gandhi National Open University, 2018), and Data Science and Engineering (BITS Pilani, 2025), reflecting his vision to contribute to pedagogical innovation and educational leadership in the era of reforms such as NEP 2020. His thirst for knowledge led him to complete three doctoral degrees in different faculties:  Management from Kakatiya University (2002), Psychology from Sri Venkateswara University (2014), and Education from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University (2023). In addition, Prof. Shekhar received a Post-Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations from Kakatiya University (1995) and another Post-Graduate Diploma in Computer Science from the University of Hyderabad (2001). He also participated in a Faculty Development program at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (2007). Before his affiliation with the University of Hyderabad, Prof. Shekhar taught at Kakatiya University (1993–99) and Kamala Nehru Polytechnic for Women (1994).

Prof. Shekhar’s research interests span Service Quality, Business Analytics, Organizational Psychology, and Higher Education. He authored and co-edited Consumer Protection, Supply Chain Management, Food Security, and Quality Management books. He has published 70 research papers in reputed journals and contributed 32 articles to Conference proceedings and Books. Prof. Shekhar successfully guided 22 Doctoral research scholars, and eight more are working under his supervision. Prof. Shekhar is a specialist in Service Quality and has been doing extensive research on various service quality issues. He has been running a career counselling column in a leading Telugu daily newspaper, Eenadu, titled ‘Q & A‘ under the Chaduvu category for the past 10 years. Through this initiative, he has been guiding thousands of students and young aspirants, extending his expertise beyond university boundaries to society. 

At the University of Hyderabad, Prof. Shekhar has held several key administrative positions, including Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Dean of the School of Management Studies, Registrar, Head of the Department of Education and Educational Technology, Dean of Students’ Welfare, Chief Warden, and Director of the Internal Quality Assurance Cell. In each of these roles, he brought innovation and efficiency, which had a lasting effect. As Dean of the School of Management Studies, he was the driving force behind launching the pioneering MBA programme in Business Analytics, which set a benchmark for management institutions in India.