Deepak B Phatak

Deepak B Phatak is a Professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. He has held leadership roles as Head of the CSE Department (1991–1994), Dean of Resources (1995–1998), and founding Head of the Kanwal Rekhi School of IT (1998–2002). His career spans over four decades at IIT Bombay, where he also briefly led the SJ Mehta School of Management (2004–2005) and held the Subrao M Nilekani Chair Professorship (2000–2013).

• Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from SGSITS Indore (1969)
• M Tech and Ph D from IIT Bombay

His research focuses on Databases and Information Systems, Software Engineering, System Performance Evaluation, and IT-enabled Education and Strategy Planning. He pioneered applied research initiatives, including India’s first interactive distance learning program via VSATs (now CDEEP), the ISTE teacher training workshops, and the Aakash Project for low-cost educational tablets. He also established the Affordable Solutions Lab (ASL) to develop accessible technologies like Clickers and open-source e-learning tools.

Dr. Phatak has guided 7 PhD and over 170 MTech students. His advisory roles span financial institutions (SBI, RBI, SEBI) and national boards (AICTE, Computer Society of India). He co-founded SINE, India’s top technology incubator, and contributed to the evolution of educational technology policy and practice nationwide.

• Skoch Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award (2003)
• Data Quest Lifetime Achievement Award (2008)
• Dewang Mehta Business School Lifetime Achievement Award (2010)
• Business Week: Listed among fifty most influential Indians (2009)
• IIT Bombay Excellence in Teaching Award (2009)
• IIT Bombay Industrial Impact Award (2010)
• Padma Shri for Science and Technology by Government of India (2013)

His work includes creating India’s first IT incubator (SINE), launching the Ekalavya project for rural educational collaboration, and negotiating the globally recognized Aakash-2 tablet at Rs 2263. He remains a leading advocate for Open Source Software and teaching as a 'Dharma', aiming to position India as a technology-driven global leader.