Dr. Gururaj Karajagi  M.Sc., Ph.D.
CHAIRMAN, ACT
Dr. Gururaj Karajagi is a committed educationist who has spent more than three decades teaching and establishing outstanding institutions that reflect the highest principles of educational philosophy and human values. Dr. Karajagi, a doctoral degree holder from Karnataka University, has published over 22 research papers in International journals. He has served as a member of several prestigious Educational and Governmental committees. He is a life Fellow of the Electrochemical Society of India. He is also a serving member of the State Resource Group (SRG) for the implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) and NAAC accreditation, in the colleges of Karnataka.

Dr. Karajagi was the Principal, V. V .S. First Grade College for Women, Bangalore, for 16 years. He served as the founder Principal and Academic Director of the Jain International Residential School, Bangalore, and was also the founder Director of the International Academy for Creative Teaching, Bangalore.

A well read scholar, he has authored many stories, articles and textbooks in English and Kannada. His areas of interest include Creativity, Creative & Critical Problem Solving Skills, Communication skills, Motivation, Work ethics and Human Values. He has conducted more than 200 training programmes in India and abroad for educational and corporate organizations.

Dr. Ganesh  M.Tech., D.Litt.
Dean – Value Education
Dr. Ganesh is a Master’s Degree holder in Engineering and did his research in Metallurgy at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He has been honoured with a D.Litt. in Kannada by the Kannada University, Hampi. He is an authority in Sanskrit and 14 other languages, including Greek and Latin. He is a Shatavadhani and his Avadhana programmes have been appreciated all over the world. He is a well known composer of ballads, a choreographer, musicologist and an art critic. He is recognized as one of the outstanding exponents of Indian culture and Value systems.

His pursuits are in the fields of Literature (poetry), fine arts (music, dance, painting, sculpture, theatre) science, technology, languages, Vedic studies, Indian Philosophy, history and other classical cultural aspects of India. He has published over 28 books comprising poetry, translation, research, anecdotes and fiction in three languages. He has presented over 150 research papers at various national and international seminars. He has visited many universities, academic bodies and other centres of culture and learning on invitation both in India and abroad. He has been featured innumerable times in the print and electronic media. He has written regular columns in several newspapers and magazines. He has been honoured with many distinctions such as Outstanding Young Indian Award (1991), Rajyothsava Award (1992), President’s Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Sanskrit – Badarayana Vyas Puraskar (2003). Dr Ganesh is considered a prodigy.

Smt. Sunita Phadnis  B.Sc., M.Ed., M.A (U.K.)
Executive Director
Mrs. Sunita Phadnis was Founder Principal of The Jain International School, Bilaspur. She was also the Founder Principal of Vyasa International School, Bangalore. She has worked as a teacher educator at the International Academy for Creative Teaching, Bangalore. She has taught in various schools affiliated to the Karnataka State Board, CBSE, ICSE, and IGCSE at the primary and secondary level. She was a content developer for Bhavan Prism, School Net, and Edurite. Her areas of interest include Thinking Skills, Team Teaching, Classroom Management, Change Management, Strategic Planning, Science Teaching, Content Development, and Integrated Thematic Teaching.

She has an M.A in International Education with specialization in Educational Management, from the Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom. She did her M.Ed. from Bangalore University with a focus on Curriculum Construction and Educational Management. She also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism.

Smt. Annapoorna Sarkar  M.Sc., B.Ed
Dean - Academic Monitoring
Mrs. Annapoorna Sarkar – an academician who believes in learning throughout life in terms of moral values, social responsibilities and concern for everyone around. A Masters' degree in Chemistry and research experience in laboratories in India and abroad combined, well with a wide-ranging interest in fine arts and literature to nurture her creative mind and natural ability to communicate with young and adults.

She has worked extensively at the pre-priamry level and has an excellent understanding of the needs of the toddlers. She has worked in establishing schools at the primary and secondary level. She  has been the founder Principal of a few schools and has been in strumental in settign polices and practices in instituiosn such that the school creates a niche in the competitive market. Her ability to be process oriented has enable dher to design modules which help in visionign and establishing instituions. She heads the Academic Handholding team where in her experience and expertise istappe dto build institutions of excellecnce.

Her short spell at BASE institute Bangalore helped her in exploring her creativity in content development and research for Foundation IIT students During her tenure as a Principal she developed the skills of training teachers for continuous developmentof teachers and her passion for innovation and creativity drives her to strive for perfection.

Mr. Vivekanandda, M.Sc, M.Ed, M. Phil.
Dean - Training
A Masters degree in Science and Education focusing on “Creativity in teaching & learning” has taught science at the school and college levels. He has honed his research and training skills in BASE, Bangalore. He was involved actively in developing innovative training modules in life-skills. He has been a Teacher educator in leading colleges in Bangalore. He is passionate about creativity, critical and creative thinking. He has conducted workshop for teachers and corporate at all levels. He has specialized in developing activity based thematic modules in science and other subjects. He is presently pursuing his research in education leading to Ph.D. He is the incharge of all the training programmes for teachers, students and corporate.

Smt. K. Neerajakshi  M.A. (English, Hindi, History, Economics) B.Ed.
Senior Faculty- Academic Monitoring
A retired Principal from Kendriya Vidyalaya Sanghatan and having multidisciplinary interests, she enjoys learning at every stage and ascended her ladder from a PRT to Principal in a span of 32 years. As a Principal of Navodyaya, she accepted challenges and worked her way through a lot of hurdles. Her heart lies in the fine arts, music and dance and contributed immensely all through her career. She has authored several books in Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Sanskrit and Tamil. Some of the important titles include Parisara and Jeevanada Suliyalli and has also written several articles for Taranga and Sudha magazines. Her thirst for academics has drawn her to render her services to ACT where she will be guiding and advising the schools to achieve academic excellence.

Dr. Girija Devi. M.A., M.Ed, Ph.D
Senior Faculty -Academic Monitoring
Dr. Girija Devi has spent her a life time in motivating student teachers to become and creative practitioners of the art of teaching. She has done her research in creative teaching strategies in social sciences and has explored the areas related to educational psychology, innovative pedagogical methods in social sciences. She has profound knowledge of Teacher education scenario in India having worked as Lecturer, Reader and Principal in Teacher Training Colleges. She aims to strengthen in-service teacher training as well as enrich pre-service teacher training by introducing value added programmes which would mould a student teacher holistically. She also believes in developing value based content which could be used to bring about a change in attitudes and beliefs. She believes in creative teaching learning practices and has contributed significantly in Northern Karnataka especially in Raichur and Bidar. As a senior faculty at ACT she contributes to guiding schools in maintaining academic standards and excellence in administrative policies.

Ms. Lakshmi Jayapriyaa .J.P, M.A., B.Ed., PGDCT, (M.Sc)
Senior Faculty-Training
Ms. Lakshmi Jayapriyaa J P has done her Masters in Economics, B.Ed., and PGDCT with specialization in English. She is pursuing her M.Sc in Psychology.

Worked at primary and higher secondary level in the state and CBSE schools in Bangalore for 2 years. Has a research experience at BASE (Bangalore Academy for Specialised Education) working as an effective facilitator. Her responsibilities were to coordinate the programme, develop innovative skill based modules, effective facilitation and student mentoring. She has been actively involved in visioning the life-skills programme called ‘N-Skill Program’ covering the areas of Communication skills, Thinking skills and Attitudes & Values.

Her interest lies in guidance & counseling, teaching English creatively and making the classroom experience interesting. Conducted on-line training for UK and US based students on learning English for more than two academic years.

At ACT, she is actively involved in conducting workshops at various levels and creating modules for E-Lab for different group from Kindergarten to various competitive examinations.

Smt. Meena Kumari. E, M.Sc., M.Phil.
Senior Faculty- Training
Mrs. Meena Kumari ventured her career in teaching at the secondary level in reputed institutions like Sri Vani Education Centre and later at the PU level. She has worked for Gurukul College and publications as a faculty and developer of content material in Mathematics for competitive examinations of different states. She was involved in preparing educational CDs and question paper generating software for CBSE/State syllabi. She has worked as Academic Coordinator and Administrator in different institutions and also as a resource person. She has an ardent fervor and commitment for implementing effective strategies in making teaching and learning pleasurable.

She is serving as a resource person for institutions like Vidya Vardhaka Sangha and has been handling classes on a honorary basis for PU students for the past 7 years. Her dedication and perseverance in helping students overcome math-phobia is alluring. Her strengths include teaching abacus to students and higher Mathematics for PU/ Dipl./Engineering courses using effective teaching methods.

Dr. Arathi .V.B., M.A.( Music, Samskrutam), Ph.D
Faculty- Training
Dr. Arathi is a multifaceted personality with strong leanings towards performing arts, Indian Culture and Indian philosophy. She has wide experience and exposure to Carnatic music, Indian literature, epics and Indian philosophical thought. She has been a orator, singer and writer of great repute. She has identified herself with youth and has been committed to infusing a passion in them for Indian culture and understanding Indian icons and epics. She has carved a niche in integrating Indian thought with the modern scientific thought. She has contributed a great deal to reviving Samskrutam language at the school and the college level. Her wide knowledge of spirituality, epics and today’s world make her a natural at handling life skills, leadership skills, motivation and stress management. She has also developed modules for teachers integrating Indian culture into the curriculum and enthusing students to respect and practice Indian value systems.

Smt. Manjiri Joshi  M.A., (English), B.A., B.Ed., (English)
Faculty – Curriculum Development
Dedicated and an innovative teacher trainer, who is committed to providing a well-balanced and supportive learning environment. Her experience as a teacher and Academic Coordinator in National Public School for around 12 years, gave her the opportunity to develop creative techniques and strategies to cater to diverse interests. Her stint at iACT exposed her to a gamut of Teacher Training Areas like Pedagogy of English, Spoken English, Communication Skills and Classroom Management. She is also a certified Master trainer for the CIDTT (Cambridge International Diploma for Teachers and Trainers). She was a master trainer for the HITS (High Impact Teaching Skills) module of the Mission 10X programme organized by WIPRO for engineering college teachers. She has also developed a few Reading Modules for the PGDCT (Post Graduate Diploma in Creative Teaching) for the KSOU. At present in ACT she is working on the Curriculum Development Team.

Dr. M.S. Santosh
Senior Faculty
Dr. M.S. Santosh was born and brought up in Bangalore where he did his graduate and postgraduate studies in Chemistry from Bangalore University. After completing his M.Sc in Chemistry, he joined Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College, Ujire, Dakshina Kannada and worked as a Lecturer in Chemistry from 2007-2008. Later, he joined National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal to pursue his Ph.D in Chemistry under the supervision of Dr. D. Krishna Bhat. During his Ph.D, he was awarded the Swedish Institute Guest Scholarship (2009-2010) to carry out a part of his Ph.D work at Stockholm University with Eminent Prof. Alexander P. Lyubartsev. He was also awarded the IUPAC’s International Association of Chemical Thermodynamics Junior Researcher Award for Research Excellence in Thermodynamics for the year 2010. Soon after his Ph.D, he moved to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA to work as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. He has 19 international publications to his credit in journals of high repute. He is currently associated with ACT as a Senior Faculty.

Mrs. Renu V Patil, M.A., B.Ed
Senior Faculty – QC
A post graduate in Sociology, with a B. Ed, Mrs. Renu Patil has experience of working in schools across the country. Her core teaching areas have been English and Social Sciences for the Primary students. Apart from teaching, her interests lie in Indian folk music and folk art, music from across the world, bird and nature photography.

She has had a brief stint in training where she trained mainly engineering and business administration graduates in soft skills and communication.

An avid reader of social anthropology, social change and women’s studies, her exposure to various genres of reading gives her an edge in English and communication.

She is currently working with the Academic Handholding department and the Quality Cell.

Mrs. Meena Y, M.A., B.Ed
Faculty – Curriculum Development
Mrs. Meena Y is a qualified teacher holding a B.Ed. degree and an M. A. in Sanskrit from KSOU. Her varied teaching experiences have taken her to various educational institutions across Bangalore. Her core strength lies in her deep understanding of Indian values and her ability to align her teaching with these values thus imparting crucial value based education to the students. Her experiences in schools have also seen her as the cultural coordinator for schools.

Her association with ACT has spanned over a period of six years and she has been working closely with the curriculum department.

Dr. Kavitha Madhusudan
Senior Faculty
Dr. Kavitha Madhusudan has researched in the field of mathematics education, that can dispel math phobia and by creative teaching of mathematics recreate a zeal for learning mathematics. She has taught at the higher secondary level in state schools and reputed teacher education colleges both at UG and PG level in Bangalore, such as The ACT College of Education and gathered rich experience of the teacher education curriculum. She has been a faculty for conducting contact classes for distance education programme in B.ED under KSOU. She has also worked as a news reader at Bangalore Doordarshan Kendra.

She has participated and presented research papers in many national and international seminar and conferences, and published research papers in national and international journals.

With her background in teacher education and mathematics education, she is interested in concept based teaching and creative teaching of mathematics and physical sciences. She is keenly involved in designing, implementing and monitoring quality academic teaching and evaluation tools for academic monitoring of schools.

Ms. Ambika Anand
Faculty – Curriculum Development
Ms. Ambika is pursuing her Masters in Education Management and is passionate about teaching and learning. She has worked extensively in the corporate world and has been a team leader. Her strengths are being quick in grasping concepts, understanding student needs, effective communication and a good grasp of developing content. She is focused on developing content for lower classes, coordinating the efforts of content developers and gaining expertise in English Language Improvement Programme for teachers and students. She would be honing her skills in training college students in life-skills too.

Smt. S. Sriprabha, B.B.M. B.Ed., PGDCA, (M.B.A.)
Programme Co-ordinator
A Management graduate with a teaching background, she is an efficient Programme Co-ordinator at ACT with the responsibilities of communications, correspondence and coordination of the various programmes. Her excellent people skills help in understanding the specific requirements of the clientele and the faculty associated with it.

Sujatha Dasari, M.Com. , B.Ed
Relationship Executive
A post graduate in banking. (M.Com) and B.Ed with English and Social science, she started her journey in teaching as a primary teacher in a missionary school. She went on to work as a high school English teacher abroad and then became an English trainer. Her first experience as an English trainer was in Brazil. She likes to teach English to non native speakers and believes that learning is a lifelong process. Her 12 yrs experience in teaching got her the opportunity to work with HR recruitment with a US based consultancy.

Smt. Savithri Rajagopal, B.Com.,
Accounts Manager
Rich experience in accounting and administration for more than two decades has enabled her to solve admin problems and deal with all the matters pertaining to Govt. and statutory bodies. At ACT she takes up all the responsibilities of Accounting, Auditing and other organizational matters.

Mr. Mohan Kumar. B,  B.Sc., PGDM
Marketing Executive
A Management Professional with more than two decades of experience in the corporate world, he has a quotable exposure to the print media backed with launch of “The Economic Times”, Hyderabad edition and is the recipient of Chairman’s award with “The New Indian Express”. The job assignments taken up covered the heterogeneous sectors of IT, Education and Consumer Durables. Training, Strategic Planning, Event Management and overall administration were the assignments implemented by him. His responsibilities include Marketing, Promotion and publicity and also customer services to all the programmes offered by ACT.

Mr. Prasanna Kumar. D  B.Sc
System Administrator
A bachelor’s degree in computer science, he has 10 years of experience in the design and maintenance of the computer systems. He is well versed in hardware and software and provides services in networking, data recovery and end to end solutions to all computer related problems. His technical skills and support helps smooth functioning and keeps every member in the ACT updated.

Mr. Amshumanth
Graphics Designer
A creative individual with a fine sense of colour, symmetry and proportion. He creates magic with visuals which compliments a thousand words. His originality and innovative bent of mind creates harmony of content, ideals and methodology in all publicity and visibility materials. His designing skills and quick understanding of ideas makes words come alive and provides clarity to thoughts and ideas.