Educating the Next Generation of Leaders & Achievers

By: Rachita Sharma, Managing Editor | Tuesday, 13 January 2026

Founded in 1959, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras is one of India’s Best Institute for higher education for technical courses and research. The Chennai based institute is in a league of its own when it comes to staying abreast with industry needs. As a consequence, IIT Madras has several notable global technologists including Kris Gopalakrishnan, a co-founder of Infosys; Sridhar Vembu, the founder and CEO of Zoho; Prabhakar Raghavan, the Chief Technologist at Google; and Vineeta Singh, who is known for starting her own business after declining a high-paying job. As the institute continues this approach, it enriches the learning journey of plethora of students at IIT Madras.

In the current edition of the WER magazine, we introduce readers to illustrious women alumni leaders from IIT Madras. One of the featured leaders is Uma N Rao, the Director of Forever Technologies and a distinguished structural engineering leader known for her technical depth, global project experience, and passion for engineering excellence. Uma has led complex seismic and heritage projects, including the structural validation of the Vinayaka Temple in Melbourne.

She is joined by dynamic research-entrepreneur, Divya Bharathi T who blends research expertise with purpose-driven product creation. Her professional journey spans across diverse sectors highlighting her expertise and leveraging years of experience and rigor, spearheading initiatives in product development and innovation

Vaishnavi S D, Managing Director, Shankar IAS Academy also joins the coveted list. Vaishnavi is an academic leader and education entrepreneur committed to making civil services preparation accessible and inclusive. With a strong academic background and a PhD pursuit at IIT Madras, she has expanded the academy into a comprehensive training institution that has empowered thousands of aspirants to succeed in competitive examinations.

We also feature an interaction with Shalini Vaddy, Partner at Speed Infra Developers, a strategy-driven entrepreneur shaping large-scale community developments in Hyderabad. Today, she drives organisational strategy, leads partner and consultant collaborations, and oversees marketing, sales, CRM, and overall planning at Speed Infra. Her end-to-end stewardship ensures alignment across diverse teams and stakeholders, enabling the delivery of high-quality, future-ready real estate projects grounded in clarity, design excellence, and execution discipline.

Read in-depth conversations featuring aforementioned women leaders and get a glimpse into their success stories and the role played by IIT Madras is their growth journeys.

Do let us know your thoughts.