Ashoka University, India’s leading interdisciplinary and research university, has been honoured with two recognitions at the 12th FICCI Higher Education Excellence Awards 2026, the awards for Excellence in Financial Sustainability & Student Access and Excellence in Globalisation.
Vice Chancellor, Rishikesha T. Krishnan was conferred the FICCI Personality of the Year Award 2026, for his contribution to higher education, institutional leadership and innovation.
Organised at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, the 12th FICCI Higher Education Excellence Awards recognise institutions for their contributions to excellence and innovation across the higher education ecosystem. The awards recognise Ashoka University’s work in building a sustainable, philanthropy-based model for expanding student access and creating a research-led framework for global academic collaborations.
The Excellence in Financial Sustainability & Student Access award recognises Ashoka University’s ‘From Access to Achievement: Building a Financially Sustainable Ecosystem for Student Success’, an initiative supported by 200+ founders and donors. The model combines merit and need-based scholarships to expand access for students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, with Rs. 100+ crore disbursed in FY 2025–26 and Rs. 723 crore awarded to 5,400+ students since inception. The initiative has also translated access into outcomes, with 394 students placed in top companies, 138 securing admission to top global universities and 17 graduates winning 19 prestigious scholarships, such as Inlaks, Gates Cambridge and Oxford, among others, in 2025–26.
The University’s Excellence in Globalisation recognition is based on the Ashoka Global Research Alliances (AGRA), launched in 2024 as a platform for research-led global engagement across the humanities, sciences and social sciences. AGRA spans 16 countries and five continents, bringing together faculty, PhD students, researchers and partner institutions. Its humanities ecosystem includes the Global Humanities Network (GHN), anchored at the University of Cambridge, the Global Humanities Alliance (GHA), of which Ashoka University is the only Indian founding institution, and the National Humanities Center (NHC), where Ashoka University is the only international sponsor institution.
Through AGRA, 385 students have participated in international programmes across 63 partner universities in four continents, with 204 students receiving summer scholarships. The initiative has also engaged 27 faculty across 16 countries and resulted in four Cambridge University Press contracts. Beyond student and faculty mobility, AGRA supports international research and cross-disciplinary collaboration through Erasmus+ partnerships with four European universities, a 60+ institution Franco-Indian Campus for Health in Life Sciences consortium, and the Ashoka-ZEISS collaboration, which has trained 50 researchers across two cohorts. Ashoka University will also host the GHN Summer Forum in 2027 and Summer School in 2028, the first time these programmes will be held in India.
The Personality of the Year Award 2026 to Professor Rishikesha T. Krishnan is an individual recognition for his immense contribution to the higher education sector. An academic and scholar of strategy and innovation, Professor Krishnan has previously served as Director of IIM Indore and Director of IIM Bangalore. His work spans innovation, strategy, higher education and public policy, and he has served on several national committees, including the Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee on India’s data protection framework. He has also been recognised on the Thinkers50 India list and has authored books including From Jugaad to Systematic Innovation: The Challenge for India and 8 Steps to Innovation: Going from Jugaad to Excellence.
Commenting on the recognition, Professor Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Vice-Chancellor, Ashoka University, said, “I am grateful for this recognition, which is a testament to the collective efforts of the Ashoka community and the strong foundation that the University has built. As I begin my tenure, I see these recognitions as both an encouragement and a responsibility to carry this momentum forward. We will continue to strengthen Ashoka University’s academic and research ecosystem, deepen its global engagement and expand opportunities for students and faculty, while building an institution that can contribute meaningfully to India and the world.”
The recognition comes a year after Ashoka University was named ‘University of the Year – Emerging’ at the FICCI Higher Education Summit 2025, marking an important juncture for the University as it builds on its achievements and enters its next phase with renewed ambition.