Trust, Truth, Transparency: Governing Academia for Impact and Credibility — Lessons from Four Public Institutions
Speaker : Prof. MIRLE SURAPPA
INSA Senior Scientist and Adjunct Professor, NIAS
@ : mirle@nias.res.in
Chairperson : Dr. KIRAN KUMAR
Former Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
@ : kiran@isro.gov.in
Date : 16th September 2026
Time : 9.30 AM
Venue : Lecture Hall
Abstract: Why do India's research-intensive institutions struggle to break into the global top 100, and why are our public State Universities crumbling? While media narratives often cite inadequate funding and infrastructure as primary barriers, the speaker’s experience in leading four public institutions (in different roles) across diverse ecosystems reveals a deeper, systemic cause: trust-deficient governance.
This talk examines how the absence of trust, truth, and transparency in institutional leadership undermines the ability to leverage the vast talent of students and faculty. The speaker will highlight two critical governance failures: (1) reluctance to address genuine stakeholder concerns with resolve, and (2) hesitation to act decisively on academic misconduct and all other irregularities. Together, these create deep despondency among stakeholders, hindering institutional ascendancy.
A particularly troubling pattern emerges when institutional heads become captive to their deputies, relying on biased counsel rather than conducting independent due diligence. Drawing on data-driven evidence and insights from his tenure at four public institutions, he highlights how embedding Trust, Truth, and Transparency (3T) into governance structures can transform academic institutions into high-impact research institutions. This transformation is evidenced by these institutions achieving the highest Category Normalised Citation Impact (CNCI) values for their research publications during his tenure.
About the speaker: Prof. Surappa is an outstanding scientist, technologist and science administrator who has contributed in significant measure to the overall growth of the S and T ecosystem in India. The most notable part of his contribution has been made at the IISc, where he spent a very substantial part of his professional career and made path-breaking contributions to the Science and Technology of Cast Composites. His pursuit of excellence was not just limited to research and innovation, but every challenging responsibilities he shouldered: these include building and nurturing green field IIT at Ropar, restoring the legacy of Anna University, Tamil Nadu, India’s largest technical university, , turning around of Karnataka Council for Science and Technology (KSCST) and transforming Bharath Gyan Vigyan Samithi (BGVS), a unit of Peoples Science Movement as a vibrant platform for science literacy outreach in Karnataka.