Dr. Ramdas M. Pai

Dr. Ramdas M. Pai graduated with the MBBS degree from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal in 1958. After completing a postgraduate course in hospital administration in Delhi, he trained further in hospital administration at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA.

Upon his return to Manipal in 1968, Dr. Pai took over as Medical Director of Kasturba Medical College and Hospital. He modernized the academic and medical facilities, setting up new services such as the Burns Unit and the Operation Eyesight Universal Institute of Ophthalmology. He built linkages with universities in the US, UK, Australia, Finland, Germany, the West Indies and Nepal.

Dr. Pai has contributed to education at the national level. He has been a member of the Medical Council of India, the Dental Council of India, Senate and Syndicate of Mangalore University, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), and numerous other educational, business and social organizations. In 2003, he was nominated by the Union Minister of Human Resource Development to a special six-member committee to advise the Ministry on higher education.

In recent years, Dr. Pai has established several new institutions: Sikkim Manipal University, Gangtok, Sikkim - Manipal Institute of Technology, Gangtok, Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Nepal, Manipal Institute of Communication, College of Allied Health Sciences, Manipal Hospital and Manipal Heart Foundation, Bangalore and several others. New academic programs in Information Sciences, Rural Studies, Management and Distance Education have been started. Twinning programs have been set up in Malaysia and with Universities in the US, UK, and Australia.