Dr. Madhu Chitkara, Pro Chancellor and President of Chitkara University, Punjab and Chitkara University, Himachal Pradesh, co‑founded the Chitkara Educational Trust in 1998 and has spent four decades building institutions where academic rigour, global engagement, and student opportunity are not aspirations but everyday practice. Her leadership has shaped one of North India's elite universities.
Dr. Madhu Chitkara holds a PhD in Education and brings four decades of experience as an educator, institution builder, and advocate for opportunity-driven learning. Her journey began in the classroom, and that early, direct engagement with students continues to shape her perspective on what universities must do and who they must serve.
Under her leadership, Chitkara University has developed more than 100 industry-linked programs across undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral levels, each designed with a deliberate focus on graduate employability and real-world relevance. She has also championed entrepreneurship on campus by establishing Incubation Centres that have supported more than 270 student‑led companies, giving young innovators the infrastructure and mentorship to develop real ventures from the ground up.
Her approach to internationalisation has been equally hands-on. Dr. Chitkara conceived and designed Global Week, an initiative that brings international academic engagement directly to students on campus and makes cross-cultural learning a sustained part of the student experience. This commitment to global connectedness has helped the university build partnerships with over 300 universities and institutions across the world.
Dr. Chitkara is also a strong and visible advocate for women’s leadership in education. Her own journey, from co‑founding an educational trust to helping build a multi‑campus university of national standing, has been featured in the third edition of Rising to the Top, published by the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES). She is regularly invited to contribute to conversations on women’s leadership and entrepreneurship in education, both in India and internationally.
What runs through all of it is a consistent conviction that education must do more than inform. It must equip students with the knowledge, confidence, and opportunity to shape their own futures. That belief has guided every program she has built, every partnership she has forged, and every platform she has created for students to grow beyond what they thought possible.
Her contributions to education, leadership, and women’s empowerment have been recognised through numerous national and international honours.
Chandigarh-Patiala National Highway, Punjab 140 401
Unit No. A 201-202, Elante Mall Office Complex
Industrial Area Phase 1, Chandigarh 160 002
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Unit No. A 201-202
Elante Mall Office Complex
Industrial Area Phase 1
Chandigarh 160 002
Chandigarh-Patiala National Highway
Punjab 140 401
