FLAME University

ABOUT FLAME UNIVERSITY

Story of the pioneer of Liberal Education in India

Prof. Dishan Kamdar is the Vice Chancellor of FLAME University. He took charge of this position on August 8, 2018. Prior to this, he was the Deputy Dean of Academic Programmes and Professor of Organisational Behaviour at the Indian School of Business (ISB). A leading researcher, senior faculty member, executive coach to CEOs of renowned corporates and family businesses in India, and a favourite professor to all his students, Prof. Dishan handles these multifaceted roles with equal ease.

A passionate teacher before anything else, Prof. Dishan’s biggest priority is his students and alumni. “Nothing gives me more satisfaction than to see my students and alumni succeed in their careers and in the process, make their alma mater/ organisations proud”, he says. In his current role as the Vice Chancellor, he is leading FLAME 2.0 - the next phase of growth, expansion and internationalisation of FLAME University, designed to make it a truly world-class institution in all respects.

At ISB, Prof. Dishan was responsible for selecting and nurturing talent, right from admissions to alumni engagement. In addition to teaching and research, he was directing Admissions and Financial Aid, Academic Services and Administration for the various PG and degree equivalent programmes, Student Engagement and Applied Learning, Career Advancement Services, Alumni Relations and the launch of new programmes.

Executive Coach, Mentor and Teacher

Prof. Dishan Kamdar specialised in teaching Negotiation Analysis and Decision Making to students of the various PG programmes, advanced management programmes and short duration executive education programmes at ISB. He was awarded ‘Professor of the Year’ five times in the last decade at ISB, for his hands-on teaching style and well-crafted course content. He is also a frequently sought-after faculty amongst the mid to senior-level industry professionals, who attend the executive education programmes. Recently, Prof. Kamdar was invited to teach at The Wharton- TMI executive education programmes.

Prof. Kamdar’s expertise encompasses the space of negotiations and workplace behaviour. Through structured practical and case-based programmes, he equips leaders to manage difficult conversations and dispute situations to emerge as better agents of influence. He also trains senior executives from PSUs and the Government.

Researcher par Excellence

Prof. Kamdar is cited as one of India’s top researchers and among the leading ones globally. He is credited with achieving this success far earlier than several others in academia. He has published papers in top-tier international journals and has been invited to present his studies at international conferences. His research interests include work related performance and extra-role behaviours which are both ‘promotive’ and ‘prohibitive’, knowledge sharing, group performance, trust, voice in the organisation, whistleblowing, creativity and leadership, work culture, and more.

Experience Summary, Achievements and Qualifications:

Prof. Kamdar is the recipient of multiple teaching awards right from his early days.

Labelled as “the central pillar for ISB”, Prof. Dishan surpassed many milestones in teaching, research and institutional governance. He was instrumental in launching PGPPro, a weekend M.B.A equivalent programme geared toward working professionals. In addition, Prof. Dishan also played a vital role in integrating programmes of delivery and faculty recruitments across two campuses.

Prior to ISB, Prof. Dishan taught Organisational Behaviour at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He started his career as an entrepreneur in 1998 as the owner of a trading firm. He grew interested in the theory behind motivation, leadership and negotiation skills, and subsequently pursued his Master’s in Science degree and specialized in organisational behaviour. Over the years, his skills in negotiations and decision making have helped him grow his business to achieve an annual turnover of over US$ 65 Million. Prof. Dishan holds a Ph.D. from the National University of Singapore, 2004, M.Sc (Management), National University of Singapore, 2001 and BBA (Hons), National University of Singapore, 1999.