Industry Academia Partnership Lead

WPU- Goa

Job Description

1. Job Details

Job Title: Industry–Academia Partnership Lead (Leadership Role)

Department: Industry & Corporate Relations

Location: Goa

2. Job Purpose

Build and lead WPU Goa's industry-academia partnership ecosystem — onboarding leading MNCs across relevant sectors, mobilizing CSR and industry funding, and co-creating labs and new-age infrastructure on campus — translating these relationships into tangible opportunities for students, faculty, and the institution's long-term growth.

3. Key Responsibilities

• Partnership Strategy: design and drive a comprehensive industry-engagement strategy that positions WPU Goa as a preferred academic partner for industry across all relevant sectors.
• MNC & Corporate Onboarding: identify, approach, and onboard top MNCs and corporates in every relevant sector for internships, live projects, guest lectures, placements, and sponsored research, and manage them as long-term strategic partners.
• CSR & Fundraising: plan and lead CSR and institutional fundraising — securing CSR grants, sponsorships, and endowments from corporates and foundations, with clear proposals, compliance, and impact reporting.
• Labs & Infrastructure Creation: conceive and deliver industry co-created labs, centres of excellence, and innovation spaces on campus through partner funding, equipment, and technology support.
• Industry Body Engagement: build and manage active relationships with apex industry bodies such as CII, FICCI, NASSCOM, and regional chambers of commerce to unlock partnership opportunities.
• MOU & Alliance Management: negotiate and manage MOUs, alliances, and collaboration agreements with industry partners, ensuring measurable outcomes.
• Ecosystem Building: connect the university to sector-specific networks, startups, and industry forums relevant to WPU Goa's academic programs.
• Internal Alignment: work closely with Schools, Placements, and Academic teams to translate industry relationships into curriculum inputs, projects, and student opportunities.
• Events & Visibility: represent WPU Goa at industry forums, conferences, and networking events to build the university's brand among industry stakeholders.
• Reporting & Tracking: track partnership, funding, and infrastructure outcomes and report the value delivered to university leadership.

4. Person Specification & Key Competencies

• Strong, established network across industry bodies (CII, FICCI, and similar platforms) and corporate leadership circles.
• Proven track record of building and closing industry partnerships — this is an industry-origin role, not an academic one.
• Demonstrated experience onboarding and managing top MNCs across multiple sectors, with prior hands-on handling of such large, multi-stakeholder collaborations.
• Working knowledge of CSR frameworks and corporate fundraising — funding cycles, proposal development, compliance, and impact reporting — with a record of securing CSR or sponsorship funds.
• Ability to conceptualize and deliver labs, centres of excellence, and campus infrastructure in partnership with industry, from pitch through to commissioning.
• Exceptional relationship-building and negotiation skills, with the ability to open doors at a senior / CXO level.
• Rigour and ownership: an entrepreneurial builder who sets targets, drives execution, and delivers measurable outcomes in a new function.
• Ability to translate industry relationships into structured institutional value — curriculum inputs, placements, research collaboration, and infrastructure.

Minimum Qualification & Experience

• Graduate / Postgraduate in any discipline; MBA preferred.
• 12+ years of industry experience at a senior level, including demonstrated work with or through industry bodies such as CII, FICCI, or similar national/regional platforms.
• Proven experience onboarding top MNCs across multiple sectors and managing such collaborations end to end.
• Hands-on experience in CSR fundraising or corporate sponsorship mobilization, with a verifiable record of funds raised.
• Experience creating labs, centres of excellence, or infrastructure through industry collaboration is strongly preferred.
• Academic or teaching experience is not required — candidates must come from industry with proven partnership-building work.
• A strong, active network of corporate and industry-body contacts that can be leveraged from day one.

5. Communication & Working Relationship

External

• University Leadership
• Schools & Program Chairs
• Placements & Career Services
• Industry Bodies (CII, FICCI, NASSCOM, etc.)
• MNCs, Corporates & Startups
• CSR Foundations & Corporate Funders
• Sector Forums & Networks