Dr. Haribhau. R. Bhapkar

Dr. Haribhau R. Bhapkar is a senior academician, mathematician, researcher, and educationist with 26 years of experience in higher education. He currently serves as Head, Department of Mathematics and NEP-2020 Nodal Officer at the Central University of Kashmir. His academic journey reflects a sustained commitment to mathematics, research, educational innovation, academic governance and the application of knowledge to societal and national challenges.

His major research interests include Graph Theory, Rough Set Theory, COVID-19, and Mathematical Modelling. His research and innovation portfolio comprises 45 patents filed/published, 62 copyrights registered/filed, more than 100 research papers (journals and conferences), and over 120 books/ book Chapters authored or co-authored, with leading academic publishers including Springer, CRC Press, Elsevier, and Taylor & Francis, Technical Publications. His scholarly work combines mathematical research with applications in education, innovation and real-world problem-solving. He is also associated with an ICSSR longitudinal research project with an approved budget of ₹1 crore, reflecting his engagement with multidisciplinary and socially relevant research.

Dr. Bhapkar has contributed extensively to academic governance and higher-education policy. His responsibilities include membership of the UGC Standing Expert Committee dealing with proposals relating to teaching and non-teaching posts in Central Universities. At the Central University of Kashmir, he has served on the Academic Council and School Board, and as Chairman, Board of Studies in Mathematics. He has also contributed to curriculum development, examination reforms, accreditation, quality enhancement and institutional development. His academic governance experience further includes membership of the Government of Maharashtra’s CGPA to Percentage Conversion Committee and various other academic and professional committees.

A distinctive dimension of his academic work is the integration of Mathematics, Innovation, Design Thinking, Experiential Learning, Indian Knowledge Systems and societal problem-solving. He has developed the BEIMI experiential learning approach, which seeks to move mathematics education beyond memorisation towards experience, experimentation, inference, mathematical insight and application. His book Discrete Mathematics: An Experiential Learning Perspective, published by Springer, reflects this educational philosophy and seeks to demonstrate how mathematical concepts can be learned through experiential and application-oriented approaches.

Dr. Bhapkar has also established the BEIMI Mathematics Lab, creating an environment in which students can engage with mathematics through experimentation, research, innovation, and real-world applications. The initiative has encouraged student participation in intellectual property, research presentations, and NEP-2020 and Indian Knowledge Systems-related academic activities. His broader educational vision is to transform students from passive recipients of information into problem-solvers, innovators, researchers and contributors to society.

His work in Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) and Design Thinking further explores how the approaches of Indian thinkers and visionaries can be interpreted in relation to contemporary problem-solving, social transformation and nation-building.

Looking ahead, Dr. Bhapkar is developing a broader framework titled the National Classroom Incubator Model (NCIM) for Viksit Bharat @2047: Transforming Knowledge into Innovation and Social Transformation. The proposed model seeks to position the classroom as the first stage of an innovation ecosystem, where students identify meaningful problems, generate ideas, experiment, develop prototypes, test solutions and connect their learning with society. The framework brings together NEP-2020, experiential learning, Design Thinking, IKS, innovation and community engagement.

Dr. Bhapkar has delivered 50+ expert lectures through MMTTCs, TEQIP, FDPs, workshops and seminars and has actively contributed to academic and professional forums. His overall academic philosophy is rooted in the belief that knowledge should move beyond textbooks and classrooms into innovation, application and social impact.

His professional journey can therefore be viewed as a progression from Mathematics and Research → Educational Innovation → NEP-2020 and IKS → Student Innovation → Higher-Education Policy → Social Transformation, with a broader vision of contributing to Viksit Bharat @2047.