Dr. Karunakar A. Kotegar is the Pro Vice Chancellor (Technology & Science) at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal. With over 29 years of experience in higher education, he has held several leadership positions spanning academic administration, research, innovation, and internationalization.

Prior to his current role, he served as Pro President of Manipal University Jaipur and earlier as Director – International Collaboration at MAHE, where he played a key role in expanding global academic partnerships and strengthening international engagement. He also served as Professor and Head of the Department of Data Science and Computer Applications at MIT, Manipal, contributing to the development of academic programs in emerging technology domains.

An advocate of global engagement in higher education, Dr. Kotegar has provided leadership to international academic networks through his roles as President of IAESTE India and Secretary of IAESTE A.s.b.l., contributing significantly to international academic cooperation and student mobility initiatives.

His research interests span Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Multimedia Communications, and Digital Image and Video Forensics. He has authored 75+ scholarly publications, supervised doctoral scholars, and actively promoted research excellence and innovation.

Dr. Kotegar is a Senior Member of IEEE, a Life Member of ISTE, a Fulbright Scholar (USA), and a recipient of the DAAD Fellowship (Germany). He served as a Syndicate Member of Mangalore University, nominated by the Hon'ble Governor of Karnataka, in recognition of his contributions to higher education.