Meet IGNOU first woman VC Uma Kanjilal: The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has announced the appointment of its first woman Vice Chancellor Uma Kanjilal. She has been serving as the Acting Vice Chancellor since July 25, 2024. "With over 36 years of distinguished service in the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) system, Prof. Kanjilal brings a wealth of academic leadership, digital innovation, and institutional knowledge to the helm of one of the world’s largest open universities," read the IGNOU release. Educational Qualifications, Career prospectus Uma Kanjilal obtained MA from Christ Church College, Kanpur and PhD from Jiwaji University. She began her career as a research assistant at IIT Kanpur in 1984.Before assuming the role of Acting Vice Chancellor, she held various roles including Director, Centre for Online Education (2019–2021); Director, Inter-University Consortium for Technology Enabled Flexible Education (2016–2019); Director, Advanced Centre for Informatics and Innovative Learning (2012–2013); Director, School of Social Sciences (2007–2010); and University Librarian (2004–2006). She is the Professor of Library and Information Science since 2003 and is currently the National Coordinator for SWAYAM and SWAYAM PRABHA, flagship digital education initiatives of the Ministry of Education, Government of India, read the IGNOU release. Contributions and awards She has received a Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (1999–2000), consultancy for the Commonwealth of Learning, and digital education work for UNRWA in Jordan and multiple accolades including the Manthan Award for e-Education, an Australia-India Council Grant, and a DANIDA Fellowship. Kanjilal took a major role in expanding IGNOU’s digital infrastructure and online education offerings. Her leadership as the Principal Investigator of the National Virtual Library of India Project and her current role as Coordinator of IGNOU's Project Management Unit under NMEICT Phase-III reflect her deep commitment to digital empowerment in education, as per IGNOU.