Lifetime Achievement Award on ODL conferred on Dr. Dhaneswar Harichandan who has served as Professor cum Director in Institute of Distance Open Learning, University of Mumbai. With more than three decades of experience in face to face class room teaching and distance mode of education he has guided seven students for Ph.D and ten students for M.Phil degree and has been the external examiner of PhD thesis of 31 universities including JNU ,IIT Bombay, IIPS Mumbai etc. He has been invited by the Govt. of India as Educational Consultant for its World Bank funded “District Primary Education Project” based on Research Publication on Girls’ Education in India in Journal of Educational Planning and Administration.
Recipient of Eminent Teacher Educator award by Indian Association of Teacher Educators, Allahabad and Lifetime Achievement Award in the field of Education and Teacher Education by Ravenshaw University, Cuttack he has completed a Major Research Project on “Teacher Education Programme through Distance Education Mode in Indian Universities” by DEC, IGNOU New Delhi. He has been invited for training on “Appraisal of D.P.E.P” at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussorie, and NAAC-NCTE for Assessors Training Programme for Teacher Education Institutions and is a Peer Team Member of NAAC. He has authored five books, fourteen self-learning materials in education (edited) published by University of Mumbai and more than 24 research papers in Journal of Educational Planning & Administration (NIEPA), Bharathiya Adhunik Shiksha (NCERT), Indian Journal of Adult Education, Edutrack, The Free Press Journal, International Educator, University News, Media & Technology for HRD, Progress of Education, Quest in Education. Editorial advisory board member of national and international level journals.
He has presented research papers, organised two International, three National Conferences on ODL, and series of Workshop on development of self-instructional material and for UGC NET/SET examination. Principal Investigator in e-PG Pathshala Project of UGC in the subject of Adult Education and UGC SWAYAM Coordinator for University of Mumbai, developed a Massive Open Online Course in Communication Technologies in Education by UGC, MHRD, Government of India with more than 16,000 students enrolled into the course. Member of various committees of UGC, NAAC, NCTE, NCERT and University of Mumbai. He has been appointed as Ambassador for global advocacy of OER and a member of the OER Advocacy Committee by International Council for Open and Distance Education, Oslo, Norway.
He has now been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by IDEA at the hands of Professor Dr. Ebba Ossiannilsson, Executive Committee Member of ICDE in 24th IDEA-IDOL-CEMCA National Conference on ODL on 18th July 2020.