Imperial entrepreneurs and researchers have been recognised as top 75 young Indian alumni at awards to mark India’s 75th anniversary of independence.

The India UK achievers honours awards, hosted by the National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK, celebrates the work of 75 Indian students or alumni ‘who have gone on to achieve excellence in their field, inspiring and encouraging many others to dream and achieve'.

Two Imperial alumni were recognised for their entrepreneurship and two researchers were recognised for their work into next generation materials for energy conversion technologies and neuroscience. 

Technology Entrepreneur, Vibin Joseph, is the CEO of BiOZEEN. He stewards global operations that process and formulate more than a billion doses of vaccines every year, across five continents through self-managing teams. Vibin inspires positive change as a One Young World Ambassador and Gates Foundation Goalkeeper for UN sustainable development goals. 

"It was also an occasion to feel grateful and reminisce my time at Imperial, my foundation to creating positive impact." Dr Vibin Joseph Imperial entrepreneur and winner

He said: "It is an absolute honour and my privilege to be recognised as one of the 15 awardees chosen under entrepreneurship ! I am humbled to be in the midst of 75 amazing UK educated Indians whose stellar contributions to entrepreneurship, entertainment, sports, government, journalism, law, policy making and sciences have made our world a better place. The awards served to demonstrate the scale of achievements that British education has enabled. Importantly, it was also an occasion to feel grateful and reminisce my time at Imperial, my foundation to creating positive impact."

Dr Reshma Rao, a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow in the Department of Materials, works on understanding atomic-level (electro)chemical mechanisms at catalytic interfaces to discover next generation materials for energy conversion technologies.

"The thriving research environment and collaborative spirit truly makes Imperial a special and welcoming place for international researchers." Dr Reshma Rao Department of Materials

Dr Rao said: "I feel very honoured to receive the India UK Achievers award. The living bridge between India and UK is strengthened through education.

"I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to be part of the best academic institutions in the country – I completed my MEng from the University of Southampton in 2014 and am currently a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow at Imperial College London.

"The thriving research environment and collaborative spirit truly makes Imperial a special and welcoming place for international researchers."

Entrepreneur, Karmanya Singh Sareen, is Partner at Kommit Techno-Legal LLP, an intellectual property consulting firm in Delhi, India, which was recently awarded the Best Emerging Intellectual Property Consultant Firm - India by APAC Insider. He is the Director of the England Kabaddi Union, through which he promotes Kabaddi in the UK. He is a data privacy enthusiast, and is the main petitioner in the primary case looking at the Right to Privacy as a fundamental right in light of digital privacy. 

Karmanya said: "It is an honour to be recognised as an India-UK achiever at #75at75 next to these amazing people from all walks of life. The receivers of the awards showcase the scale of the positive impact that Indian students have had across the world, through arts, science, media, tech and business! The awards have humanised the statistics behind student immigration from India - highlighting the importance of quality education as an enabler of positive impact through remarkable individuals."

Dr Maitreyee Wairagkar, a visiting academic at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and based at University of California, Davis, is a neuroscientist and neuroengineer developing assistive neurotechnology using artificial intelligence to restore lost function in people with neurological disorders. She builds brain-computer interfaces to enable people with severe motor & speech impairments to communicate directly via their brain signals by breaking barriers between humans & technology. 

"The receivers of the awards showcase the scale of the positive impact that Indian students have had across the world" Karmanya Singh Sareen Imperial entrepreneur and winner

The award winners spent the morning at a breakfast reception hosted at the UK Parliament, where they were joined by the Imperial College Business School’s Professor Sankalp Chaturvedi, Associate Dean of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion and Co-Director of the Gandhi Centre for Inclusive Innovation. Professor Chaturvedi was part of a prestigious judging panel for the awards.

Imperial’s Vice President - International, Professor Maggie Dallman, joined the two award winners at a special Gala Ceremony held on the eve of India’s seventy-fourth Republic Day.

She said “It was a privilege to celebrate Vibin and Karmanya at the India UK Achievers Honours Gala and fantastic to see their impressive achievements gaining much-deserved recognition. Their impact exemplifies the value and importance of continued scientific and entrepreneurial exchange between India and the UK.”

Imperial and India 

There are currently 700 Indian students at the College, and in India there is a community of more than 3,000 alumni.   

“It was a privilege to celebrate Vibin and Karmanya... Their impact exemplifies the value and importance of continued scientific and entrepreneurial exchange between India and the UK.” Professor Maggie Dallman Imperial's Vice President (International)

In the last five years Imperial academics co-authored just over 1,200 research publications with partners at more than 300 Indian institutions.  

Research partners include the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Christian Medical College, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. 

In 2022, Imperial formalised its longstanding connections with the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore (IISc) through a joint Research and Education Seed Fund. Co-funded projects are focusing on areas including quantum physics, water management and air pollution. 

Imperial also partnered with the George Institute for Global Health India to establish a £10M NIHR Global Health Centre for Non-Communicable Disease and Environmental Change. The Centre launched in November 2022 and is based in Delhi.  

Last year Imperial hosted the UK-India Science and Innovation Partnerships dialogue with the previous High Commissioner Ms Gaitri Issar Kumar 

Read more about Imperial's links with India