In October 2012, Hubert H. Humphrey program, 2010-11 alumnus, Prof. B. Venkatesh Kumar helped to set up the Centre for Sustainable Growth and Talent Development (joint initiate of Rutgers and Tata Institute of Social Science) serves as the Co-Director. The Centre, an initiative that evolved from his Fulbright experience provides expert support for India’s National Skill Development Strategy. In addition, following his Fulbright tenure, Kumar has been inducted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development to prepare strategies to revive state universities and colleges in India and by the Planning Commission of India in their sub-committee on Internationalization in Higher Education. He has also been appointed as the Chair, Committee on Report to the Nation: State of Professional Education in India, constituted by the All India Council for Technical Education. Kumar in collaboration with his counterpart from Rutgers' won the 1st Obama Singh Knowledge Initiative Award announced this year in the Higher Education category. A visiting professor at Rutgers, he has also become a consultant to South Asia’s Human Development Department of the World Bank.

Kumar is the Chairperson for Centre for Public Policy and Governance, TISS, Mumbai. During his Humphrey Fellowship Kumar worked on Higher Education Administration at the College of Education, Penn State University.

Venkatesh Kumar (right) at the launch of the Centre for Sustainable Growth and Talent Development.