Professional Summary 

Dr. Vishakha Gandhi is an education and employability specialist with extensive experience in driving institutional and system-level transformation across the education sector. She works closely with governments, education institutions, and education-focused organizations to design and implement strategy-led solutions that strengthen quality, relevance, and outcomes.  

She brings a strong blend of analytical rigor and execution capability, having led engagements spanning higher education transformation, institutional quality and ranking enhancement, education ecosystem planning, online and blended education strategy, and employability-linked program design. Her work focuses on aligning vision, governance, and operating models with measurable outcomes, ensuring that transformation initiatives translate into sustained impact.  

Vishakha holds a PhD in Economics with a specialization in higher education and believes that meaningful education reform is driven by data-led insights, stakeholder alignment, and disciplined execution.  

Key Competencies 

Growth & Market Strategy: Go-to-market design, expansion planning and revenue acceleration across education and allied sectors 
Business Transformation: Operating model alignment, performance improvement, and execution roadmaps
Policy, regulation and sector economics: Deep understanding of education regulations, accreditation norms, and policy frameworks 
Institutional excellence frameworks: School maturity diagnostics, ranking enhancement, and performance improvement roadmaps 

Education 

Dr. Vishakha Gandhi holds a PhD in Economics from Sardar Patel University, where her doctoral research examined the structural and behavioural drivers of higher education enrolment in India. Her work analysed how pricing, financing models, regulatory frameworks, institutional signalling (rankings, brand, outcomes), and household decision heuristics influence student choice and market demand. 

Through an integration of behavioural economics and market analysis, she studied how information asymmetry, perceived returns on investment, credit access, and policy incentives shape enrolment patterns across public and private institutions. Her research offers actionable insights for university leaders, investors, and policymakers on market positioning, affordability strategy, and long-term demand sustainability in a rapidly evolving regulatory environment aligned with NEP 2020.  

She completed her M.Sc. in Economics from Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics, graduating with distinction (GPA 8.4/10), where she built strong capabilities in applied econometrics, policy analysis, and quantitative modelling.  

She earned her B.A. (Hons.) in Economics from St. Xavier's College, graduating with a GPA of 8.1/10, establishing a strong foundation in economic theory and development economics.