Pratyush Prabhakar secured a victory in student elections to become the Vice-President of Academic Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School, drawing support from peers across more than 96 countries and various academic programmes. Rather than running a sweeping political platform, his campaign focused on three practical commitments: improving student connections with faculty, streamlining course selection and scheduling, and expanding library resources.
Currently pursuing a Master in Public Administration as an Edward S. Mason Fellow at Harvard, Prabhakar attributed his electoral success to authenticity. The election outcomes were officially declared on October 2, Gandhi Jayanti, a date that held special meaning since he had referenced Mahatma Gandhi as a key source of inspiration during his campaign. In his new capacity, he will co-chair the Harvard Kennedy School Academic Affairs Committee alongside the Dean, representing student interests concerning academics, curriculum, and advising.
Before entering Harvard, Prabhakar accumulated extensive experience across seven Union ministries in India, including Commerce and Industry, Education, Skill Development, Petroleum, Steel, and Railways. This background provided him with direct insight into the complexities of turning policy decisions into tangible outcomes, noting that system constraints and skewed incentives often create gaps between policy formulation and execution.
Beyond his government experience, Prabhakar is an entrepreneur who founded Communeeti, a New Delhi-based public policy education venture, and thriWe, a think tank dedicated to advancing women’s equity. He holds a BTech in Electronics Engineering from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, in addition to being a TEDx speaker. Through his new student leadership role, he aims to ensure that the diverse voices of his fellow Harvard students are actively represented in academic decision-making.