La Fondation Dassault Systèmes Welcomes New Executive Director in India
La Fondation Dassault Systèmes announces the appointment of Huzefa Salim as Executive Director of La Fondation Dassault Systèmes in India
As it celebrates its successful 6-year Indian journey, La Fondation Dassault Systèmes announces the appointment of Huzefa Salim as Executive Director of La Fondation Dassault Systèmes in India, effective January 1st, 2024. Hemant Gadgil, who has led the incredible development of La Fondation for the past 6 years, will continue as a program director and adviser.
Huzefa’s passion aligns with the continued growth and evolution of La Fondation Dassault Systèmes, India, ensuring that it remains at the forefront of education, research, and industry collaboration while deepening the impact Dassault Systèmes Foundation has on people’s lives.
Huzefa Salim brings with him 27 years of experience in Education with a focus on the creation of pedagogical assets and a strong network with Indian academia. He also brings his passion and a fresh perspective to scale-up La Fondation Dassault Systèmes programs to the next level. He highly values working with and for people, from partners and volunteers to beneficiaries.
While our flagship programs will be further expanded and enriched, we have some key opportunities in terms of providing and proliferating the knowledge assets created. Going forward, there is also a clear value in connecting projects and stakeholders together, teaming up with like-minded organizations so that the combined energies can be put to use to help the Indian nation go forward.
I would like to warmly thank Hemant Gadgil for his visionary leadership, dedication, and strategic insight, which have been instrumental in La Fondation Dassault Systèmes’ success in India in the past six years. I also wish Huzefa Salim all the best in his important mission, and am convinced his background and qualities will lead La Fondation to a great future.
A journey into transformation
In 2017, La Fondation Dassault Systèmes in India embarked upon a journey to facilitate academia transformation as part of its CSR commitment and help next-gen students to be future-ready. La Fondation Dassault Systèmes’ ambition, through its entities in Europe, India and the US, is to transform the way we learn, the way we discover, and the way we preserve our heritage with scientific 3D technologies and virtual universes.
Over the years, La Fondation Dassault Systèmes programs in India have grown exponentially, leaving an indelible mark on the landscape of education through innovative and impactful programs, and strong collaborations with academia and alliances with Atal Innovation Mission of NITI Aayog. From 2 projects in 1 city in 2017 to 100+ academia transformation projects and 35+ research projects at various universities, engineering colleges and educational institutes in 31 States & Union Territories across India, connecting 16 000 Academia with 350+ colleges and 150+ schools 6 years later. Overall, since its creation, through various programs, La Fondation Dassault Systèmes has empowered more than 4 000 Indian students with skills for the future.
During this journey, La Fondation Dassault Systèmes has launched impactful flagship programs, including:
- "Made in 3D | Seed the Future Entrepreneur", which today benefits more than 150 schools all across India
- "ConnectNext" through which more than 400 engineering students are transformed to be "Future Ready engineers”
- "ASPIRA – Fulfilling Her Aspirations through Education”, a dedicated program for girl students that has benefitted more than 250 girl students to date.
The Made in 3D | Seed the Future Entrepreneur program helps in creating a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship amongst school students and has received national and international recognition by being selected as a G20 event with several participating students having had the opportunity to present their innovations at various events.
Focus - La Fondation Dassault Systèmes in India
La Fondation Dassault Systèmes is a foundation setup by Dassault Systèmes for philanthropic purposes. In India, it is incorporated as a company with non-profit objectives dedicated for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities under the name “Dassault Systemes Foundation”. With its significant and impactful contribution over the last 6 years in India, it has received recognition with Best CSR Project awards under Education and Skill Development category from various organizations consistently the last 5 years.