Vaidehi Banerjee

About Vaidehi Banerjee

Nurturing Communicators Beyond The ClassroomI am a communications educator who has spent most of my professional life exploring a simple idea: communication is not just a skill, it is a life skill. My career began outside academia, where I spent seven years in the industry working across advertising, hospitality, and media buying. Those early years taught me how communication works in the real world—how ideas are sold, how relationships are built, and how the right words at the right time can make all the difference. After a short sabbatical, I stepped into academia in 2004 and joined the International Institute of Information Technology (I²IT), Pune, where I have now spent over two decades learning, teaching, designing courses, and engaging with generations of students. Over the past 21+ years in academics, I have worked closely with both postgraduate and undergraduate engineering students. In my early years at I²IT (2004–2014), I was associated with postgraduate programs, and since 2014 I have been teaching B.E. students, helping them build the communication and professional skills needed beyond the classroom. The courses I currently teach include Communication Skills, Soft Skills, Business Communication, Employability Skills Development, and Universal Human Values. One aspect of my work that I particularly enjoy is designing courses and learning experiences within an autonomous academic environment, where teaching goes beyond delivery and becomes an exercise in thoughtful curriculum building. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a Master’s degree in Communication Studies from Savitribai Phule Pune University. I qualified the UGC–JRF, and have recently completed my Ph.D. in Mass Communication from Amity University, Lucknow. My research interests include communication pedagogy, lesson planning, and the role of communication in learning environments. Over the years, I have discovered that teaching communication to engineering students can be both challenging and rewarding. Somewhere between presentations, group discussions, reflective assignments, and classroom debates, I try to help students realize that communication is not merely about speaking well—it is about thinking clearly, listening carefully, and expressing ideas with confidence and empathy. And after all these years, I still believe the classroom is one of the most fascinating places to be—because every batch of students brings new questions, new perspectives, and new conversations waiting to happen.

Experience

1. Assistant Professor

   I Square It

   May 2019 — Present · Pune, IN

   Facilitate in improving students\' communication skills, professional skills and English language through experiential learning- Expert Member of the Board of Studies for courses on Soft Skills, Business Communication Skills, Humanity & Social Science and Code of Conduct- Designing and implementing course structure for B.E. Programs in Computer, IT and E & TC- Oversee digital and promotional activities, with focus on admission support through digital interaction and ensuring increased traction to digital footprints of the institute- Editorial responsibility of campus magazine - Dhruva since inception- Co-ordinator for Shri Pralhad P Chhabria Awards (Hope Foundation and Research Centre) in association with India Council and WiE Pune Section- Mentoring students / alumni to enhance professional and personal excellence-

Education

• Department of Media and Communication Studies, Pune University

  M.A., Communication Science

  1990 — 1992

• Modern Education Society's Nowrosjee Wadia College Arts, Science, Pune 01

  High School Diploma, Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies

• Amity University Lucknow Campus

  Ph.D., New Age Media

• Modern Education Society's Nowrosjee Wadia College Arts, Science, Pune 01

  Bachelor of Arts - BA, English Language and Literature, General