The Founder

Dr. Kaviraj Sharma Sukon is the Founder Director-General of the Open University of Mauritius and played a pivotal role in shaping the institution. After its inception in July 2012, he served as Director-General until October 10, 2024. Dr. Sukon was elected to the National Assembly in November 2024 and was appointed Minister of Tertiary Education, Science, and Research.

With an impressive career spanning across academia, research, and policy development, Dr. Sukon has made significant contributions to the educational sector of Mauritius. From 2005 to 2012, he also served as Chairman of the Mauritius College of the Air (MCA).

His academic journey began in 1994 as a Lecturer in Mathematics at the University of Mauritius. He earned his PhD in Computational Mathematics in 1996 through a joint program between the University of Mauritius and Loughborough University, UK. He later pursued an MBA with Distinction (Ranked First) from the University of Surrey, UK.

He subsequently joined the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate as a Research and Development Officer, where he initiated the marking of the first international paper in Mauritius. In 2005, he joined the HRDC, where he established the Research and Consultancy Division as the first Manager-Research/Head of the Research Division. During his tenure at HRDC, he led the development of the first National Human Resource Development Plan and worked extensively with the private sector.

Dr. Sukon has also served as a consultant and coordinator for ADEA (Association for the Development of Education), UNESCO, the ILO, and the UNDP. He holds an honorary senior lecturer position at Imperial College London, UK. He has taught Mathematics and Statistics and authored several distance education manuals on Quantitative Research Methods, Mathematics, and Statistics. Additionally, he has published numerous research papers and supervised multiple Master’s and Doctoral theses. Dr. Sukon has been appointed as the President of the 16th Governance Council of the NAM S&T Centre regrouping 47 countries.