Team

Vikas is an industry professional with over 25 years of experience across various organisations like Alcatel, Tata Communications, Nokia and Spice Mobile. He has also been an entrepreneur for over four years and has managed two startup ventures – Future Minds Consulting and Awethentica Fashions. After exiting his ventures he joined Amity Technology Incubator as “Entrepreneur In Residence” and worked for over three years at Amity mainly helping startups to grow to the next level. Vikas holds an engineering degree in electronics and an MBA in marketing from SP Jain Institute of Management & Research Mumbai.

Glenn E. Robinson is the Academic Director of the Nexus StartUp Hub program at UConn. He has over four decades of senior management experience, delivering innovative leadership solutions to businesses globally to help them transform and succeed in challenging, dynamic environments. Glenn is a consultant to the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Washington, DC, is a charter staff member of the NSF’s Convergence Accelerator and has held Board of Director positions with various incubators, start-ups and non-profits. He has conducted hundreds of workshops around the globe and trained tens of thousands of innovators on how to create high-impact ventures and assess the market potential of grassroots innovation. Glenn also designed a curriculum to train incubator managers on setting up incubation processes to recruit and develop both “deep tech” and social entrepreneurs, and has delivered training sessions at U.S. Consulates, universities and private institutions in Central Asia, Europe and Latin America.

Tolga Turker, PhD, is the Director of Global Entrepreneurial Programs at UConn Global Affairs and oversees the Global Training and Development Institute`s global operations and portfolio. Tolga’s work emphasizes the importance of regional security structures and the role of government regulations, and has conducted research on regulatory frameworks, innovation policy, and the role of government in fostering entrepreneurship. He is passionate about building partnerships between universities, businesses, and policymakers to promote development of sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems. In addition to teaching, Tolga collaborates with incubators and accelerators, helping startups navigate political and regulatory landscapes, and equipping entrepreneurs with the strategic knowledge to thrive in competitive markets.

Laura Labato is the Assistant Director of the GTDI at UConn Global Affairs and specializes in designing and coordinating exchange programs that expose participants to diverse entrepreneurial environments and cultures. By connecting students with startup incubators, accelerators, and global mentors, Laura helps aspiring entrepreneurs gain practical experience and international perspectives on innovation and business development. Laura`s work bridges the gap between education and real-world entrepreneurial ecosystems, empowering students to build global networks and develop the skills needed to thrive in today's interconnected marketplace.

Divya Rajput, PhD serves as the In-Country Director for the University of Connecticut at the Nexus Startup Hub @ the American Center, New Delhi, spearheading initiatives to foster entrepreneurial excellence. With an illustrious career spanning 24 years, including 17 years dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs, Divya has been instrumental in shaping the startup ecosystem.

In collaboration with The University of Texas at Austin, she has successfully rolled out Nexus 1.0 flagship programs such as the South Asia Connect (SAC), and Incubator Managers Training (IMT) under the aegis of the U.S. Department of State.

A former officer of the Government of India, Divya's leadership roles have included serving as the Business Innovation Head at the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), Ministry of Corporate Affairs; Advisor to the Technology Development Board; and lately as the CEO of JSS Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Park (STEP), Noida to nurture the startup ecosystem in the Country.

As an Angel Investor, Divya passionately supports Deep Tech and AI startups, driven by her vision of leveraging technology to create a better and more sustainable world.