Director – University Relations & Innovation Lab

The Director University Relations & Innovation Lab is responsible for building and running the most strategic capability engine within the India Regions org. This role combines two deeply connected mandates: establishing Honeywells presence and brand across Indias top academic institutions and running the Honeywell Aerospace IT Innovation Lab a structured program where top university talent is brought in trained on cutting-edge technologies and deployed to solve real live Honeywell Aerospace business problems spanning Commercial Customer Experience Supply Chain Finance and Engineering before graduating into the broader IT organization.

This role is the primary driver of Honeywells long-term talent pipeline innovation culture and Center of Excellence development in India. It is equal parts academic relationship-builder program designer and innovation leader.

Key Responsibilities

University Relations & Campus Strategy

• Build and own Honeywell Aerospace ITs university partnership strategy across India targeting IITs NITs ISBs and leading Tier 2 engineering institutions
• Negotiate and formalize MOUs with target institutions defining annual intake commitments research collaboration terms and branding opportunities
• Represent Honeywell at campus events career fairs technical talks and faculty engagement programs
• Build a sustainable annual campus hiring pipeline that feeds the Innovation Lab and the broader India IT talent pool
• Track university relationship health intake quality and long-term alumni outcomes to continuously improve the program

Innovation Lab Design & Operations

• Design launch and run the Honeywell Aerospace IT Innovation Lab a structured 12-month immersive program for top university graduates
• Define the Labs operating model: cohort structure training curriculum POC project framework mentorship design and graduation criteria
• Partner closely with the Lead Enterprise Architect to define the technical training curriculum across AI ERP (S4 Hana) Data Engineering and other priority domains
• Deeply understand Honeywell Aerospaces real-world business challenges working directly with business stakeholders across Commercial Customer Experience Supply Chain Finance and Engineering to identify high-value problem statements that become the POC projects for Lab participants
• Run regular demo days stakeholder showcases and executive reviews to drive visibility and investment in the Lab program
• Manage the end-to-end cohort lifecycle recruitment onboarding training project assignment performance and graduation

Talent Pipeline & Tower Graduation

• Design the graduation model a structured process to transition Lab graduates into permanent roles across the Honeywell Aerospace IT towers (under peer VPs)
• Build and maintain strong relationships with global IT VP teams to create a demand-driven graduation pipeline
• Ensure continuity of the Lab by re-hiring each new university cohort on an annual cycle keeping the Lab perpetually active
• Track the career progression of Lab graduates within Honeywell and use outcomes to strengthen the Labs reputation and university partnerships

YOU MUST HAVE

• 15 years of experience spanning IT leadership academic partnerships or talent development programs
• Proven track record of building and managing university relations programs at scale in India
• Experience designing and running structured innovation or incubation programs within a corporate setting
• Strong understanding of technology domains relevant to Aerospace IT: AI/ML SAP/S4 Hana Data Engineering and Cloud
• Exceptional program management skills able to run a multi-cohort multi-stakeholder program with precision
• Outstanding interpersonal and relationship-building skills across academic corporate and technical

WE VALUE

• Experience in the Aerospace Industrial Technology or Manufacturing sector
• Prior experience building or operating a corporate innovation lab incubator or center of excellence
• Existing network across Indias top engineering institutions
• Familiarity with agile delivery design thinking and POC development methodologies