IICA Delhi wins FICCI Higher Education Excellence Award

The International Institute of Culinary Arts (IICA), New Delhi has been honoured with the 11th FICCI Higher Education Excellence Award 2025 for Excellence in Creating Employment & Entrepreneurship (Private).

The award ceremony that took place at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, opened with an inspiring special address by Dr. Mumin Chen, Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in India, followed by a keynote by Raghav Gupta, Head of Education – India and Asia Pacific, OpenAI, who shared insights on the role of AI in shaping the future of education and entrepreneurship.

The awards were judged by a distinguished panel, including Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, Former Director General, CSIR; Anand Sudarshan, Founder & Director, Sylvant Advisors; Ayush Gupta, Director-HR, GAIL India and Sudheesh Venkatesh, Chief People Officer, Azim Premji Foundation.

Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways presented the award to Virender S. Datta, Founder & Chairman of IICA and its Managing Director & COO Arjun S. Datta.

Commenting on this achievement, Virender said, “This award is a recognition of the hard work and dedication of our students, faculty and partners. As we mark 20 years of IICA’s journey, it reflects our enduring mission to build careers, shape futures and lead with excellence in the culinary world.”

Arjun S. Datta maintained, “At IICA, our focus has always been on creating meaningful opportunities for aspiring chefs and culinary entrepreneurs. This recognition by FICCI reinforces our commitment to combining innovation, skill development and global standards to shape the next generation of culinary leaders.”

IICA is set to host its 40th Bi-Convocation Ceremony on November 1, 2025 at Hotel Aerocity, New Delhi, a celebration of its graduating students and their culinary journeys.