Prof. Dr. Bhola Thapa

Prof. Dr. Bhola Thapa is an accomplished Nepalese academician who has made significant contributions to the field of engineering. Prof. Thapa completed his Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering under the Colombo Plan Scholarship of Government of Nepal from Punjab Engineering College, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India, in 1991. He later obtained a Master of Engineering degree from Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Rajasthan, India in 1999, with a thesis on "The effects of sediments on wear of hydroelectric turbines in Nepal and repair of turbine runners." He obtained his Ph.D. (Dr. Ing) in Sand Erosion in Hydraulic Machinery from the Institute of Energy and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway, in 2004.

Prof. Thapa began his academic career as a Lecturer at the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1994 and later became an Assistant Professor in 2000 at Kathmandu University. He was promoted to Associate Professor in April 2005 and then to Professor in 2008, a position he holds to date. Dr. Thapa has presently been serving as the Vice-Chancellor of Kathmandu University, a position which he has held since January 2021.  He also held various administrative positions at Kathmandu University, including Registrar from June 2013 to August 2018, and the Dean of the School of Engineering from 2008 to 2016. He was instrumental in establishing the School of Engineering as the first Quality Assurance and Accreditation (QAA) Certified Engineering institute in Nepal.

Prof. Thapa has served on various committees and projects, including the Project Advisory Committee of Energize Nepal Project, the Project Implementation Unit of KOICA funded Technical Training Center, the Research and Training Network under the Project funded by ADB to establish South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) ICT Research and Training Network, and the Operation and Management Committee of NORAD funded Turbine Testing Laboratory at Kathmandu University. He has also been a member of the Governing Board of Nepal Banepa Polytechnic Institute, CTEVT, and the Steering Committee member of several Norwegian-funded research programs, including EnPe International Master Program, SIU funded NOMA International Master Program, and Norwegian Himal Asia Mission/HimalPartner (NHAM/HP) project for Development of Engineering Education and Community Education Project.

Prof. Thapa has also been involved in research and consulting activities. He has contributed to the development of the curriculum for motorbike, refrigeration, and air conditioning mechanics for the Council for Technical and Vocational Education (CTEVT). He was the team leader for a research project at KU named "Demonstration of Energy Conservation in Cooking" for the Water and Energy Council Secretariat, Nepal, which was run with Canadian support in the year 1999/2000. He was the project manager for a sponsored research project at KU called "Development of transport vehicles for developing countries" under the INFIL Foundation Norway in the year 2000. He has also been involved in energy research under the joint support of the Happy House Foundation, Switzerland, and Kathmandu University since 2004. He also served as a QAA expert (consultant) for the University Grants Commission of Nepal in the Higher Education Reform Project (HERP).

Prof. Thapa is widely respected in the academic community for his expertise in hydraulic machinery, sand erosion in turbines, and renewable energy. His research works have been published in several international journals, and he has presented his works at various national and international conferences. He has also published a book, "Engineer of Engineering Education," in which he discusses the development of engineering education at Kathmandu University, which later became the forerunner of many engineering programs in Nepal.