Arunava Sarkar — Head of IT Services

About me

Dynamic IT professional with 18+ years of experience across IT systems, infrastructure, and service delivery. Currently Head of IT Services at Academic City University, Ghana, leading a team of 15+ IT and network engineers to design and operate robust infrastructure and software services for the institution and its external partners. AWS Educate Cloud Ambassador and holder of MCSA, CCNA, and PCAP certifications, with a Master's in Computer Applications and a track record of leading cross-functional teams, driving technology transformations, and mentoring professionals in cutting-edge technologies.

📍 Greater Accra Region, Ghana English · Hindi · Bangla · French

Where I've worked

Head of Information Technology Services

Apr 2023 — Present

Academic City University · Greater Accra Region, Ghana

Design, implement, and support IT infrastructure and software architecture for the university and external partner organizations
Lead a team of 15+ IT and network support engineers
Direct a developer team building internal digital services for the institution

Head of Information Technology Services

Jan 2022 — Present

OpenLabs Ghana · Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana

Own IT infrastructure and software architecture strategy for OpenLabs and external parties using its IT services
Manage the Third Line Systems Support team and external support partners, and maintain the technology resource inventory
Deputize for the IT Director at key events, and advise management on IT service delivery and digital transformation

Technical Lead & Sr. Infrastructure Manager

Mar 2020 — Apr 2023

OpenLabs Ghana · Greater Accra, Ghana

Led technology strategy and periodic network audits across multiple training campuses
Directed procurement and lifecycle management of training hardware/software to keep pace with industry trends
Led and mentored campus-based technical support teams

Associate Network Engineer & Sr. Trainer

Oct 2018 — Mar 2020

NIIT Ghana (Eureka Africa) · Accra, Ghana

Managed enterprise infrastructure including Fortigate 101E firewalls and a Cisco UCS240 M4 server virtualized with VMware ESXi 6.5
Built the institution's in-house datacenter from the ground up — racking, stacking, and ESXi provisioning
Delivered technical training in software engineering and IT infrastructure management, training ~300 students

Web Application Developer

Jun 2018 — Oct 2018

GVR IT Info Services · Hyderabad Area, India

Designed and built web applications and REST API-based services to client specifications
Owned database architecture and data modeling for delivered platforms

Consultant / Technical Trainer

Aug 2016 — Apr 2018

EY (via Overture Rede) · Bangladesh

Delivered web development training (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, MySQL, PHP, WordPress, Laravel) for the LICT project, a Bangladesh Computer Council initiative under the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunication and IT
Trained cohorts at North South University, Noakhali Science & Technology University, and Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology
Conducted technical screening for new trainer recruitment on the project

IT System Administrator & Sr. Trainer

Aug 2011 — Aug 2016

Excel Infocom Pvt Ltd. · Cooch Behar, India

Upgraded and maintained all computer systems and network infrastructure for the organization
Configured network routers and switches for internet and network services; taught hardware and networking courses

IT Support Engineer & Trainer

Dec 2007 — Aug 2011

Excel Infocom Pvt Ltd. · Cooch Behar, India

Provided IT infrastructure management and network support
Trained students across various software and IT infrastructure management programs

Skills & expertise

Infrastructure & Network

Windows Server Linux VMware ESXi Fortigate Cisco UCS Network Services

Cloud & Data

AWS Databases MySQL

Web & Development

Python PHP JavaScript WordPress Laravel

Leadership & Training

Team Leadership Training & Mentorship Project Management Digital Transformation

Certifications & credentials

🏅 MCSA · Windows Server 2016 🏅 CCNA 🏅 PCAP 🏅 AWS Educate Cloud Ambassador 🏅 Advance Diploma in Hardware & Network Technology 🏅 Practical Linux for Network Engineers 🏅 MIT — Digital Transformation

Education & learning

Professional Certificate in Digital Transformation

Feb 2024 — Nov 2024

MIT Professional Education · Information Technology

Master of Computer Applications (M.C.A.)

2010 — 2013

Punjab Technical University · Information Technology

Key initiatives

In-house datacenter build

Designed and built an entire enterprise datacenter from scratch at NIIT Ghana: racking & stacking infrastructure, a Fortigate 101E firewall for network security, and a Cisco UCS240 M4 server virtualized with VMware ESXi 6.5 for lab environments and thin-client provisioning.

NIIT Ghana (Eureka Africa)

LICT digital skills training

Delivered web development training (HTML, CSS, JS, PHP, MySQL, WordPress, Laravel) to government and private university students as part of a national ICT-for-growth initiative under Bangladesh's Ministry of Posts, Telecommunication and IT, and screened incoming technical trainers.

EY · Govt. of Bangladesh

ACity IT services platform

Leading a 15+ engineer team designing, building, and operating IT infrastructure and internal software services for Academic City University and the external partners that rely on them.

Academic City University