Boston: US President Barack Obama's Indian-American infotech czar Vivek Kundra is headed to Harvard University this year for a fellowship programme and is expected to leave his post at the White House as Chief Information Officer in August.
Kundra, who has been CIO in the Obama administration for the past two and a half years, will serve a joint fellowship later this year at Harvard. He will split his time between the Shorenstein Centre on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) and the Berkman Centre for Internet & Society at Harvard University.
"We are excited to welcome Vivek Kundra to Harvard," director of the Shorenstein Centre Alex Jones said in a statement. "His extensive background in information technology, strategy and government operations will provide a valuable new lens through which to examine many of the important issues that the Centre is committed to exploring."
White House budget director Jacob Lew said in a blog post on Friday that Kundra is stepping down as CIO in the middle of August, according to the New York Times.
Lew said the office was planning a "smooth transition" and would build on Kundra s work.
When Kundra joined the White House, he faced "an aging infrastructure with rising operating costs, too many major projects failing to deliver and increasing vulnerability to outside threats," Lew said.
The announcement comes as the White House is expected to spend roughly USD 80 billion this year on technology, funding that includes upgrading thousands of federal data programmes and worker e-mails to cloud-based computer networks.
A successor to Kundra was not immediately named. In addition to carrying out independent research at the Berkman Centre, Kundra will collaborate with the Centre in its research activities in the areas of cloud computing, open data and open government. At the Shorenstein Centre, Kundra's research will focus on the implications of digital media and technology on governance.
"Our government and its citizens are invariably connected through a vast and complex technology infrastructure rife with opportunities as well as risks," said Kundra.
"The work that I dedicated myself to while serving as the Federal CIO in cutting waste, strengthening cybersecurity and building an open and transparent government through technology will also drive my research interests on both the national and international levels at the Shorenstein Centre and the Berkman Centre at Harvard."
Berkman Centre executive director Urs Gasser said the centre hopes to work closely with Kundra on "cutting edge issues where the complexities of cloud computing intersect with law, institutions and data."
Kundra was appointed as the US Chief Information Officer by President Obama in March 2009, becoming the highest ranking Indian-American in the Obama administration at the time.
Prior to joining the Obama administration, Kundra served as Chief Technology Officer for the District of Columbia and as Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Technology for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The World Economic Forum selected Kundra as a 2011 Young Global Leader, representing a group of exceptional young leaders who share a commitment to shaping the global future.
The Joan Shorenstein Centre on the Press, Politics and Public Policy is a Harvard University research centre dedicated to exploring and illuminating the intersection of press, politics and public policy in theory and practice.
The Berkman Centre is a research programme founded to explore cyberspace, share in its study and help pioneer its development.
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