Ram KM Shrestha, MD

Founder and Executive Director,  Dhulikhel Hospital

Dr. Ram Kantha Makaju Shrestha grew up in Dhulikhel, Nepal, and went on to pursue medical education in Austria. He completed Doctor of Medicine in 1986 from University of Vienna and further specialized in surgery from Vorarlberg, Austria, in 1994. 

Upon the completion of his studies, he started to help create non-governmental organization Nepalimed in different countries in Europe since 1993 to establish and support one of the pioneer community-based hospitals of the country, the Dhulikhel Hospital (DH), with the mission of ‘Quality health service to the poor’. With his leadership, the institution which had a very modest beginning, became one of the fastest growing health institutions in Nepal. It is now regarded as the state-of-the-art tertiary level hospital and is the nucleus of academic and research activities in health sciences. Besides the central tertiary level hospital, it also runs 18 rural health facilities in Nepal and partners with almost other dozen rural health facilities.

In 2012 Dr. Ram was nominated by the prime-ministerial committee to lead Kathmandu University (KU) as the Vice Chancellor. His tenure was considered a landmark, especially for his key motto of bringing ‘classroom to the community.’ In January 2017, he was appointed Vice Chancellor for a second four-year tenure. Marking the University’s completion of 25 yearshe projected KU Silver Jubilee Initiatives – Vision 2030 as the working guidelines for the University. The Initiatives involve a thrust on Quality, Equity, Impact, Innovation, Identity and Global Engagement. 

Dr. Ram has been credited for developing a new generation of young leaders in Nepal, instilled with the vision of ‘Quality health service to the poor’ and ‘Quality education for leadership,’ to do something new and different for the benefit of the deprived people of the country, and also to be a model for other organizations all around the world. Under his leadership Kathmandu University and Dhulikhel Hospital are collaborating with more than a hundred international organizations and universities in service, academics and research, towards building world-class academic and health institutions in Nepal. 

For his outstanding contribution in the health and development sector in Nepal, he has received highest national civilian honor in Nepal. In January 2017, he was awarded Honorary Doctor of Education in Educational Administration at Chaing Rai Rajabhat University by The King of Thailand for outstanding efforts in advancing educational sector in Nepal and helping forge global collaborations to advance academic opportunities in Nepal.