At Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration he served as the Head of the Department of Food and Beverage Production, Food and Beverage Management and later as Programme Director – Masters Programme & Allied Hospitality Studies, Manipal University and has been actively involved with the Hotel and Catering industry, Research and Education for the past 40 years.

Prof. Dr. Tharakan worked as the Dean, Le Cordon Bleu School of Hospitality, G D Goenka University, from September 2015 to March, 2020 (4 ½ years).   

He has been a member of the Expert committee of AICTE and UGC for assessing and evaluating various catering institutions, Curriculum Development Committee, etc. He has also served as the Chairman / Member of Board of Studies of Mangalore University, Manipal University, Dr. MGR Educational Research University, Calicut University and Goa University for the Hotel Management Programmes. 

Prof. Dr. Tharakan was awarded the Fellowship of the prestigious Institute of Hospitality, UK (FIH) in the year 2001 and is a member of the Royal Society of Health, (MRSH) UK. He is also the recipient of the topmost International Certifications “Certified Hospitality Educator” (CHE) and “Certified Hotel Administrator” (CHA) of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, USA.

Prof. Dr. Tharakan has triple Masters in Marketing, Tourism Administration, Philosophy and Doctorate in Hotel Management and Catering Technology (Ph.D) from Dr. MGR Educational, Research Institute University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. India.

Prof. Dr. Tharakan is in the editorial board of International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Systems (IJHTS) and International Journal of Social Sciences (TIJOSS)

Published several articles in various National and International journals and has visited countries like Korea, Switzerland, UK, USA, Thailand, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Malaysia for invited talks and presenting research papers.

Prof. Dr. Tharakan has also authored a book titled “A Guide to Food and Beverage – Made Appetizing with Questions and Answers” published by Tata Mac Graw Hill, India, which is quite popular among the students and professionals of Hospitality Industry.

Prof. Dr.Tharakan was awarded the “Life Time Achievement Award” from the Indian Hospitality Congress for the contribution to Hospitality and Tourism education in India.