Desai was a Professor of Information Systems Practice at the School of Information Systems and was also the Director of the university wide Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship between 2003 to 2017. Desai was an Associate Dean of the School of Information System until July 2008 and was instrumental in the design of development of the school in general. He has designed and delivered several new courses in the undergraduate curriculum and was a key architect of the Master of IT in Business graduate degree program. He managed the Technopreneurship track for the School of Information System.

Desai has over 35 years of innovation and innovation management experience and has had significant experience in creating and monetizing intellectual property in the IT software domain. He is invited by corporations and media to share his reflections and experiences on innovation and entrepreneurship. He has published several papers in the relevant academic journals and conferences and has been a member of the editorial board of several computer science related international academic and practice journals. He is currently a member of the board of advisors of the International Society of Professional Innovation Management and is the founding President of the Singapore affiliate of the Product Development and Management Association.