Professor Pardesi was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE), for services to higher education, in the Queen's New Year Honours list in January 2006. He has established productive working relationships with the key politicians and senior officers of the local and regional Government agencies, Chambers of Commerce, business support agencies and with many private and public sector employer organisations.

A former Vice-Chairman of the National Organisation of Asian Businesses, Professor Pardesi is a member of West Midlands regional Race for Opportunity Steering Group and an adviser to the Birmingham and Solihull Asian Business Forum.

Professor Pardesi is well-known as an entrepreneurial academic and as someone who has made a real difference in the community. He has a keen personal interest in the arts and is the Vice-Chairman of the Board of The Drum, an Arts Centre catering for the needs of the Afro-Caribbean and Asian communities in Birmingham. He is also the Vice-Chairman of the Birmingham School of Acting Trust Board, and until recently also presented a weekly show on Radio XL, for the Asian community, called Asian Business Matters.

Through his work at UCE Birmingham, he has helped to create many new businesses and trained hundreds of managers of small businesses to grow and diversify their enterprises. He is also actively involved with the Soho Road Sikh Temple where he is an adviser to the Nishkam Civic Association Trust and a member of the Guru Nanak Education Trust.