The Indian Institute of Technology Madras has launched the School of Sustainability, which will teach new, interdisciplinary courses on sustainability, synergise research to tackle grand challenges and showcase technologies that can help drive both practice and policy, globally.
Courses
Apart from the minor course in sustainability that will be launched in 2024 (for all students at IIT Madras), an Integrated Dual Degree Program (IDDD) on Sustainability will also be started in 3-5 years. Prof Ashwin Mahalingam, head of the School of Sustainability, IIT Madras, told FE that the IDDD is open for all students at IIT Madras, but unlike the minor, this will be a full-fledged Master’s degree, including a thesis project. While he didn’t share how many seats the IDDD will have, he said such specialised programmes usually have 30-35 seats for making quality impact.
Prof Mahalingam added that the School has identified four key areas of R&D. “These are decarbonisation, human settlements, modelling and scenario development, and behavioural and industrial change,” he said. “In the long term, the School will try and make a difference by developing well-rounded professionals who will lead the world in building resilient and sustainable infrastructure for industries and communities, and acting as a platform to catalyse the change to a low-carbon world by supporting the translation of research and knowledge to products and services.”
IIT Madras School of Sustainability isn’t something new – many universities and business schools offer programmes in sustainability, and there are dedicated institutes such as the Indian Institute of Sustainability, Ahmedabad, and the Indian Institute of Sustainable Development, New Delhi.