Gujarat University under the patronage of the Government of Gujarat established the Indian Institute of Sustainability in the direction of “Self Sufficient India” at its research park. 7. Focus areas of Indian Institute of Sustainability will be on air, water, soil, space, climate, forest, natural resources, forestry, smart cities and smart villages, agriculture, SDGs, diplomacy, circular economy, rural development, Futuristic technology for sustainability, human health and sustainable public policy.
Focus areas of IIS have been strategically thought through by the University and all of them are crucial for State and Nation’s growth and development. United Nations Institute for Training and Research
The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is a dedicated training arm of the United Nations system. UNITAR provides training and capacity development activities to assist mainly developing countries.
The work of the institute is organized under five pillars:
● Promote peace and just and inclusive societies
● Prosperity through sustainable economic growth
● People and social inclusion
● Planet, environmental protection and restoration, and climate change
● Optimizing the use of technology and supporting coherence for the 2030 Agenda
About the event
On 22nd July 2021, an MoU was signed between Gujarat University, IIS and UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Training and Research) in the presence of Mr. Nikhil Seth, Hon’ble United Nations Assistant Secretary General as the Chief Guest, Mrs. Roopa Mishra, IAS, Director of National Jal Jeevan Mission and Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Mr. Himanshu Pandya, Vice Chancellor, Gujarat University, Mr. Jagdish Bhavsar, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Gujarat University, Dr NR Modi, Associate Professor, Gujarat University, Rahul Bhagchandani, Group CEO and Sudhanshu Jangir, Director, Indian Institute of Sustainability.
There are five thematic area for work by this MOU between Gujarat University and Indian Institute of Sustainability signed
an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with United Nations Institute for Training and Research, which are as follows:
1. Study Visits to Geneva
2. Online Training Programmes
3. Study Visits to other Cities
4. Training Workshops
5. Joint Academic Programmes
Along with that, the Web Portal of Indian Institute of Sustainability was launched by Mr. Nikhil Seth. He also showed interest in setting up the centre at Gujarat University through which Sustainable Development Goals can be promoted and wherein UNITAR, IIS and Gujarat University shall work together for farmers, communities, policies, fraternity, universities, academia, municipalities and students through collaborative efforts.
Mrs. Roopa Mishra addressed the audience regarding the ease of the living and tapped water connection which has been extended to lakhs of houses through their efforts. They are looking forward to joint efforts with academic institutions such as Indian Institute of Sustainability, startups, and industries to further their reach in order to help more people in Gujarat.
Mr. Julian Caletti from UNITAR took everyone on a virtual tour of Palais des Nations(Palace of Nations), Geneva. He stated that through multilateralism and international cooperation we can achieve the sustainability goals.
Mr. Himanshu Pandya, Chairperson, IIS & Vice Chancellor, Gujarat University expressed that GU shall work harmoniously with UNITAR to work towards agriculture, water and sustainability for betterment of the state of Gujarat and assured full support to UNITAR and National Jal Jeevan Mission.
As per the need of the hour of entrepreneurship, agriculture marketing and supply chain, Indian Institute of Sustainability designed unique Master level degree program in “Agripreneurship and Value Chain Management” in collaboration with Pennsylvania State University USA, JUNIA France, United Nation Institute of Technology and Research, Israel Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya.
It is a uniquely designed action, exposure and experience-oriented program with global exposure would help students to understand the agriculture ecosystem of PPP (People, Policy and Professional), so that they could be a better citizen by being entrepreneur or agriculture and value chain professional in the direction of “Atma Nirbhar Bharat”.