A new School of Sustainability was launched at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras today, October 7, Saturday. The institute said that it is a new initiative, aimed at further strengthening its strong tradition of exemplary work in sustainability.

The School of Sustainability will teach new, interdisciplinary courses on sustainability, synergise research to tackle grand challenges and provide a platform to host events and showcase technologies that can help drive both practice and policy. 

"Conceptualised as a Centre of Excellence, it will bring together faculty members from across departments and research centers of the Institute," said a press release from IIT Madras, as mentioned in a report by PTI.

Under this new school, a minor course in sustainability is set to be launched in 2024, which will be made available to all the students of the institute. However, an Integrated Dual Degree Programmee (IDDP) on Sustainability is planned to be launched by the school within the next three to five years. This will also be offered to all students at IIT Madras but unlike the minor, this will be a full-fledged master's degree, including a thesis project.

Additionally, several interdisciplinary courses will be introduced as a part of this programme. With regards to research, the school has identified four key areas of research and development: decarbonisation, human settlements, modelling and scenario development, and behavioural and industrial change, as per PTI.

The school was inaugurated by MP Jayant Sinha, Chairperson, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, in the presence of Prof Kala Vairavamoorthy, Executive Director, International Water Association, Prof V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, Prof Ashwin Mahalingam, Head, School of Sustainability, IIT Madras, and Prof Rajnish Kumar, Associate Head of the School, besides faculty, staff and students.