IIT Kanpur launches two major centres of research and learning

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has formally launched two major centres of research and learning – ‘Shivani Centre for the Nurture and Re-Integration of Hindi and Other Indian Languages’ at IIT Kanpur and ‘Chandrakanta Kesavan Centre for Energy Policy and Climate Solutions’.

Both the centres have been set up with generous grants for the alumni of the institute.

The Shivani Centre is an ambitious initiative set up with donation of USD 1 million from the distinguished alumnus of IIT Kanpur Muktesh “Mickey” Pant, founder, Micky and Vinita Charitable Foundation, to gradually integrate students from Hindi and other Indian Language backgrounds with socio-academic milieu of the institute.

The centre will also facilitate the creation of academic resources (STEM content, textbooks, references, digital tools) in languages other than English and will enable dissemination of technological tools to increase the ease-of-use for Hindi and other Indian Languages (OILs) on digital platforms. It will ensure seamless integration of students of Hindi and OILs background at the institute and fulfill the objectives laid out in National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

The ‘Chandrakanta Kesavan Centre for Energy Policy and Climate Solutions’ set up with the generous contribution from the distinguished alumnus of IIT Kanpur Sudhakar Kesavan, former chairman and CEO of ICF International Inc., will help India in developing, adapting, and implementing technologies to reduce emissions and grow sustainably, in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.

The centre will spearhead IIT Kanpur’s commitment to being carbon neutral. This will allow IIT Kanpur to showcase a testbed for transition to a low and eventually zero-carbon campus. This will entail studies related to in-campus electricity consumption, conservation and management (primarily for lighting and cooling), mobility or transportation, water and waste recycling, followed by policy intervention and implementation. This activity will yield several projects that can be undertaken by undergraduate and graduate students.

This will have the added benefit of giving the centre a clear objective as it commences operations. It will raise the visibility of IIT Kanpur and will make it a leader in the effort to help India reduce its emissions as it attempts to adhere to the Paris Accords. The practical experience gained by IIT Kanpur in making itself carbon-neutral will be helpful in building credibility for the effort nationwide.