CHARUSAT & CEE unite to create better learning environment for students

Inks MoU to aware upcoming professionals

CHARUSAT and CEE (Centre of Environmental Education) have entered an MoU to collectively work towards implementing the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by setting up an ‘SDG Handprint LAB’ at M. S. Patel Department of Civil Engineering, CSPIT, CHARUSAT.

The CHARUSAT Management, faculty members, NSS volunteers and other students are actively involved in projects, workshops, training programmes, to cater the needs and intension of CHARUSAT to uplift the rural community.

The joint efforts strengthen the existing CHARUSAT Rural Education Development Program (CREDP) by giving it a renewed vision that will drive local action for achieving a global goal. Both CHARUSAT and CEE works on the principle of transparency, integrity and serving society through education and capacity building.

Dr. A. D. Patel, Principal, CSPIT, CHARUSAT said the MoU will strengthen and create more value for achieving these goals. Provost Dr. Pankaj Joshi said the students of CHARUSAT are to become aware and knowledgeable in the areas of Sustainable Development and also to inculcate the attitudes and behaviour to become globally sensitized citizens, managers and entrepreneurs.

Padma Shri awardee, environmental activist Kartikeya V. Sarabhai visited CHARUSAT on 23^rd August, 2018 for the ocassion. Son of the late Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, he is the Director of Centre of Environmental Education (CEE), Ahmedabad. He is well known as one of the world's leading environmental educators and works dedicatedly towards community building.

On this ocassion Sarabhai presented an enlightening talk on the topic “Role of Youth towards a Sustainable Future” at CHARUSAT.

He presented insight to the young citizens about steady rise in population resulting from advances of medical science, industrial revolution, increased food production and mobility of people. While science and technology has added value to human life, it has added difficulties like resource crunch and environmental degradation issues to the planet.

Sarabhai stated that if the current practices remain unchecked, the resource requisite of the population of 2025 would be 1.5 planets and it would increase to 2.5 planets by 2050. India is likely to become the most populous country of the world by 2022, and shall remain unchallenged. Every 6^th global citizen being an Indian in this case, any action of India as a nation will affect the world greatly. The world is observing rapid loss in biodiversity and enormous stress on the Environment. The same is reflected by the changes in climate, as observed by the catastrophic Kerala floods.

Quoting the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi he said “Climate has not changed. We have changed. Our tolerance and habits have changed” which is causing depletion in quality of Environment. Today’s most developed countries have followed the path of an unsustainable development and now trying to amend them by applying sustainable development practices. India, instead of mirroring the same and following that skewed path should adhere to its very own sustainability principles followed through generations.

Sarabhai outlined the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations to the students and inspired the young generato take them up for UN’s vision of 2050. India today is presenting the concept of ‘The Positive environmental actions - Handprint’ through CEE, against the current ‘Negative environmental actions – Footprint’ .

Kartikeya Sarabhai emphasised on out of the box solution must be adopted in solving environmental issues and introducing environmental problem solving at the education level itself. He concluded the session with a suggestion of being observant of the environment around and recommending solutions for them.

The session was concluded by Dr. Sulabha Natraj, Head, CREDP, presenting a vote of thanks to Karthikeya Sarabhai for the visit and enlightening talk.