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National Conference on Innovative AI Solutions for Sustainable Cities 2025 was held on February 3, 2025
Kotak School of Sustainability
In a landmark initiative supported through Kotak Mahindra Bank’s CSR program, IIT Kanpur established the Kotak School of Sustainability—India’s first fully integrated and interdisciplinary school dedicated to sustainability. The school aims to address global and national climate challenges through advanced research, education, and outreach.
Prof. Sachchida Nand Tripathi is the inaugural Dean of Kotak School of Sustainability at IIT Kanpur and a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and the Department of Sustainable Energy Engineering.
Academic Integration
Approved New M. Tech Program on “Artificial Intelligence for Sustainability” under the school: A key milestone is the formal approval and rollout of a new interdisciplinary MTech program in “Artificial Intelligence for Sustainability,” designed to equip students with technical expertise and contextual understanding to apply AI in solving pressing sustainability challenges.
In addition, the School offers a PhD program in Artificial Intelligence for Sustainability, the highest academic degree awarded by the School. This program is ideal for individuals aiming for careers in academia, industry, or government and focuses on a range of key areas, including Climate Change, Resilience and Adaptation, Modeling, Water and Water Resource Engineering, Sustainable Cities, and the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Sustainability.
Collaborations: HESCO, Dehradun; Kanpur Smart City Ltd.; INSA, New Delhi; Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Research & Innovation and Outreach Events are as specified in the document.
Collaborations
To further its sustainability mission, the School has established partnerships with several leading institutions:
- HESCO, Dehradun: Joint efforts on the development of a Sustainability Index and outreach initiatives.
- Kanpur Smart City Ltd. : Collaboration on technology development aimed at achieving Net Zero Waste.
- INSA, New Delhi: Partnership focused on leveraging IIT Kanpur and INSA’s strengths for advancing science, technology, and innovation (STI) policy.
- Nanyang Technological University, Singapore: Collaborative research on novel membrane technologies for water and wastewater treatment.
Research & Innovation
Research efforts under the School include the development of field-deployable, scalable technologies, with pilot testing of low-cost air pollution sensors and membrane filtration units currently underway in Kanpur and Vidisha. As part of Net Zero initiatives, a campus-wide energy audit has been completed, and the implementation of solar PV systems and waste segregation units has been initiated.
Outreach Events
IIT Kanpur Swastibhavatu Lecture Series was held on March 25th, 2025. The inaugural lecture was delivered by Padma Shri Prof. Thalappil Pradeep (IIT Madras)
Workshop on ‘Watershed Development under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) was held on April 4th 2025.
A series of KSS Seminars were held, featuring distinguished speakers including Prof. Raghu Murtugudde, Dr. Mukund Rao, Dr. Anil Prakash Joshi, and Prof. Anu Ramaswami.