The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati propagates that it is the first IIT to introduce a course on UN-Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 in the Bachelor of Technology (BTech) curriculum from the academic year 2020-2021. The SDGs engages with ending poverty, fighting inequality, addressing the urgency of climate change, and several other approaches.
The institute said in an official statement that “Guided by the principles of these goals, this course provides a unique opportunity for BTech students to understand the concepts of sustainability and work towards building a better society for everyone.”
This will be offered as a compulsory course to the second-year students. The institute said that “To reorient the thinking of young and dynamic individuals towards the path of sustainable development.” The institute further said that nine departments will be teaching this course which includes The Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, the nodal department for this course, has collaborated with Departments of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Civil Engineering, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Electronics, and Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Design, and Physics.
The faculty members will jointly conduct these courses and provide ample exposure to the BTech students on 17 aspects of SDGs. Several case studies involving various disciplines will be taught and given assignments based on the course. This will enhance their understanding in the particular subject.
Prof Anamika Barua, the course coordinator from the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT-Guwahati, said, “This would be for the first time the nine departments of IIT-Guwahati have joined together to offer a course at the undergraduate level. Students, through this course, would be educated to critically evaluate the idea of sustainability as an emerging discipline and have an opinion on the role for India, as a nation, in the successful implementation of the new SDGs”.
The institute mentioned that the course on SDGs will be enabling the students to understand the necessity of a stable relationship between human activities and the natural world for a healthy, clean and safe environment. This will make the students more responsible towards the community and will make the earth a better place to live in.