Kotak Mahindra Bank and IIT Kanpur to establish India’s first integrated School of Sustainability

New Delhi: In a bid to address the challenges of sustainable development, the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) and the Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (KMBL) announced the launch of “Kotak School of Sustainability” here on Thursday.  

With a total outlay of around Rs 200 crore, the School is India’s first “fully integrated school of sustainability”, which will be hosted in the green building of the IIT Kanpur campus.

The School will run both undergraduate and postgraduate courses and skill-building programs on different themes of sustainability. It will bring together departments and centers of excellence at IITK, to provide an enabling environment for collaborative research across multiple facets of sustainability.

It will also cover the different aspects of sustainability such as clean energy, environment, ecology, circular economy, climate finance, sustainable societies, and policy.

KMBL is funding IITK through its CSR program to establish with a vision to promote pedigree education, and research and prepare future generations to lead the cause of sustainable development.

Speaking at the event, Prakash Apte, Chairman, of Kotak Mahindra Bank said, “We are delighted to announce the establishment of the Kotak School of Sustainability in association with IIT Kanpur. This association in line with our CSR vision to enhance the quality of life for communities through positive impacts on economic, social, and environmental parameters, aligns with India’s social development objectives and UN’s SDGs.

Talking about the importance of the school, Prof. S. Ganesh, Director, of IIT Kanpur, said, “Sustainability has emerged as one of the foremost global challenges of our times which requires various stakeholders to work together and the role of educational institutes like ours is extremely crucial in this mission.

He added, “Kotak School of Sustainability’ with the overall vision of providing thought leadership, developing concrete solutions toward sustainability actions, and preparing future generations to lead the cause of sustainable development.”

“The Kotak School of Sustainability marks our commitment to contribute to growing India’s skilled workforce towards achieving the goal of long-term sustainable development including its net-zero target by 2070. The Bank’s CSR Project being implemented in association with IIT Kanpur will focus on enhancing home-grown capabilities to address sustainable development” Shanti Ekambaram, Whole-time Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank said.

Making initial remarks on occasion, Prof. Ashish Garg, Professor-in-Charge of the School, said, “The Kotak School of Sustainability aims to excel in sustainability education, research and innovation, technology development, entrepreneurship, and outreach.

He added, “It will empower students with the skill to deal with climate change and enable them to make decisions that are sustainable”. The school will be established under CSR funding,  with a vision to promote pedigree education, research, and outreach.

“Kotak and IITK believe that this School is poised to offer thought leadership solutions towards sustainability actions and prepare future generations to lead the cause of sustainable development,” said the statement.