IIT-Guwahati introduces course on UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 2030 for B.Tech students

The Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati has introduced a course on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 as a part of its B.Tech curriculum for the academic year 2020-21. According to a report by The Indian Express, the IIT-Guwahati claims that it has become the first IIT to introduce the course. The SDGs include eliminating poverty, fighting inequality, addressing the urgency of climate change, and several other goals. The course will be offered to second-year B.Tech students as a compulsory course to reorient the thinking of young and dynamic individuals towards sustainable development, said the IIT in an official release. A report by NDTV mentions that the sustainable development goals are a collection of ideas or plans that are meant to “transform the world” by 2030, with the principle of “leaving no one behind”. There are a total of 15 SDGs that were decided at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2015. The nodal department of the course, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, has collaborated with eight departments of the institute to design and implement the course. These departments are Biosciences and Bioengineering, Civil Engineering, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Design and Physics. Faculty members of these eight departments have been informed by IIT-G to jointly conduct the course to introduce students to the technological, economic, ecological, and social aspects of the 17 SDGs of the United Nations. A report by TOI quotes IIT-G Director Professor TG Sitharam as saying that with just 10 more years left to fulfil the objectives, it has become important that the students are taught about the goals of inclusive and sustainable growth. Prof. Anamika Barua, the course coordinator from the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Guwahati, said that through this course, students would be educated to critically evaluate the idea of sustainability as an emerging discipline. They will also have an opinion on the role for India as a nation in the successful implementation of the new SDGs.