Anant National University (AnantU), Ahmedabad, has announced the launch of BTech in climate technologies. The four-year undergraduate engineering degree aims to provide students with the right tools and design thinking principles to create tech-driven solutions for climate change.

The programme starts on 22 August 2022. The course fee is ₹2.90 lakh per annum for Indian students and ₹8.65 lakh annum for foreign students. The varsity also has an on-campus, state-of-the-art climate lab equipped with the latest softwares to run climate simulations, and various instruments and technical apparatus for weather measurements, solar radiations, studying and simulating PV systems, and testing set up of renewable energy sources.

Job roles

The job-oriented programme prepares students for positions in industries that need to mitigate climate impact, roles that require climate modelling, near-term climate analysis and predictions, positions in government agencies serving to make policy, and independent laboratories conducting climate research. 

“The reasons and implications of climate change in India and certain other emerging nations differ from those in the rest of the world. So, there is a need for specialised climate studies programme that gives regional context. It is important to train students to find and implement solutions, and develop technology to adapt to and mitigate climate change for India as well as other parts of the world,” said Anunaya Chaubey, Provost, AnantU.  

Pedagogy

The curriculum is designed such that every semester offers an incremental step across eight climate technology streams — climate simulation, engineering mathematics, environmental engineering, climate chemistry, energy and technology, design thinking and behavioural science, technology and society — as well as applied research projects in the climate lab.

The last two semesters focus on specialisation and full industry immersion such that students will be placed within the climate industry, co-guided by an academic guide and industry expert. 

“Measuring, predicting, mitigating, and adapting to climate change needs an influx of new technologies as well as millions of people skilled in the use of existing and new ones. We are glad to establish India’s first undergraduate degree related to climate as this will effectively move our country and the world closer to the goal of zero-emission,” said Dr Miniya Chatterji, Founding Director, Anant School for Climate Action, and CEO, Sustain Labs Paris.