In a unique initiative, Federation University, Australia, has collaborated with India’s Chitkara University and Amity University, Jaipur, to deliver a course on Management of Water resources in which 30 students have been handpicked to learn how to think in a holistic way aiming to become problem solvers with applications for water management.
This course aims to develop Systems Thinking skills while also helping young budding engineering students to understand the multi-disciplinary nature of water resource management.
This travel is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australian Government’s Mobility grants and Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), Victorian State Government.
Speaking on the occasion, Hon’ble Pro-Chancellor, Chitkara University, Dr Madhu Chitkara observed, “The systems thinking skills acquired in this course through a mix of teaching methods in a multi-cultural environment will help prepare our graduates for a dynamically changing world. The collaborative nature of this course also aims to strengthen bonds between India and Australia, while building problem solving skills through sharing of better practices.”
Dr Harpreet Singh Kandra, academic and researcher, who is spearheading this project said that these collaborations enable internationalisation of curriculum (IoC), which is a mandate by the government as well. Dr Kandra is a recipient of several awards in Australia wherein he has contributed to social cohesion and principles of sharing and caring.
Relevant to this project is the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Contributions to Student Learning at Federation University Australia, 2020. Dr Kandra said,“The students are learning social, economic, environmental and management aspects of water management while also understanding the multidisciplinary, multicultural and interdisciplinary nature of this subject”.
Dr Kandra stressed the significance of this program in light of Australia India cooperation and the recent signing of Free trade agreement between the two nations. He congratulated all collaborators on this initiative given our National Education Policy of 2020.
Students from the universities teamed up to deliberate structural and non-structural ways to measure and reduce their water footprint building on the core philosophy of ‘What gets measure, gets managed’. They also presented and brainstormed on successful case studies from different parts of the world focusing on innovative approaches such as recharge of aquifers, flood management, smart buildings, reuse of treated wastewater and stormwater and so on.
The program culminated with a networking dinner where Australian students interacted with local community experts to learn from their experiences of water and environmental management.
In the last leg of the journey, the students also travelled to Delhi, the Taj Mahal in Agra and the Delhi Technological University to appreciate the rich cultural diversity of India.
Dr Harpreet Kandra has Vice Chancellor award citation namely: Enhancing graduate preparedness for a globalised world through transformational, cross cultural approaches to learning and Internationalisation of Curriculum (IoC). He has also received many other awards for his work to promote social cohesion.
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