IIT Kanpur establishes two centres of research and learning, says report

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur has launched two centres of research and learning, namely ‘Shivani Centre for the Nurture and Re-Integration of Hindi and Other Indian Languages’ and ‘Chandrakanta Kesavan Centre for Energy Policy and Climate Solutions’, the Telegraph India reported.

Both the centres have been established with generous grants for the alumni of the institute, the report said.

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The Shivani Centre is an initiative set up with a donation of USD 1 million from the distinguished alumnus of IIT Kanpur Muktesh “Micky” Pant, founder, Micky and Vinita Charitable Foundation.

Shivani was one of the most famous Hindi writers in the 20th century. The centre will benefit the students coming from non-English medium schools in breaking language barriers and socially integrating with peers; and will provide them with employment opportunities.

The Shivani Centre will offer course content in regional languages and help such students in developing their personality. “The Centre will try to address these issues not only at the institute level but also in the context of higher education in the country in general by facilitating the creation of academic resources (STEM content, textbooks, references, digital tools) in languages other than English.

On the other hand, the ‘Chandrakanta Kesavan Centre for Energy Policy and Climate Solutions’ has been established with a generous grant from alumnus Sudhakar Kesavan, former chairman and CEO of ICF International Inc., to help policy makers with practical solutions to the problems of climate change.

“The centre is named in the memory of his mother Chandrakanta Kesavan. who was a role model for Indian women in science,” said a statement from IIT Kanpur.

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The Centre will work closely with the department of sustainable energy engineering. It will focus on policy, communications, education and outreach efforts aimed at implementing technology and science-based solutions in the country at large, outside the academic world.

According to the report, it will also help IIT Kanpur in its commitment to being carbon neutral.