The VC Conference was held at Shoolini where Vice Chancellors of 17 private universities of Himachal Pradesh jointly signed a Declaration to create environmentally sustainable campuses.
Solan, January 17
Committed to building a sustainable future, Vice Chancellors of 17 private universities of Himachal Pradesh jointly signed a Declaration to create environmentally sustainable campuses. They were at the Shoolini University campus to attend the VC Conference held under the aegis of Himachal Pradesh Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission (HP-PERC).
HP-PERC Chairman Maj Gen Atul Kaushik (retd) and Shoolini University Chancellor Prof PK Khosla moved the Declaration to work for zero-waste and zero-carbon universities in Himachal Pradesh through sensitisation, awareness generation and role-modelling by the management and faculty.
Acknowledging the dire need to change the mindset of the youth by setting personal examples through lifestyle changes, Maj Gen Atul Kaushik (retd) asked the participating universities to achieve zero-waste target in Himachal by 2025.
In his keynote address, Director of Environment, Science & Technology IAS Mr Lalit Jain lamented the devastating impact of urbanisation which had impacted our glacier cover, biodiversity and many rare species. He offered DEST help to all universities to build a partnership and help contain waste.
In his virtual address, Mr Lalit Jain said, “We are losing glaciers, which are our source of drinking water and we have also lost 60 species of animals to environmental changes. We need to train students so that saving the environment becomes a habit for them.” Mr Jain requested the VCs present at the conference to introduce a curriculum on environment studies and make it a mandatory inter-disciplinary programme for all students.
Former Deputy Mayor of Shimla Mr Tikender Singh Panwar talked about mobility and waste. Linking the system of economic crisis to the climate crisis, he said future survival was constructed on behavioural changes towards the environment.
Shoolini University Chancellor Prof PK Khosla stated that research was essential for universities (HP-PERC) and Shoolini had excelled in that. He also spoke about zero-carbon consumption on the Shoolini campus.
Shoolini University Vice Chancellor Prof Atul Khosla welcomed the guests, encouraging everyone to take a pledge not to use plastic. He asked the audience to work towards creating sustainable campuses in the state by taking suitable measures to protect the environment. The Vice Chancellor also emphasised the importance of planting trees and using solar power systems.
It was also declared that Universities should endeavour to create infrastructure that is environment-friendly and did not have a detrimental effect on the biodiversity, natural resources, and the general ecosystem.
Former Panjab University VC Prof RC Sobti, Vice Chancellors and representatives of 17 private universities attended the conference.