Climate change, deforestation, depletion of natural resources, global warming, and the extinction of species are no hidden realities. While several organisations, communities, and individuals have been striving hard to promote and advocate ‘sustainable living’, there still exists a need for the majority of the world population to understand this changing world and thereby adapt to an inclusive and sustainable way of living.
Adding to this crisis are the uncertainties induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2020, the pandemic has transformed our lifestyle and, behaviour. A recently published article by News18 suggests that in 2020, only months into Covid-19, search interest for ‘How to live a sustainable lifestyle?’ has increased by more than 4550% on the Google search engine. While being restricted at homes, many people have increasingly realized that our lifestyle and choices has adversely impact the planet, and are leading to its degradation.
The urge to build health-immunity was linked to adopting healthier ways of living – doing exercises, using organic products, being mindful of daily expenses, and using limited non-renewable resources. This lifestyle shifts towards a sustainable living needs to be enduring, and the need of the hour is to include these practices into our daily lives.
The term ‘Sustainable Living’ can be understood as the practice of reducing and modifying our use and demand of natural and personal resources. For example, commuting via public transportation, buying products that use eco-friendly raw material, using water judiciously. While this attempt to counter world problems can feel overwhelming at times, we need to understand that most sustainable changes occurred via small, localized actions – taken up by individuals, groups and communities.
In this purview, there is a dire need for a group of professionals – trained to work towards sustainable and inclusive development. The O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) very well recognises this need and has launched an undergraduate degree programme – B.A./B.Sc. (Hons.) Sustainable Development, which is taught at Jindal School of Environment & Sustainability (JSES).
This programme is an important contribution to the global efforts toward building a sustainable future with cutting-edge teaching, research, and practice-based engagement. Through national and international collaborations, JSES promotes interdisciplinary studies, joint teaching and research programmes, and a comparative perspective on environment and sustainability issues.
The B.A./B.Sc. (Hons.) in Sustainable Development uniquely combines natural and social sciences with humanities to equip students with a thorough understanding of sustainable development and its many facets. The curriculum ensures that the students are engaged in a plethora of subjects related to the field of sustainable development such as – rural-urban linkages, land use, energy, climate change, air, water and toxic chemical pollution, water resource management, natural resources management, and corporate social responsibility etc.
Following an interdisciplinary approach to education, the programme provides an innovative environment to students to build socially conscious humans with cutting-edge skills and knowledge.
Know more about the programme here and get trained to become LEADERS of TOMORROW!
