Pact 2030 Conclave - Hits Signs Sustainability Pact

Dr. Ashok G. Verghese, Director, Hindustan Institute of Technology& Science signed the historic “Goa Declaration” pledging for better and improved action on achieving Sustainable Development Goals, as a part of the three-day PACT2030 (Pledge, Act, Change & Transform) Conclave, held in Goa from 10 to 12 March 2022.

The “Goa Declaration” is the first of its kind academic declaration towards achieving the UN’s sustainable development goals, and the ceremony was witnessed by Dr. Bhushan Patwardhan, Chairman of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC); Shri Avinash Rai Khanna, ViceChairman of Indian Red Cross Society & Vice President of Bharatiya Janata Party; Padma Bhushan & Padma Shri Dr. Anil Prakash Joshi, Founder, Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization (HESCO); Shri Shaurya Doval, Founder, India Foundation; and Prof. Lawrence Pratchett, Former ProViceChancellor, International, University of Canberra, Australia.

PACT2030 is a carbon-neutral conclave and is the brainchild of QS I-GAUGE, a renowned brand for Indian education ratings, from the UK based QS Quacquarelli Symonds Group. The eventbrought togetherthe top universities and luminaries of Indian Higher Education; worked towards building consensus and sharing best practices, and perspectives among the delegates of the conclave to lay down a set of principles and promises to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) leading to the formation of the “Goa Declaration”. Sustainable Development Goals 2030, originally envisioned by United Nations (UN) was the foundation for the guidelines that are set in the Goa Declaration Document.

The Chairman of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Dr. Bhushan Patwardhan graced the conclave as the Chief Guest and opined, "Knowledge, Action, Character and Mental Strength are important for quality education and desired change is possible only through education."

Dr. Ashok G. Verghese, in his presentation provided a glimpse of the institution contribution towards SDGs, overview of the institutional global rankings, and also highlighted the way forward plan of HITS and its association with International Urban and Regional Cooperation., Australasia and Asia. He explained the proposal to work on IURC Project involving HITS and TUAS—Implementationof Zero Emission HITS Campus, based on the IfaS (Institute for Applied Material Flow Management) Model.

The Vice-Chairman of Indian Red Cross Society and Vice President of Bharatiya Janata Party, and the Guest of Honour,Shri Avinash Rai Khanna, addressed the gathering and laid down a five-point agenda for the higher education institutions. To him, "Leadership, Research, Teaching and Learning, Campus Operations, and Quality of Service are the most important aspects that every institution must emphasise upon to make a larger contribution to the SDG Agenda.”Shri Dr. Anil Prakash Joshi in his keynote address of the conclave said, "like GDP (Gross Domestic Product), GEP (Gross Environment Product) must be initiated and practised by the Government to ensure the wellbeing of the country in an environmental perspective". While Shri Shaurya Doval iterated the responsibilities of institutions to provide quality education to every student, Prof. Lawrence Pratchett observed that SDG is a complex model but it is very important for making the world a better place to live.