AICTE to Equip Engineering and Architecture Students with Green Skills

1. AICTE to Equip Engineering and Architecture Students with Green Skills All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), a national-level council for technical education under the Department of Higher Education, is planning to train engineering and architecture students on green technologies. The technical body has partnered with the Indian Green Building Council which has great expertise in this area to develop the course curriculum. Under this initiative, AICTE aims to train one lakh engineering and architecture students to create a large pool of trained professionals that will make a significant contribution to green building infrastructure. To develop and support a resource-efficient and sustainable society, there is a great need for engineers and architects that are trained in green skills. Engineers and architects today require competencies involved with the design, construction, and assessment of sustainable technology. This skill is required for creating eco-buildings, renewable energy design, and energy-saving research and development projects. Rising energy costs, climate change, and pollution-related illnesses are some of the reasons that are encouraging AICTE to take the initiative of training engineers and architects in green skills so that they can develop green solutions. The upcoming residential and commercial buildings need to be designed in an environment-friendly manner to reduce energy consumption, diseases, and emissions. Sustainable practices are becoming common today in the construction and renovation field and hence its significance is getting recognised by AICTE, organisations, as well as the general public. All civil and architectural engineering students under this initiative will learn the skills required to develop green cities. National Education Policy 2020 also emphasises imparting green skills aligned with trans-disciplinary education.

2. The objective behind teaching engineering students with green skills is that they will help and contribute to maintaining environmental balance. While developing smart city projects, engineers and architects will have to work on diverse factors to develop a green culture in the new cities. They will need to focus on different factors like making buildings with fewer concrete walls, increasing use of glass, promoting water harvesting to consume less water and become more energy-efficient, generate less waste, and create healthier spaces. These are major benefits of green buildings and hence all the upcoming engineers and architects need to be trained in these emerging aspects to plan and design several green buildings in the future. Currently in India, Delhi airport is the first airport running completely on renewable energy and the same need to be implemented in other airports, hospitals, and offices. India is currently lagging in circular economy technologies and in meeting sustainable development goals set by the UN. Thus, several institutions in India are integrating sustainability and circular economy in every relevant course to allow students to learn product design that is in tune with nature. The issue of sustainable development needs to be comprehensively addressed, and primary & higher levels of education play a major role in achieving Sustainable Development Goals. The inclusion of green skills in higher education such as engineering and architecture will make students sensible about their responsibilities toward their country as well as the planet.