Proposed IGNOU-NIUA Course on 

Sustainable Urban Development

First Meeting of Joint Expert Committee

Date: 22 May 2008

Venue: IGNOU, New Delhi

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NIUA requested the Vice Chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) to introduce a course on Sustainable Urban Development. Prof. V. N. Rajashekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor, IGNOU agreed to the request and set up a Joint Expert Committee to develop outline and contents of the course.

First meeting of this Committee chaired by the Vice Chancellor was held on May 22, 2008 at IGNOU. It was attended by Dr. M. Ramachandran, Secretary, MoUD, Prof. O.P. Mathur, Prof. Chetan Vaidya, Prof. Mukesh Mathur, Prof. Vijay Dhar, Prof. S.K. Chopra and others.

Prof. Pillai Vice Chancellor, IGNOU welcomed the participants and said that this is an important activity for the University. Prof. Vaidya stated that inadequate capacity of municipal staff is a major constraint in improving delivery of services in Indian cities. 

Prof. Om Mathur mentioned that it is essential to improve the capacity of urban professionals in the country and with this background he appreciated the efforts of IGNOU-NIUA. Dr. Ramchandran identified various problems of urban sector and said that in this context initiative of IGNOU and NIUA is laudable. 
Major discussions during the meeting are summarized below:
  • The focus of the course in initial years will be on existing employees of ULBs.
  • It will be offered in a modular format leading to a certificate and will be of six months duration.
  • It will be offered through both long distance and on-line.
  • The course will cover key areas of urban governance, planning, finance, infrastructure, poverty, project development, environment and climate change, e-governance and transport.
  • The first course will be announced on December 3, 2008.
  • IGNOU-NIUA will be signing a MoA to introduce the course.

This long distance course on Sustainable Urban Development will build capacities and provide the municipal staff to further their understanding on the important issues and challenges in making cities sustainable.