ABOUT JEAN MONNET CHAIR
Prof. Dr. Shashikala Gurpur, Fulbright Scholar, Director, Symbiosis Law School, Pune under the aegis of Symbiosis International (Deemed University) (SIU), has been bestowed with the honour of the prestigious Jean Monnet Chair on EU Climate Justice Law, Governance, Management and Policy funded by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency of European Union under the Erasmus+ Programme with the total grant of 50000 Euros from 2022-2025.
Prof. Dr. Shashikala Gurpur is an accomplished academician, passionate researcher, toastmaster and a Fulbright Scholar, LLM topper from Mysore University, holds a Ph.D in International Law on ‘Biological Diversity Conservation Law & IP’ from University of Mysore, Karnataka. She has been the former Member of Law Commission of India. She is a recipient of the Karnataka State Government Award, Gold Medal for topping in LL.M and the AHRB Visiting Fellow, Edinburgh Law School, United Kingdom. She has an inspiring career with a wide range of impactful involvement in teaching, research, NGO and industry. Dr. Shashikala Gurpur recognised for her contribution in legal education, gender sensitization and community outreach programmes. In recognition of her contributions to the Indian legal academia, she was listed in the book ‘100 Legal Luminaries of India’ by LexisNexis.
The Jean Monnet Chair is a recognition of over a decade-long experience of Symbiosis Law School, Pune under SIU in European Studies by way of Erasmus Mundus and Erasmus+ Projects, Student Exchange Programmes, Masters Level Specialization, Certificate Programmes etc.
This is the first Jean Monnet Chair granted to any institution in Western India hence making it a glorious and remarkable milestone for SIU.
Climate Change is currently the most urgent and profoundly complex environment-related problem for the international community.
The Jean Monnet Chair on EU Climate Justice Law, Governance, Management and Policy (EU-LAMP) will foster dialogue between the academic world and society, including local and state level policy-makers, civil servants, civil society actors, representatives of the different levels of education and of the media; generate policy-making.
One of the biggest relevance that the Chair will have is the ability to influence and shape a large cohort of young students from SIU which has eight faculties ranging from Management, Telecom, Engineering, Media, International Business, and Design, apart from Law who opt for careers ranging from public service, entrepreneurship, business and industry engagement to policy, law, judiciary and government. The Chair will also indirectly impact the community at large by way of dissemination and training programmes to students of other universities in Pune.
Recognizing the importance of climate change and its impact in various aspects like food security, energy security, water security, health, migration and conflict, the central and state governments in India have made climate change a focal area.
The chair will promote EU’s efforts and policies in climate change mitigation as a model for other countries seek to develop a sustainable lifestyle and eco-system thereby strengthening the role of the EU in a globalized world.
The ultimate vision is to support beyond academics, through lifelong learning, the educational, professional and personal development of people in education, training, youth and sport, in the nation and beyond, thereby contributing to sustainable growth, quality jobs and social cohesion, to driving innovation, and to strengthening European identity and active citizenship.
The objective is to inculcate the experiential values to deal with the role of the EU in a globalized world to create awareness about the Union and facilitate future engagement with the people-to-people dialogue.
As a Jean Monnet Chair Professor & being pioneer of EU Legal Studies in India since 2009, the major focus of Dr. Gurpur is to build on current international academic and research excellence for young researchers to enhance their professional competencies and boost their careers. The guided leadership is reaping the fruits in the form of internationalization efforts which include European Research Grants, international collaborations, Students and Faculty Exchange.
Dr. Shashikala Gurpur, Fulbright Scholar, Director, Symbiosis Law School, Pune, Dean, Faculty of Law, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Jean Monnet Chair Professor in EU Climate Justice Law, Governance, Management and Policy
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Project name: EU Climate Justice Law, Governance, Management and Policy
Project number: 101048047
JM Chair Holder: Dr. Shashikala Gurpur, Fulbright Scholar
Jean Monnet Chair Professor
Director, Symbiosis Law School, Pune
Dean, Faculty of Law, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune
Background and rationale of the project
Climate Change is currently the most urgent and profoundly complex environment-related problem for the international community. It has a devastating impact on the planet and humankind in the form of irreversible changes to ecosystems, loss of biodiversity, rising sea levels, melting of permafrost and glaciers, desertification, droughts, floods, tsunamis, increase in global temperatures, and extreme weather conditions. While all countries will face the brunt of climate change, countries like India and many small island nations will be disproportionately affected. The impacts of climate change in India are across vital areas of food security, energy security, water security, healthcare, and migration amongst others thereby affecting the most vulnerable and resulting in the coining of the term climate apartheid. India is one of the countries, most strongly affected by climate change, ranking fifth in the GERMANWATCH Global Climate Risk Index 2020. Hence, there is an urgent need to give rigorous impetus to climate change law, governance, management, and policy in India in order to mitigate and reduce its adverse impacts. A multi-disciplinary approach is required to address and mitigate Climate Change related issues with the knowledge base of green technology, green compliances, European Green Deal among other best practices as EU and India, have committed to the Paris Agreement. In this backdrop, the Chair builds on 12-year long experience of Symbiosis Law School Pune in teaching Certificate Programme in European Legal studies, 15 years of establishing partnerships with European Universities including four prestigious Erasmus+ Projects and drawing on the strength of other Symbiosis institutes across 7 faculties and its voluminous, diverse network and robust Green Philosophy with sustainable practices. The Chair offers interdisciplinary courses and programs dealing with Climate Change, Climate Justice, Law, Policy, Governance, Green Ethics, Green Business, Sustainability, Media, and Management to influence career trajectories and enrich resources in EU climate studies.
While the EU and India are respectively the third and the fourth largest emitters of atmosphere-warming greenhouse gases, it is noteworthy to mention that in December 2019 European Commission introduced the European Green Deal which envisages climate neutrality by 2050. The EU and India have assumed a leading role in fighting climate change and have been increasingly cooperating with each other in this field, at both public- and private-sector levels.
Relevance of the project
A number of major developments have taken place in India in order to centre stage the need for combating climate change-related adversities. Recognizing the importance of climate change and its impact in various aspects like food security, energy security, water security, health, migration, and conflict, the central and state governments in India have made climate change a focal area and have dedicated departments for the same. Another major development in India is the setting up of specialized tribunals called the National Green Tribunals. These specialized environmental courts have emerged as an important defense against human-caused destruction of the environment and will eventually play a much more important role in climate-related cases in the near future. However, the competencies and capacity to respond, or to drive these initiatives are in silos.
In India, through the concept of Public Interest Litigation, the Judiciary has played an exemplary role as sentinels for the protection of the environment. Very limited lawyers or litigation teams or NGOs as actors have initiated or formulated these. Courts today are adjudicating a growing number of disputes over actions or inaction- related to climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. The dynamic context of climate change has yet to be captured in terms of the green deal approach of the EU.
One of the biggest relevance that the Chair has is the ability to influence and shape a large cohort of about 3000 young students, from Symbiosis International (Deemed University) which has eight faculties ranging from Management, Telecom, Engineering, Media, International Business, Design, apart from Law who lands in careers ranging from public service, entrepreneurship, business, and industry engagement to policy, law, judiciary and government. This will entail having graduates who have the expertise and the domain knowledge of climate change, law, governance, management, and policy issues drawing from the EU policies.
Objectives of the project
The Project has One Work Package titled: EU Climate Justice Law, Governance, Management and Policy has three sub-parts:
Impact of the Jean Monnet Chair
The Chair generates interest among students to improve their competencies in terms of skill sets that enable them to work in fields of public administration and other employment positions as lawyers, teachers, researchers, advisors, representatives, analysts, or managers with local, national, international, or EU Institutional bodies present at such levels.
Innovative interdisciplinary niche courses in climate justice law, policy, management and governance will be developed across undergraduates and post graduate programs which will be open to students all over India.
Short Term Impact
- The Teaching Activities envisaged under the Jean Monnet Chair will comprehensively train students with knowledge, ethics and skills related to climate justice, policy and law dimensions and directly impact approximately 3500 students during the project term.
- Stakeholders like students, invited experts, academicians, policy makers, NGOs, Government & Non-Government actors, etc. will be exposed to the EU approach in the field through round table conferences, seminars, COIL which they will actively use in their careers.
- Dissemination Conference - 800 plus students and professionals from the field will be exposed to the whole body of knowledge created by the Chair and will be enabled to further exploit the results in their future studies and career endeavours.
- Research Conference - 20 plus research papers present: awareness of the importance and complexity of the field will be raised at national and international level
Medium term impact
- The trainers who are trained as climate change advocates will instantly act as opinion leaders to mobilize communities for public hearing, media advocacy and to act as the mouthpiece of the stakeholders in business, industry, governance, NGO’s and courts.
- MOOC - Massive Open Online Course - open to national and international students: this will allow disadvantage target groups such as access disabled, learning disabled, economically disadvantaged, those rendered vulnerable due to gender, age, disease, location and affordability to benefit of the Chair achievements.
- Elective courses in EU Climate Justice Law and Policy: this will allow students from various discipline to be exposed to the core subject of the Chair - Masters dissertations in the field of Climate Justice: this will facilitate future research projects and publications in the field
Long term impact
- Publication of a book titled: Climate Change Initiatives: Europe-India legal and policy paradigms which will lead to disseminating knowledge to a wider audience
- Collaboration between EU and India in Climate Action Goals achievement
- EU best practices influences like European Green deal on Indian Policy making
- The trainers who are considered as climate change advocates will further train others in their community to mobilize, support and transfer knowledge. A training Manual/Online Toolkit will be developed in multiple languages to ensure a multiplier effect of the results at national and international level
- Impacting the narrative on the core subject at national and international level,
- Cascading the training so to widen the audience exposed to the achievements of the Chair,
- Judicial academy and advocates academy fed with key evidence and best practices to be further implemented
- Introducing the project results to UGC. Scientific, Policy and Management Bodies
ACTIVITIES UNDER JEAN MONNET CHAIR
1. JM DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER PROGRAMME
The JM Distinguished Speaker Programme is a novel learning initiative, an exemplary undertaking of facilitating lectures of luminaries from European and Indian institutes in relevant areas of climate change policy and law for the purpose of bringing to the faculty and students the latest developments and best practices.
This Program establishes a fruitful and long-lasting collaboration between European Academics and Policy Makers and their Indian counterparts with the possibility of joint projects, publishing collaborative white papers, and preparing course material which helps in capacity building for faculty and students from Symbiosis International (Deemed University) and other institutes.
1.1 AMBASSADOR MANJEEV SINGH PURI
Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri elaborating on the impact of climate negotiations in India and across the world.
Click Here To View Report1.2 DR. JUSTINE BENDEL
Dr. Justine Bendel addressing on ‘The role of LULUCF activities in the EU plans to regulate the accounting of GHG emissions’
Click Here To View Report1.3 Amb KP Fabian:
Click Here To View Report
2. WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY, 2023
World Environment Day puts a global spotlight on the pressing environmental challenges of our times. This UN International Day has become the largest global platform for environmental outreach, with millions of people from across the world engaging to protect the planet. Under the JM Chair, World Environment Day was celebrated to create an awareness programme for the benefit of 200-300 rural school children and youth.
Prof. (Dr.) Shashikala Gurpur, Fulbright Scholar, Director, Symbiosis Law School, Pune, Dean, Faculty of Law, SIU, felicitated by Mrs. Madhura Thombare, Principal, Venkateshwara School, Taluka: Haveli, Pune on World Environment Day, 2023.
Click Here To View Report3. INTERNATIONAL MOTHER EARTH DAY, 2023
International Mother Earth Day is celebrated on 22 April to promote harmony with nature and remind us of the importance of protecting all the different ecosystems and species on our planet. International Mother Earth Day provides an opportunity to raise global public awareness of the challenges to the well-being of the planet and all the life it supports. Under the JM Chair, SLS, Pune organized a tree plantation drive on the occasion of International Mother Earth Day in association with a local NGO and at least 100-150 participants planted trees in the western ghats of Pune.
Participants taking oath to protect the Mother Earth
Report of Celebration of Mother Earth Day, 2023 : Click Here To View Report
4. TRAINING THE TRAINER PROGRAMME ON CLIMATE JUSTICE LAW, GOVERNANCE, MANAGEMENT AND POLICY : Training the Trainer Programme
5. Workshop on Climate Justice: Advancing SDG and ESG through Impactful CSR Proposal : Workshop
(Left) Dignitaries watering the Bilva Sampling at Executive Workshop on ‘Climate Justice: Advancing SDG and ESG through Impactful CSR Proposal’. Dr. Gurpur delivering the welcome address (Right).
Field Visit: Immersion in Impact for CSR Intervention: Guided tour to a local site with potential for CSR intervention, emphasizing SDG alignment and ESG integration led by ‘TeamSwachhKalyaniNagar’
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