Proceedings of Energise 2023 : Lifestyle, Energy Efficiency and Climate Change

An Educational Framework for a Net Zero Future

Sreejith Jayaram

Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), Bengaluru, India Corresponding Author sjayaram@iihs.ac.in

Deepa Parekh

Environmental Design Solutions (EDS) Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, India

Prasad Vaidya

Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), Bengaluru, India

Yashima Jain

Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), Bengaluru, India

Jaydeep Bhadra

Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK

Cite this article

Jayaram, S., Parekh, D., Vaidya, P., Jain, Y., Bhadra, J. (2024). An Educational Framework for a Net Zero Future. In Proceedings of Energise 2023- Lifestyle, Energy Efficiency, and Climate Action, pp 173–181, Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy. https://doi.org/10.62576/KAGS1448

Highlights

  • The primary objective of the paper is to evaluate the current state of education curricula to build capacity in students to design net zero resilient buildings with the literature review of formal education curriculum, continuing education programs, and competitions aimed towards building capacity for designing climate resilient buildings.
  • This paper finds that building sector education needs to be interdisciplinary with competencies and knowledge in three areas – Climate Literacy, Climate Justice, and Climate Action.
  • This paper also finds that among the curricula and education programs reviewed, the ten contests of the Solar Decathlon India and the education resources provided in the challenge form a robust framework that could be used in education curricula in India.

Abstract

This paper evaluates the current model curricula in India for architecture and engineering colleges as well as education policy documents that will influence the coursework taught across the country to determine if the undergraduate and post-graduate education system is aimed at creating future professionals who can respond to India’s Nationally Determined Contributions and net-zero by 2070 goal. It uses literature review and survey data to identify gaps in graduate attributes and competencies that result from these curricula and policy documents. While over fifteen years of codes and rating systems, and longer for industry-led practices, have introduced standards and best practices, the market has not moved towards future-proof net-zero buildings. The findings show that the model curricula do not address climate change and that comprehensive frameworks, as well as transformative education at scale, are being done through other programs like Solar Decathlon India (SDI).

Keywords

Net Zero Buildings, Education, Curriculum, Climate Change, Evidence-Based Design

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References

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