TERI School of Advanced Studies


The TERI School of Advanced Studies is a renowned higher education institute in India which specialises in the field of sustainable development. It was established by TERI – a not-for-profit, independent research institute recognized globally for its contribution to scientific and policy research in the realms of energy, environment, and sustainable development in 1998. In 1999, the TERI School of Advanced Studies was granted the 'Deemed to be University' status by the University Grants Commission.
The objective of the TERI SAS is to build capacity around various themes of sustainable development adopting an inter-disciplinary approach and incorporating the most contemporary, research-based evidence into the curriculum. Since its inception, the TERI SAS has offered not just world-class education, but also an environment that enables its students to develop a fresh perspective in their subject areas. Beyond the academic programs, TERI SAS is actively reaching out to school and college students as also to mid-career professionals to sensitize them towards the environment and sustainable development in a systemic, solutions-oriented manner.
The School started functioning from its green campus, located in Vasant-Kunj, New Delhi in 2008 and today offers fourteen Masters programs and has nearly 200 PhD students enrolled. It has started work on developing a new campus at Hyderabad, Telangana in southern India.

Campus

The TERI School of Advanced Studies is situated at Plot No. 10, Institutional Area, in a modern green building. The campus was inaugurated by the President of India, Pratibha Devisingh Patil, on 11 September 2008. While inaugurating the green campus, the president observed that it was "an exemplary example of combining traditional values of conservation and preservation of energy while building a state of the art campus." The university puts its theory to practice by building an energy-efficient campus showcasing the concept of modern green buildings. Besides an innovative, energy-saving architectural design, the building is equipped with a number of other technologies that help reduce the energy consumption by 60% and potable water use by 25%. The campus is equipped with three types of cooling systems: the Earth Air Tunnel, Variable Refrigerant Volume System and Thermal Mass Storage. The EAT used in the hostel block uses the heat sink property of the earth to maintain comfortable temperatures inside the building, saving up to 50% energy as compared to the conventional system.
Before moving into the Vasant Kunj campus, the university was housed in the Darbari Seth block of India Habitat Centre from 1998 to 2008.

Centers and departments

TERI SAS imparts a world-class education with the help of six different departments and two centres:
1. Department of Natural Resources
2. Department of Energy and Environment
3. Department of Biotechnology
4. Coca-Cola Department of Regional Water Studies
5. Department of Policy Studies
6. Department of Business and Sustainability
7. Centre for Post Graduate Legal Studies
8. Centre for Distance Education

List of programmes

TERI SAS offers Doctoral programmes in several thematic areas and 14 Masters level programmes supervised by a world-class faculty.
TERI SAS offers followings programmes at present:
• Ph.D.
• M.Sc. Environmental Studies and Resource Management
• M.Sc. Geoinformatics
• M.Sc. Climate Science and Policy
• M.Sc. Plant Biotechnology
• M.Sc. Economics
• M.Sc. Water Science and Governance
• M.A. Public Policy and Sustainable Development
• M.A. Sustainable Development Practice
• MBA Infrastructure
• MBA Business Sustainability
• M.Tech. Renewable Energy Engineering and Management
• M.Tech. Urban Development and Management
• M.Tech. Water Resources Engineering and Management
• LL.M.
• Advanced PG Diploma in Renewable Energy
TERI SAS offers Doctoral Programmes in seven major thematic areas which are:
1. Bioresources and Biotechnology
2. Business Sustainability
3. Energy and Environment
4. Natural Resources Management
5. Policy Studies
6. Water Science and Governance
7. Legal Studies

Administration

Prof. Manipadma Datta is the Vice-Chancellor of TERI SAS.

Events

The BLISS School on Sustainability is a series of five-day events organized by TERI School of Advanced Studies to train and prepare the stakeholders for forthcoming sustainable development challenges, and to instil in them sensitivity towards people and the planet. The aim is to generate awareness and create a campaign to champion the cause of sustainability and sustainable development in both the local and the global context. The program is held at TERI School of Advanced Studies, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi. Resource persons include faculty members and research professionals with expertise in teaching and research in different areas of sustainability, energy, and policy. The program is open to individuals from all walks of life. Policymakers and students who are curious to learn about sustainable consumption and production and the efficient use of resources for sustainable development are encouraged to apply.
Retopia is the annual cultural and technological festival of Department of Energy and Environment at TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi. Retopia refers to an ideal state or situation, evolving from the English word 'utopia'. The objective of the festival is to bring together government, academics, industry and other practitioners on a common platform to discuss clean energy prospects on environmental, technical and commercial lines.
The 12th Convocation of TERI School of Advanced Studies was held on 14 Nov 2019. Dr Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan, one of the most recognized scientists of the country was the Chief Guest and delivered the Convocation address. Dr Shailesh Nayak, the Chancellor, TERI SAS presided over the convocation. A total of 19 doctoral and 229 master's degrees were awarded.

TERI School of Advanced Studies partnerships

TERI School of Advanced Studies signed a memorandum of understanding with several institutions with the aim of facilitating a mutually beneficial exchange of students, faculty, knowledge, resources, and ideas. In February 2002, TERI School of Advanced Studies entered into a memorandum of understanding with the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies of Yale University. In February 2003, TERI School of Advanced Studies signed a MoU with Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, USA. In April 2005, the University entered into a MoU with the University of Nottingham, UK. In September 2007, TERI School of Advanced Studies signed a MoU with Michigan State University, USA. In November 2007, TERI School of Advanced Studies signed a MoU with University of New South Wales, Australia. In 2007 itself TERI School of Advanced Studies signed an agreement of cooperation with Freie University Berlin, Germany. In February 2008, TERI School of Advanced Studies signed MoUs with University of Iceland, Iceland and North Carolina State University, USA. TERI School of Advanced Studies signed Mevlana staff and student exchange agreement with Akdeniz University from Antalya-Turkey in 2018.
The UNESCO Chair on Climate Science and Policy has been established in TERI School of Advanced Studies. Under this chair, the MSc in climate science and policy has been initiated with support from UNESCO.

E-learning initiatives

TERI School of Advanced Studies is a part of the Promotion of Sustainability in Postgraduate Education and Research initiative of the UNU - Institute of Advanced Studies This is essentially a network of several leading higher education institutions in Asia and the Pacific that have committed to work together to integrate sustainable development into postgraduate courses and curricula. As a part of this initiative, a postgraduate program on public policy and sustainable development has been started in TERI School of Advanced Studies.
TERI School of Advanced Studies has been selected by the John D. MacArthur and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, globally headquartered in Chicago, as one of 10 universities worldwide to receive significant support in the amount of $900,000 to create a new master's degree program in Development Practice.MacArthur Foundation has awarded $7.6 million to seed the creation of Master's Development Practice programs that will provide rigorous post-graduate training for a new generation of development experts.

TERI School of Advanced Studies newsletter

The TERI School of Advanced Studies has a newsletter called Offprint.
The department of business sustainability has a newsletter named Connect, which has the theme of sustainability and infrastructure issues in India.

Awards

TERI SAS has been awarded for its interdisciplinary approach in providing a world-class education with the help of a multidisciplinary curriculum. Some of the awards and recognition are:
1. TERI SAS won the 3rd prize under the theme ‘Walkway of Discovery’, at the Bangalore India BIO 2010 Meet for its unique biotechnology research work.
2. Awarded for having the ‘Most Innovative Curriculum’ at the India Today Aspire Education Summit Awards, 2012.
3. Awarded the "Greenest University and Research Institution" as part of the RTCC 2013 Climate Change.
4. Accenture Innovation Jockeys in 2013: Hunt for India's Most Innovative Minds
5. Top Entries of Earthian 2013 & 2014 by TERI SAS Students
6. TERI SAS was awarded UN GCNI Award at the 3rd Innovative Practices Awards 2019 on SDGs.