TERI School of Advanced Studies

About TERI School of Advanced Studies

The genesis of TERI School of Advanced Studies is rooted in the comprehensive research, consultancy and outreach activities of TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute), 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. The University was established and constituted on 19th August 1998 as TERI School of Advanced Studies, the Institution was subsequently renamed the TERI School of Advanced Studies and was granted 'Deemed-to-be University' status by the University Grants Commission and notified vide Ministry of Human Resources Development, Department of Education, Government of India (notification no.F-9/19/95-U-3 dated 5 October 1999). The relationship with TERI has propelled and influenced the evolution of its academic units. This relationship is enshrined in a memorandum of understanding between the University and TERI, wherein the two have agreed on collaborative research and programmes, joint studies, and mutual support for seminars, symposia, and conferences. TERI has also provided an initial corpus to financially support the University's establishment. Additionally, TERI's existing infrastructure - state-of-the-art laboratories, well-equipped field stations, and highly professional manpower is available for TERI School of Advanced Studies to tap into and gain from. The University offers Ph. D programmes in biotechnology, regulatory & policy aspects, energy & environment and natural resources. Masters programmes are offered in public policy & sustainable development, environmental studies, natural resources management, resource and developmental economics, climate change science and policy, renewable energy technologies and management, water resources management, geoinformatics, plant biotechnology, business sustainability and in infrastructure management. The TERI School of Advanced Studies campus was inaugurated by her excellency, the President of India, Shrimati Pratibha Devisingh Patil on 11th September 2008.

With this consolidated base, in february 2002, TERI School of Advanced Studies also entered into a memorandum of understanding with the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies of the Yale University. In February 2003, TERI School of Advanced Studies signed MoU with Donald Danforth Plant Science Centre, 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 MoU with Michigan State University, USA. In November 2007, TERI School of Advanced Studies signed MoU with New South Wales University, Australia. In 2007 itself TERI University signed an agreement of cooperation with Freie University Berlin, Germany. In February 2008, TERI University signed MoUs with University of Iceland, Iceland and North Carolina State University, USA. These inter-institutional MoUs are aimed at facilitating mutually beneficial exchange of students, faculty, knowledge, resources, and ideas.

Location - The TERI School of Advanced Studies is situated at Plot No. 10, Institutional Area, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi in a modern green building. Click here for Google Map Location.

Departments / Faculty

Faculty of applied sciences

• Department of natural resources
• Centre for bioresources and biotechnology
• Centre for energy and environment

Faculty of policy & planning.

• Department of policy studies
• Centre for regulatory and policy research

Facilities

Hostel accommodation - Limited hostel facilities are available, at present, only for outstation candidates. Allotment will be made on the basis of entrance exam positions/academic performance.

IT Resource Centre - The university is fully networked with a large number of computers for students. Other hardware available include high-end computers, scanners, digitizers, printers and plotters. Students make use of the latest software for digital image processing – ERDAS Imagine 8.4 – and GIS software such as Arc GIS 8.1 and ArcInfo 3.4.

TERI University Library - The Library at TERI School of Advanced Studies supports the academic and research programmes of TERI School of Advanced Studies by meeting the information requirements of students, researchers, scientists and institutions in India and globally. The library’s resources and services are offered electronically. It provides CD-ROM collections of bibliographic, statistical resources and access to scientific information and databases.

Library activities:

1. Book fairs to attract large number of faculty, students, neighbouring institutes, renowned publishers and booksellers.
2. Organize seminars, workshops, talks from foreign universities which are very beneficial to students and faculty.
3. Library tours briefing visitors on major services provided by library.
4. Monthly library committee meetings and book exhibitions.

Laboratories - The University harnesses the best of modern technology to support the intellectual curiosity of its students and faculty. Well-equipped laboratories replete with advanced equipment and facilities aid and stimulate research.

Some of the cutting-edge facilities available include:

• Laminar-flow cabinets
• Fuel cell test facilities
• Thermocyclers for PCR
• HPLC
• Ultracentrifuges
• Biolistic guns
• Microscopes equipped for fluorescence and photography
• Automatic gene sequencers
• Multi-stage particle size analysers

Research at TERI university - Research at TERI School of Advanced Studies is undertaken within its centres and developments in the following areas:

1. Natural resources
2. Biotechnology
3. Regulatory & policy issues
4. Energy & environment

E learning initiatives - TERI School of Advanced Studies is a part of Promotion of Sustainability in Postgraduate Education and Research ProSPER.Net - initiative of UNU - Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) - It 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 (SD) into postgraduate courses and curricula. As a part of this initiative, a postgraduate programme on public policy and sustainable development has been started in TERI university.

Placement - The university makes efforts to place students in suitable organizations for their summer internship, major projects as well as in jobs after obtaining their degrees. A placement cell has been formed with the objective of exploring placement opportunities at an institutional level. The organizations participating in the campus recruitment process are requested to finalize a mutually convenient date for their visit to the campus during the month of January. The organizations make a brief presentation about themselves and the opportunities and prospects for the aspirants. The University can arrange video-conferencing if direct interviews / interactions are not possible. Selection of students may be based on group discussions and/or personal interviews as desired by the organization. Organizations, which are unable to visit the campus, are provided with the detailed CVs of the aspiring students. The organizations are requested to finalize the list of short listed/selected students and intimate the placement cell of the same.

Achievements

• TERI School of Advanced Studies is the first of its kind in India to dedicate itself to the study of environment, energy and natural sciences for sustainable development.

• 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 (MDP) programs that will provide rigorous post-graduate training for a new generation of development experts.

• 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 cutting edge 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 (EAT), Variable Refrigerant Volume System (VRV) and Thermal Mass Storage (TMS). 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.