IIT Roorkee signs an MoU with NCDR, Taiwan for mutually developing technology solutions to natural hazards
Roorkee : Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) signs an MoU with the National Science and Technology Centre for Disaster Reduction (NCDR), Taiwan, while the scientists and faculty members of NCDR, along with their Director Dr. Hongey Chen visited IIT Roorkee. This MoU aims to develop scientific and academic cooperation and scientific research to promote relations and mutual understanding between NCDR and the Centre of Excellence in Disaster Mitigation and Management (CoEDMM) of IIT Roorkee. The key objective of the MoU is mutually developing technology solutions to natural hazards, including earthquakes, landslides, floods, debris flow, and compound disasters. The researchers from IIT Roorkee and NCDR aim to co-establish an early warning sensor network equipped with P-Alert sensors at selected locations in Uttarakhand.
The meeting was attended by Prof. M. L. Sharma, Dean Finance and Planning, IIT Roorkee; Prof. Akshay Dvivedi, Dean Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy, IIT Roorkee; Prof. Vimal Chandra Srivastava, Dean International Relations,; IIT Roorkee; Prof. Amit Kumar Dhiman, Acting Head CoEDMM, IIT Roorkee; Prof. Mahua Mukherjee, Secretary-General, SAADRI, Dr Piyush Shrivastava and Dr S Srikrishnan core faculty at CoEDMM from IIT Roorkee; Prof. Yih-Min WU, NTU, Taiwan, Dr. Wei-Sen LI, Secretary-General, NCDR, Taiwan; Dr. Chin-Tsang Wang, Counsellor and Director, Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in India, National Science and Technology Council; Ellie Chiang, Assistant Director, Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in India, National Science and Technology Council. Prof. K. K. Pant, Director IIT Roorkee, expressed his visions on the joint role of IIT Roorkee and NCDR towards accelerating Sustainable Development Goals and Disaster Risk Reduction under the emergent climate change scenario.
The MoU signing ceremony is followed by a Technical workshop on Earthquake Early Warning Systems (EEWS). In India, the nation’s first Earthquake Early Warning System (EEWS), namely Uttarakhand Earthquake Early Warning System (UEEWS), is established at the IIT Roorkee. At present, the alert system is active only within Uttarakhand, India. The EEWS should be extended to other regions within and outside India. This being the motivation of SAADRI and CoEDMM IIT Roorkee, Prof. K. K. Pant congratulated the organizers and wished the event a grand success.
Prof K K Pant, Director IIT Roorkee, highlighted, “Disaster risk reduction (DRR) is an integral part of social and economic development, and this would be a lasting cooperation of IIT Roorkee with the National Science and Technology Centre for Disaster Reduction (NCDR), Taiwan in development of sustainable mitigation of natural hazards for the future. We recognize building resilient infrastructure and reaffirm the interrelationship between disaster risk reduction and sustainable development.”
Dr. Hongey Chen, Director, National Science and Technology Centre for Disaster Reduction (NCDR), Taiwan, emphasized, “It is important to work in tandem with the South Asia Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes (SAADRI), and we are thankful to IIT Roorkee in promoting disaster risk management and capacity-building programs by introducing advanced science and technology.”