ITT welcomes two renowned guest lecturers

Dr. Markus Loewe, senior researcher at the department for Sustainable Economic and Social Development  of the German Development Institute (Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik, D.I.E), presented his topic on “The Agenda 2030, Genesis, content and added value” to nearly 90 students from ITT. The presentation started with the list of SDGs which were released during the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in September. Dr. Loewe explained where the SDGs come from by looking at the history of various summits, conferences and declarations.  It was also discussed that the SDGs are much more comprehensive and follow a stronger participatory approach than the MDGs.  Dr. Loewe introduced critical issues such as the overlaps among the SDGs or the selection of indicators. The presentation was followed by a lively discussion with the students on the significance of the SDGs for developing countries and the meaning of the global sustainability agenda.
The second guest lecturer was Prof. Dr. Mukand Singh Babel from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) who represented the topic “Climate Change Impacts on Hydrology, Water Resources and Water Use Sectors, Cases from South and South East Asia”. He started with introducing the AIT to the ITT students who were interested in the region due to its high development potential. Prof. Babel shared his experiences on research concerning climate change impacts and hydrology, mostly focusing on the South Asian countries. He explained the vulnerabilities in the area and how to mitigate the changes. With his research team, Prof. Babel created assessments showing possible effects of climate change in the near future on hydrological structure and irrigation management. He stressed that most of the effects they predicted a few years ago are already showing up rapidly. His presentation concluded with current monitoring projects and hydrology assessments and some examples of future research challenges.

The ITT regularly invites external guest lecturers from renowned institutes and organizations. For further information on this, please visit the ITT website.