Sustainability as a career field is still in its nascent stages, but we can tell you how to navigate it.
Sustainability as a career field is still in its nascent stages, often making it a difficult space to navigate. On 21st April, just a day prior to Earth Day, Talk Dharti To Me hosted its first webinar focused on Education and Careers in Sustainability, a topic of great demand to the youth.
(Also Read: A Brief History: Sustainability)
The three young speakers who led the event were Pakhi Das, Tanmay Takle, and Isha Kulkarni, all involved in green-collared roles but in vastly different areas of work. The speakers candidly shared their journeys, passion, education, and jobs, and further answered the questions of the audience to make for an eventful evening.
In case you missed the live webinar, you can view the recording below:
01:15 - Opening
01:52 - Introductions
03:50 - Pakhi Das:
Pakhi works with WWF India’s Wildlife and Habitat Division as a Project Officer. She has a master’s degree in Sustainability and Environmental Studies from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. Her focus area at WWF is infrastructure development in high conservation value regions, monitoring new infrastructure projects and studying the forest and wildlife clearance processes and policies.
12:25 - Isha Kulkarni:
Isha recently graduated from University College London with a Masters in Engineering. She is currently a Fellow at RMI India, consulting on national and state-level efforts to accelerate sustainable mobility and industrial decarbonisation. She has led the UK’s largest Engineers Without Borders chapter and also co-founded a youth-led climate solutions platform, Degrees of Change.
21:55 - Tanmay Takle:
Tanmay works at the Department of Environment & Climate Change, Government of Maharashtra - on state-level climate action, including India's largest state-wide climate change mitigation program. Tanmay strongly believes that a holistic approach is needed to tackle climate change from a systemic perspective. To further this interdisciplinary approach, he is currently pursuing an M.S. in Sustainability Management from Columbia University, New York.
37:42 - Q&A
38:15 - What are the consequences of the dilution of the EIA process?
(Also Read: Breaking What is Already Broken: EIAs in India)
40:21 - Is India adopting the sustainable development goals, and if so at what pace?
(Also Read: Your one-stop guide to the SDGs)
43:45 - How important/necessary is it to have a master's degree to pursue a career in sustainability? How can an engineering graduate be hired for a 'green collared' job?
47:49 - What Indian institutes would you recommend for studying sustainability and environmental sciences?
50:14 - What are some culture shocks experienced [by Tanmay] after studying in the US and working in India?
51:55 - Any tips on how to approach relevant fellowships/jobs and how one vet them?
56:31 - Closing and thanks