Department of Geography, JMI conduct a week-long GIAN Course on ‘Climate Change Vulnerability, Migration and Displacement’ in collaboration with Columbia University, USA
TNN News : The Department of Geography, Faculty of Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), in collaboration with Columbia University, New York, USA, successfully conducted a week-long Global Initiative for Academic Networks (GIAN) Course on “Climate Change Vulnerability, Migration and Displacement: The Growing Challenge and Potential Policy Responses” from 21 to 25 July, 2025. The course brought together leading academics, researchers, and policymakers to deliberate on one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century; climate-induced displacement and mobility.
The Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN), an initiative by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, serves as a platform for the exchange of knowledge and ideas on a global scale. GIAN enables institutes of higher education in India to invite and host internationally renowned academicians and researchers, facilitating the co-teaching of advanced courses.
The course was attended by 67 young scholars and faculty members from across the country of different disciplines and institutes like DU, BHU, JMI, AMU, JNU, BITS Pilani, IIT-Patna, IIT-Indore and many other universities attended the course.
This prestigious academic collaboration event began on July 21, 2025 at the FTK-CIT Conference Hall, JMI. The event was well attended by Deans, HoDs and other faculty members of the university. Prof. P.K. Joshi from SES, JNU was the Guest of Honour. He underlined the importance of multi-scalar vulnerability analysis and regional cooperation. He advocated for integrating climate-induced migration into national adaptation planning and disaster risk reduction strategies. Prof. Alex de Sherbinin, Foreign Expert spoke on the theme of the GIAN course as well as the course structure. Prof. Saeed Uddin, Dean, Faculty of Sciences, JMI, praised the department’s initiative and its commitment to interdisciplinary learning. He stressed the importance of scientific rigor and collaboration to understand the socio-environmental implications of climate change. Prof. Alex de Sherbinin, Senior Research Scientist at Columbia University and Foreign Faculty for the course, offered global insights on environmental drivers of displacement and shared innovative tools for vulnerability assessment.
The course was meticulously coordinated by Prof. Atiqur Rahman, Head of the Department of Geography, JMI, and GIAN course coordinator; a renowned researcher in Urban Environmental Management and Geospatial Science. He outlined the academic objectives of the course and encouraged participants to build on this experience through cross-disciplinary research.
Prof. Alex de Sherbinin, the Foreign Expert, delivered series of 10 lectures, 3 Tutorials; also 2 lectures was delivered by Prof. Atiqur Rahman Course Coordinator. The lectures were on various topics like Demographic Concepts and Data Analysis for Climate Change, Urbanization and climate change: Coastal cities, urban heat islands, heat stress and water supply in India scenario, Urban vulnerability and resilience in India: The power of remotely sensed data and GIS tool, Development of a Basic Climate Change Vulnerability Index using Available Tabular Demographic and Environmental Data, Climate Change-Induced Migration and Displacement: Evidence from Research, Modeling Future Climate Migration, Urban micro climate change mitigation and future scenario & Policy Responses and Adaptation in India, the Sub-Continent, and the Global South. In this course hands on practical session of about 5 hours were also done in the GIS lab of Department of Geography for the modelling climate change vulnerability and modelling flood vulnerability using remote sensing satellite data and GIS technique.
The Valedictory Function held on July 25, 2025 at Mir Anis Hall, JMI, was graced by Prof. Mazhar Asif, Vice-chancellor, JMI (Chief Guest) and Prof. Md. Mahtab Alam Rizvi, Registrar, JMI (Guest of Honour), Prof. Alex de Sherbinin (Foreign Expert) and Prof. Saeed Uddin, Dean, Faculty of Sciences, JMI who appreciated the Department’s role in fostering global academic exchange.
In his valedictory address, Prof. Mazhar Asif, VC JMI lauded the Department of Geography for organizing such a timely and globally significant initiative and reaffirmed the university’s dedication to fostering research and academic collaboration on pressing global challenges. Prof. Md. Mahtab Alam Rizvi, Registrar JMI, encouraged continued collaborations to bridge academic discourse and administrative action in the climate policy domain. Participants expressed their heartfelt gratitude and gave a positive feedback reflecting the transformative impact of the course. Certificates were distributed by the dignitaries, officially marking the conclusion of the program. Dr. Ghazal Salahuddin, Incharge, extension lectures and webinars conducted the programme and Dr. Hasan Raja Naqvi proposed a vote of thanks
This GIAN course is a testimony to Jamia Millia Islamia’s leadership in addressing climate change and sustainability challenges through interdisciplinary learning and global partnerships.
