AIT, Sida discuss 'sustainable cities' pre-proposal
Prof. Said Irandoust, AIT President, together with Professor Sudip K. Rakshit, Vice President Research, and Professor S. Kumar, Dean, School of Environment, Resources and Development, recently met with Dr. Robert Nygard, Research Advisor, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), to discuss the status of AIT's 'sustainable cities' pre-proposal to Sida.
From the discussion, Sida is positive towards the pre-proposal and it is likely that by the end of March 2007 a formal decision will be made providing AIT with funding to develop a proposal. Further discussion covered the KPMG auditing, which Sida have expressed their wish to coordinate all Sida related projects under one umbrella. This is also in line with AIT's thrust towards limited number of research profiles in few thematic areas. Into the future Sida would prefer funding larger consolidated projects rather than many small ones. Linkages with the urban section of Sida will also be strengthened.
Dr. Nygard has also offered to advise and support AIT's 'Asia-Africa Initiative'. Earlier, Dr. Nygard met the researchers of the Asian Regional Research Programme on Environmental Technologies (ARRPET) and the Energy for Sustainable Development and Climate Change (ESDCC) and discussed their current and proposed activities.