ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2022
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. Over 31,000 young leaders on 2,400+ campuses across 140+ nations applied to join the Class of 2022. 200+ campuses worldwide (just 8%) were selected to host the 3,000+ Millennium Fellows.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT NIKITA VIVEK JOSHI, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW AND CAMPUS DIRECTOR FOR THE CLASS OF 2022.
Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology Nagpur | Nagpur, India | Advancing SDG 12 & UNAI 9
" I believe in the power of stories. When we create more shared experiences, we create more stories, ones that can be held and felt and listened to. The Millennium Fellowship is a platform for us to explore, in Fellowship, what it means to be at the forefront of change-making. A journey, that is a palimpsest of the stories that came before us, and the ones that will follow, for those joined in a similar Fellowship. Our work will aim to address the root causes of the systemic issues we see, to create deep impact, and deeper narratives of change. I am excited to do this work- my work in sustainability, bringing harmony to our co-existence with this beautiful world. This work is an exploration of who I am- and yet it is also an exploration of how individuals, in Fellowship, can effectuate systemic change, and bring true impact. We are here, we are ready to do this work, and this is the beginning of our story. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: Zero-Waste VNIT
To set up a system for the continuous propagation of change, we have decided to form a climate action society, under the official banner of our institution. As a society, our first goal is to develop a zero-waste plan for our university. The term zero-waste implies that no waste produced on campus is landfilled, and each type of waste is reprocessed and repurposed. We have conducted a waste audit of our campus and have been using the information we find to conduct a rudimentary economic analysis of the established waste management system. After we have done so, we will begin work on addressing the unsustainable aspects of the current waste management system, and proposing technical interventions for going zero-waste as a gated community. A zero-waste plan has thus been developed and, we are conducting an economic analysis to have quantitative proof of the returns obtained from such a plan. We will further present it before the relevant authorities of the institute and assist them in developing a zero-waste policy from the plan, which will act as approval for the implementation. The outcomes of this project involve the development of a zero-waste plan that will be able to translate to a dynamic zero-waste policy, and beginning the transition process to a zero-waste campus, addressing the multitude of dimensions required for sustainable change.
About the Millennium Fellow
Nikita Joshi is a Chemical Engineering student at Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, India. Her research work has a strong focus on sustainability and engineering biological systems for the propagation of a circular bioeconomy, within the chemical industry. She is also exploring how empathetic dialogue can be used as a means of spurring climate action and how good policies can be built around new schools of interdisciplinary, metamodern thought. After she graduates, Nikita plans to earn a master's degree in biochemical engineering and pursue an impactful career at the intersection of engineering, policy, and sustainability.
