ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2025
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. This year, 60,000+ young leaders applied to join the Class of 2025 on 7,000+ campuses across 170 nations. 290+ campuses worldwide (less than 5%) were selected to host the 4,500+ Millennium Fellows.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT HARSHITA TIWARI, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2025.
Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women | New Delhi, India | Advancing SDG 4, SDG 10 & UNAI 6
" My passion for sustainability and technology drives my mission to create solutions that protect our environment and improve quality of life. The Millennium Fellowship will empower me to amplify my outreach work, design impactful eco-tech initiatives, and align them with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. I am excited to collaborate with global change makers, learn from diverse perspectives, and transform ideas into sustainable actions for a better world. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: BuddyConnect: A Peer Support Platform
BuddyConnect is a peer-support and mentorship platform designed to address one of the most urgent yet often overlooked challenges in Indian higher education: students' mental and emotional well-being. It provides a safe, compassionate, and structured system where first-year students can connect with trained senior volunteers (“buddies”) who guide them through both academic and personal challenges.
The rising mental health crisis among Indian students inspired the project. According to NCRB data (2023), student suicides in India have increased by 65% over the past decade, with 13,892 cases recorded in 2023 alone. Surveys reveal that 12% of college students experience suicidal thoughts, and nearly 40% face bullying or ragging, with 51 reported deaths due to ragging between 2022–2024. These statistics reflect the growing emotional distress and lack of adequate peer or institutional support.
BuddyConnect bridges this gap by blending technology and empathy. The web-based platform — built using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Flask (Python), and SQLite — features:
1. A Buddy Matching System that connects juniors with compatible senior mentors.
2. Private Chat Interface for safe, confidential conversations.
3. Mood Check-in Dashboard that allows students to track their mental state and signals distress patterns.
4. A Career Corner with curated resources for academic and professional development.
5. A Well-being Wall where students can share motivational messages and stories anonymously.
In its pilot phase at IGDTUW, the platform engaged over 100 students, with 85% reporting increased emotional comfort and 70% expressing improved confidence in navigating college life. The project currently aims to gain at least 25 active volunteers offering weekly support sessions and mentorship to new entrants.
Beyond its immediate outcomes, BuddyConnect aspires to create a culture of care on campus — one that normalises mental health conversations, promotes empathy, and integrates emotional well-being into academic life. In the long term, the vision is to expand BuddyConnect to other universities, train peer mentors nationwide, and ensure that no student feels invisible or alone during their most vulnerable years.
Through this initiative, BuddyConnect aims to advance SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being, making emotional resilience and human connection fundamental to education.
About the Millennium Fellow
Harshita Tiwari is a bright, driven, and globally minded Bachelor of Technology student in Information Technology at the Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women (IGDTUW), currently in her third year. As an Outreach Core Member of GreenSphere – the university’s eco-tech society – Harshita actively leads initiatives that merge technology with environmental stewardship. She is a Reliance Foundation Undergraduate Scholar and an Amazon Future Engineer Scholar, recognitions that celebrate her academic excellence, leadership, and commitment to positive change.
For as long as she can remember, Harshita has been passionate about sustainability, innovation, and creating real-world solutions that benefit both people and the planet. This dedication has been strengthened by her work in various impactful projects, from developing tech-driven social impact platforms to participating in national-level hackathons. Through her role in GreenSphere, she has organized awareness campaigns, interactive workshops, and collaborative initiatives that inspire her peers to take actionable steps toward environmental responsibility.
Harshita aspires to pursue a professional path where she can drive sustainable, technology-powered solutions for global challenges, contributing to a healthier and more equitable world. She envisions creating innovative models that make the environment better for living, aligning her work with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and leaving a legacy of meaningful impact.
