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 KSHITIJ PARIMAL NAGTODE, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW AND CAMPUS DIRECTOR FOR THE CLASS OF 2025.
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur | Kharagpur, India | Advancing SDG 8, SDG 12 & UNAI 3
" "I'm absolutely enthralled by the idea of producing real, tangible change, that can be felt by millions on the ground. Something beyond the textbooks we pore over at school and university, and something that can genuinely make someone's life better. I aim to make my country the best version of itself, and I believe a crucial first step is getting the place as clean as it can be, and bolstering sustainability initiatives nationwide" "
Millennium Fellowship Project: Petals to Progress
This project creates a social enterprise to address the significant stream of unmanaged floral waste from temples in Guntur. The core solution is a sustainable business model that upcycles this waste, which can range from 300 kg to 1,300 kg daily, into a portfolio of high-value, eco-friendly products like incense, essential oils, and dyes. The initiative is designed to be the region's first integrated floral waste enterprise , aiming to divert over 100,000 kg of organic waste from landfills annually while simultaneously tackling local youth unemployment.
The primary beneficiaries of this project are the local individuals and communities within Guntur, particularly unemployed youth. The enterprise is designed to create a multi-tiered employment structure , providing formal and stable income. These new employment opportunities will span the entire value chain , creating roles for unskilled workers (such as collectors), skilled machine operators, and other professionals. Beyond a salary, the project empowers the workforce by providing on-the-job training designed to build long-term human capital and transferable skills.
About the Millennium Fellow
Kshitij Nagtode is an Economics undergraduate student at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India. Having spent an extensive period of his life in the United States, he's driven by the idea of changing his country for the better - driven primarily by ensuring responsible consumption and production, a key first step to getting cities being cleaner, and by extension much better places to live in - much like the ones in America. Hailing from Telangana, he holds a connection to the region, and aims to scale his impact in sustainability from there and the surrounding regions to the whole nation. After his graduation, Kshitij plans to earn an MBA, and work in Climate Change and Sustainability consulting down the line.
