In his keynote address Prof. Pragati Kumar, Vice Chancellor, SMVDU emphasized the importance of sustainable cities and communities to avoid adverse effects on the environment. He said that as the world’s population is constantly increasing and we need to build modern, sustainable cities to accommodate the increasing population. “Sustainable cities are a key to strike a balance between economic growth, social inclusivity, and environmental protection” he said. He emphasized that sustainable cities is not just a choice but a necessity to preserve our planet for future generations. He stressed that for creating sustainable cities and communities’ people from academia and government need to collaborate so as to deal with the environmental, economic, and social challenges. “There is need to investigate and implement methods, processes and technologies required for attaining sustainable development of our cities and society and also, it has to be in sync with constantly evolving economic and technological developments” he said.
Mrs. Shruti Khanna, Assistant Director, JKSTIC gave an overview of the initiatives taken by the department of Science & Technology. She also awarded that the workshop is aimed at identifying opportunities and linkages to strengthen academic and research institutions. Prof. Abu Talha Farooqi from Jindal School of Art and Architecture, OP Jindal Global University laid emphasis on varied roles for the idea of sustainable cities and communities. Prof. Arun Verma, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Jammu delivered lecture on electric vehicles and their need in ensuring clean urban mobility.

Sh. Nagendra Singh Jamwal, JKAS, Registrar SMVDU highlighted the steps taken by SMVDU in organizing high quality workshops and conferences. He stressed that such workshops help in broadening the knowledge base of the participants. He said that this workshop will make all of us understand the need for sustainable development and spread awareness and knowledge among the participants and society.  Dr. Vineet Veer Tyagi, Head, School of Energy Management highlighted the initiatives taken by School of Energy Management for climate change mitigation. Dr. Sanjeev Anand, Workshop Coordinator explained about the schedule of the workshop and stressed upon the need to organize such workshops. The main objective of the workshop was to identify the challenges and solutions, promote sustainable cities and communities and empower participants as community representatives. The event started with lighting of lamp by the dignitaries at Matrika Auditorium of SMVDU. The inaugural function of the event was attended by Deans and Heads of different schools, Sh. Neeraj Gupta, JKAS, Finance Officer, SMVDU. The formal vote of thanks was given by Ar. Navin Gupta, Assistant Professor, School of Architecture and Landscape Design, SMVD University.