Message from the HUC Secretariat
The past half year saw HUC grow in different aspects – increase in members, improvements in quality interactions, and initiation of concrete collaborative actions. In addition to three active Thematic Working Groups (TWGs) on Water, Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience, and Climate Change, two new TWGs – Trans-Himalayan Environmental Humanities and Mountain Heritage and Tourism – were jump started. Full and associate members such as the Centre for Development and Environment (University of Bern), Tata Institute of Social Sciences, TERI School of Advanced Studies, Sichuan University, Yunnan University, Walker Institute, and Western Sydney University jointly took lead and made important contributions to TWGs’ activities.
The third HUC Academy was organized with tangible results – HUC fellows from previous HUC trainings shared exciting stories of the impacts they carried out through their own initiative. Two distinguished scholars, J P Tamang (Sikkim University) and Christopher Scott (University of Arizona), were conferred with the honorary ICIMOD Mountain Chair title for 2019–2021 and 2020–2022, respectively. A Task Force on Education for Sustainable Mountain Development is drafting a strategy and the Steering Committee was expanded to include representatives from all eight Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) countries. The Secretariat continued to be hosted by ICIMOD and received enormous support from institutional members and fellows from across the HKH region and the world.
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What's in store for 2020?
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HUC expects 2020 to be a year of active engagement among members, with enhanced regional collaboration through TWGs and HUC Country Chapters under joint leadership and resource mobilization by members. The webpage for the TWG on Water will go active on the HUC website and portal; the TWG on Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience will roll out its collaborative curriculum cluster; and the TWG on Trans-Himalayan Environmental Humanities will complete a manuscript for international peer-reviewed publication.
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The TWG on Cryosphere and Society will be kick started, jointly led by the University of Bristol. The HUC India Country Chapter will go active as a part of the Himalayan Calling Initiative. An HUC Congress – a mega-event including a conference, a vice chancellor forum, and meetings of TWGs – is planned for the end of 2020. HUC is looking forward to a productive year of impactful collaboration in higher education for a sustainable HKH region.
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What do our fellows have to say about the trainings organized by HUC? Let's hear them out.
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Wishfully Mylliemngap
"My experience at the academy has not just helped me apply knowledge in real-life scenarios but also persuaded me to work with passion for the welfare of HKH communities vulnerable to climate change."
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Iqtidar Hussain
"I feel that my highest achievement from the HUC Academy was the chance to build strong networks."
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Zainab Khalid
"My participation gave me an immediate sense of belonging and aided me in discovering my passion for research in the Himalaya."
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ICIMOD Mountain Chairs
The ICIMOD Mountain Chair is an honorary title conferred upon a prominent scholar working on mountain issues in the HKH. The Mountain Chair promotes HUC’s vision and mission for enhanced collaboration and dynamic knowledge partnerships among universities in the region for resilient mountain development.
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Dr Phanchung
ICIMOD Mountain Chair 2017 - 2019
Director General of the Department of Research and External Relations, Royal University of Bhutan
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Dr Jyoti Prakash Tamang
ICIMOD Mountain Chair 2019 - 2021
Dean, School of Life Sciences, and Professor, Department of Microbiology, Sikkim University, Sikkim, India
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Dr Christopher Scott
ICIMOD Mountain Chair 2020 - 2022
Director, Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy; Professor, School of Geography and Development; University Distinguished Scholar; University of Arizona, USA
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HUC Academy 2019
Harnessing economic opportunities for transformative change in the Hindu Kush Himalaya
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Inception meeting
Trans-Himalayan environmental humanities thematic working group
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New Institutional Members
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New Steering Committee Members
The Steering Committee (SC) is the HUC’s highest governing body and is responsible for the Consortium’s development and setting work priorities. It consists of elected individuals who are prominent intellectuals and leaders, representing eight HKH countries and non-HKH members. A warm welcome to our new SC members!
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Call for research concept notes
Economics of natural resource use and environmental change
Apply by 31 May 2020
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