SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

3Bringing sectors together on the SDGs

UPES starts and hosts regular forums where government, the UN, industry, NGOs, researchers, students and communities work on shared goals.

Forums UPES runs

• Himalaya Calling 2025 (9–11 September). Opened by the Governor of Uttarakhand, Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (Retd), HILL's global summit linked Himalayan protection to the SDGs. Sessions brought an NHRC advisory group member, UNDP's Action for Climate and Environment programme and the Indian Youth Climate Network together on Himalayan climate law, and engineers, scientists and local practitioners together on nature-based solutions for rivers.
• Sustainability Fair 3.0 (9–10 April 2025). Hosting HSFEA-2025, the 5th International Sustainability Conference on Health, Safety, Fire and Environmental Advances, with an advisory committee from Denmark, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands, the UK and the USA, alongside the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, the fair engaged regulators, policymakers and industry, and recognised companies for safety and environmental performance.
• Energy Summit 2025 (11–12 November). The 4th edition, held as the International Conference on Sustainable and Affordable Energy (ICSAE 2025). With IRENA's Deputy Director-General as chief guest and ANRF support, it brought CSIR, universities from India, the US and Germany, industry and more than 100 school students together on reliable, affordable, low-carbon energy.
• UPES International Model UN. Running since 2012, the 10th edition (1–2 November 2025) brought 300–400 student delegates, including from Sudan, Nepal, Mexico and France, to negotiate climate adaptation and humanitarian issues.

Forums with government and partners

• Udbhav 2025. The first emerging-technology hackathon of the Uttarakhand AI Mission, run by the state's IT Development Agency at UPES, with teams from IIT Roorkee, IIM Kashipur and the Forest Research Institute solving public problems.
• ICMS 2025. With ANRF-SERB and the Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology, more than 250 participants applied mathematics to climate, disasters, water and energy in the Himalaya.
• Financial literacy with SEBI. On 11 February 2025 the School of Business ran a workshop with India's securities regulator.
• Environmental and energy law. In September 2024, with the Uttarakhand Forest Department and Pollution Control Board, the School of Law hosted HESCO, UNDP Uttarakhand, the SDC Foundation, a state Special Counsel and judicial officers from seven High Courts.
• World Design Challenge 2023. Co-hosted with Algonquin College, Canada, under the World Design Organization, with mentors from companies such as BMW and Delta Air Lines judging SDG-focused designs.