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This May, as leaders from Queen’s University and IIT Roorkee met to celebrate the start of a transformative QES partnership, students were already deep in the field tackling real-world challenges in three communities in Uttarakhand, India.

Dr. Sandra den Otter, ���˴�Ƭ's Vice-Provost, Global Engagement, participated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee and ���˴�Ƭ, recognizing our transformative partnership under the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships (QES) 2025 program. The project is titled “Transdisciplinary Knowledge Translation for Social Transformation: Building Climate Resilient Communities through Co-development”, aimed at fostering climate adaptation, resilience, and community-based innovation.

Over the next three years, Queen’s will send twenty-four (24) undergraduate students from Smith Engineering, FAS (with emphasis on Development Studies and health related disciplines), and Health Sciences to Botswana, Colombia, and India to undertake 8 to 12 week community based climate resilience projects. We will also welcome eight (8) graduate students from our partner institutions to undertake a one-semester visit to Queen’s. Updates on how to apply for future cohorts can be found on our Queen's-focused QES website.

Thank you to all university leaders who participated in the MOU ceremony, including:
Prof. K.K. Pant, Director, IIT Roorkee
Prof. Sandra den Otter, Vice-Provost, Queen’s University
Prof. U.P. Singh, Deputy Director, IIT Roorkee
Heather Kincaide, Director, Global Engagement, Queen’s University
Prof. Qingguo Li, Professor and Associate Head, Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Queen’s University
Prof. Dr. Akshay Dvivedi, Dean SRIC, IIT Roorkee
Prof. Vimal Chandra Srivastava, Dean IR, IIT Roorkee
Prof. Apurbba Kumar Sharma, Head, DoD, IIT Roorkee
Prof. Bibhuti Ranjan Bhattacharjya, Assistant Professor, IIT Roorkee
and all other esteemed delegates and project contributors from both institutions.

QES Field Activities Underway

Twelve students from ���˴�Ƭ have already started their two-month internship in the Department Of Design, IIT Roorkee, through this initiative, gaining hands-on experience in real-world environmental and socio-economic challenges in three communities in Uttarakhand, India.

Read Short Updates from the Field (May 2025)

Newsletter - Almora Group Newsletter - Bhu Amrit Group Newsletter - Nainital Group

This partnership expands beyond academia—engaging with government bodies and community-based organizations to bring impact at the grassroots level. The collaboration will emphasize leadership, cross-cultural engagement, and social transformation through knowledge exchange. Funded by Rideau Hall Foundation and administered by Universities Canada, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships program (QES) was created to improve global talent exchange between Canada and other nations. 

We look forward to the results of this community-focused research.

QES 2025: $6.2 million in program funding from the prestigious QES program will support international collaborative projects at 22 Canadian universities and colleges. All projects will focus on the adaptation, response and resilience to a changing climate. 

The Rideau Hall Foundation (RHF) is a non-partisan national charity that brings together ideas, people and resources to celebrate what is best about Canada while working with partners to meaningfully improve the lives of Canadians.

Universities Canada is the voice of Canada’s universities at home and abroad, advancing higher education, research and innovation for the benefit of all Canadians.