Reimagining Education for Equity and Social Justice

Amir Bashir Bazaz serves as Lead-Practice at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), bringing extensive expertise in climate change adaptation and sustainable development. His academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Management with specialization in Public Systems from IIM Ahmedabad and a degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Roorkee. As Regional Research Lead for the Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions (ASSAR) project, he oversees climate adaptation research across Africa and Asia through the IDRC/DfID funded CARIAA program. His research focuses on the intersection of economics, climate change mitigation, and sustainable development, with particular emphasis on urban-climate change linkages and environmental policy. His professional experience includes serving as National Expert Consultant to India's Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change for UNFCCC communications, and teaching Development & Environmental Economics at Symbiosis International University. At IIHS, he leads multiple practice-based initiatives including Energy Innovation with Cambridge University, Ecosystem Services sustainability with Nature Conservancy India, and climate resilience projects supported by various international organizations. He regularly contributes to the Urban Fellows and Urban Practitioners Program while maintaining active involvement in disaster and climate resilience projects.

Poonam Batra serves as Professor of Education at the University of Delhi, where she has made significant contributions to educational reform and policy development in India. Her expertise spans multiple domains including public policy in education, curriculum development, pedagogy, social psychology of education, teacher education, and gender studies. As a co-creator of the Bachelor of Elementary Education (B.El.Ed.) program in the 1990s, she helped establish India's first four-year professional elementary teacher education program. Her distinguished career includes serving as a Nehru Memorial Fellow and member of the Indian Supreme Court's Commission on Teacher Education. Her recent research focuses on examining coloniality in Indian educational reform, comparative education imperatives, and the politics of school and teacher education reform. She has been instrumental in shaping national education policy through her role as co-author of key policy documents and her critical analysis of educational reforms, including the National Education Policy 2020. Her work consistently advocates for equitable and quality public education while addressing the challenges of teacher education in India's diverse linguistic and cultural context