3 weeks ago
Mehta Family Foundation backs new 'Mehta Schools' across IIT campuses
A group of kind people from America wants to help Indian schools teach important new subjects.
Their organization is called the Mehta Family Foundation, and its leader is Rahul Mehta.
They give money to build special new schools inside the Indian Institutes of Technology, which are like famous super-schools in India.
The newest one is at IIT Indore, and it teaches about saving the environment while also learning about money and business.
This subject is called Environmental Economics and Sustainable Engineering.
It is the very first time in India that students can get a first degree in this subject after school.
The first class has 30 students who passed a very hard test called JEE Advanced.
Teachers from famous universities like Stanford, Columbia, Rice, and Purdue helped plan the lessons.
The school was started because companies need more workers who can help the environment — those 'green jobs' grew by 13% between 2024 and 2025.
Similar new schools are being built at other IITs to teach about computers, health, and living things.
The US-based Mehta Family Foundation (MFF), led by founder Rahul Mehta, is funding specialized schools across IIT campuses.
IIT Indore launched India's first undergraduate sustainability degree: a four-year BTech in Environmental Economics and Sustainable Engineering.
The programme is housed under the new Mehta Family School of Sustainability (MFSOS), MFF's seventh major academic project across the IIT ecosystem.
MFSOS admitted its inaugural cohort of 30 students via JEE Advanced, with a curriculum developed over a year using inputs from Stanford, Columbia, Rice, and Purdue.
MFF has also backed data science and AI schools at IIT Roorkee, IIT Guwahati, and IIT Palakkad, plus health sciences and biosciences centres at IIT Kanpur and IIT Indore.
- Who
- The Mehta Family Foundation (MFF), led by founder Rahul Mehta, and IIT Indore's Mehta Family School of Sustainability (MFSOS), headed by Prof Pritee Sharma.
- What
- The launch of India's first undergraduate sustainability degree — a four-year BTech in Environmental Economics and Sustainable Engineering — as part of a philanthropy-funded 'Mehta Schools' model spreading across IIT campuses.
- Where
- IIT Indore, India, with similar MFF-funded schools at IIT Roorkee, IIT Guwahati, IIT Palakkad, and IIT Kanpur.
- When
- Recently; the article gives no specific launch date.
- Why
- To address a void in undergraduate-level sustainability education, driven by impending corporate ESG mandates and a 13% surge in green jobs between 2024 and 2025.
Key facts
- Foundation
- Houston-based Mehta Family Foundation (MFF), led by founder Rahul Mehta
- New school
- Mehta Family School of Sustainability (MFSOS) at IIT Indore
- New programme
- Four-year BTech in Environmental Economics and Sustainable Engineering
- First in India
- First-ever undergraduate degree dedicated to sustainability
- Inaugural cohort
- 30 students admitted via JEE Advanced
- MFF project count
- Seventh major academic project across the IIT ecosystem
- Green jobs growth
- 13% surge in green jobs between 2024 and 2025
- Curriculum partners
- Stanford, Columbia, Rice, and Purdue, alongside top Indian economic institutions
Quotes
Prof Pritee Sharma
Professor and head of the Mehta Family School of Sustainability at IIT Indore
“MFSOS is fully integrated into the IIT system, admitting its inaugural cohort of 30 students via JEE Advanced. The curriculum has been developed over a year with inputs from global universities like Stanford, Columbia, Rice, and Purdue, alongside top Indian economic institutions, balancing environmental economics and law with energy systems and climate studies.”
financialexpress.com
Sources
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