Ahmedabad, 7 February 2026: Anant National University’s Anant School for Climate Action (ASCA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Windsor, Canada, to strengthen collaboration in climate action, research and academic exchange. The partnership aims to facilitate joint research initiatives, student exchanges and structured graduate pathways over the next five years, with a strong focus on climate change, sustainability and interdisciplinary, design-led education.
Commenting on the partnership, Dr McMurtry said, “By combining Anant’s design-led approach with Windsor’s strong research ecosystem, this collaboration aims to create meaningful academic pathways that support impactful research and address pressing global climate challenges.”
Echoing this, Dr Rohan Dutta, Associate Professor and Director, Anant School for Climate Action, Anant National University, added, “At Anant, we believe climate action must be rooted in interdisciplinary thinking and strengthened through real-world research and international collaboration. Partnering with the University of Windsor will enable our students and faculty to engage with diverse climate contexts, deepen applied research and co-create solutions that are relevant at both local and global scales.”
The partnership brings together ASCA’s focus on practical, scalable climate solutions with Windsor’s strong commitment to environmental innovation, including significant progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and sustained growth in research funding. Together, the institutions aim to drive impactful research across areas such as carbon capture, resilient infrastructure, and sustainable technologies.
Anant National University and the University of Windsor will work jointly on faculty-led research projects, collaborative publications and the development of a defined graduate progression pathway, enabling students from either institution to pursue advanced studies at the partner university. The agreement also establishes a framework for co-created curricula, short-term immersion programmes and shared research platforms aligned with global sustainability priorities.
The MoU signing ceremony was attended by senior leadership from the University of Windsor, including Dr J J McMurtry, President and Vice-Chancellor; Dr Chris Busch, Associate Vice President, Global Engagement and Partnerships; and Ms Neharika, Principal Advisor, Recruitment and Partnerships, along with senior representatives from the Anant School for Climate Action.
This partnership aligns closely with Anant’s vision of nurturing future-ready leaders equipped to address complex global challenges through design, sustainability and interdisciplinary thinking. Anant National University has built strong global collaborations with leading academic and industry institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania (USA), Sciences Po (France), The Villars Institute (Switzerland), the Commonwealth Secretariat (UK), Sustain Lab Paris (UAE), Initiatives of Change, UNICEF and EarthDay.org.
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About Anant National University
Anant National University, India’s premier design university, is dedicated to training students to devise solutions for global problems. Anant follows the DesignX pedagogy, where ‘X’ is the symbol drawn from mathematics, representing enhancement. This new learning approach multiplies traditional design pedagogy with liberal arts disciplines, emerging technologies and knowledge drawn from hands-on community experiences to help understand our world better and to devise impactful solutions.
Our multidisciplinary undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes in design, architecture, climate action and visual arts harness knowledge from various disciplines and traditional practices to integrate it with cutting-edge technology to address diverse challenges. We train our designers to become solutionaries — revolutionary thinkers with a solution-oriented mindset.
Anant National University has been recognised as the Centre of Excellence by the Government of Gujarat, highlighting our efforts to provide our students with world-class education, innovative pedagogy, high employability and enhanced entrepreneurial and research opportunities. Anant has also received the prestigious ‘5-Star Rating’ in the category of Architecture and a ‘4-Star Rating’ in the University category in the Gujarat State Institutional Rating Framework (GSIRF) 2023-24. These recognitions reinforce our commitment to creating a world-class institution of great eminence and excellence.
