Greater Noida, 25 February 2025: Shiv Nadar University, Delhi NCR, and Springer Nature have signed a groundbreaking Fully Open Access (FOA) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today at the India Sustainability Conclave 2025. The MoU also includes a partnership with the Cureus series of journals covering engineering, computer science, business, and economics. This landmark agreement will provide wider access to the University’s high-impact, multi-disciplinary research, enabling greater global knowledge exchange and innovation.
Professor Ananya Mukherjee, Vice-Chancellor of Shiv Nadar University Delhi-NCR, said, “This agreement marks a milestone in our vision for a more open, accessible research landscape. By broadening the reach of our academic work, we are contributing to the global discourse on sustainability and empowering change-makers across the world to drive innovative solutions for a sustainable future. Sustainability is a collective effort, and it will be great if we all can work together to advance this crucial mission.”
The event, hosted at the University’s campus, brought together policymakers, industry leaders, academics, and researchers with a shared goal of advancing sustainability and aligning efforts with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Delivering the keynote address, Shikhar Malhotra, Chancellor of Shiv Nadar University, Delhi-NCR said, “At Shiv Nadar University, we believe that transformative research thrives at the intersection of academic rigor and real-world relevance. With Springer Nature, we begin a new partnership today, and I urge our faculty, research scholars, and students to maximise the benefits of this relationship for both partners. We see Shiv Nadar University, Delhi – NCR to be at the forefront of leading change, and through the questions we ask and the solutions we provide, we can truly shape the future.”
This was followed by a special address from Professor Dhananjay Singh, Member Secretary of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), who highlighted the importance of research and innovation in addressing global sustainability challenges.
Venkatesh Sarvasiddhi, Managing Director, Springer Nature India Private Limited added, “We are pleased to see that the India Sustainability Conclave 2025 has brought together key stakeholders from across industry, academia and government to develop solutions for sustainability challenges. We are delighted to partner with Shiv Nadar University via our Fully Open Access agreement, reinforcing our shared vision of making high-quality research widely available to drive real-world change. I am sure this partnership will help provide impetus to ethical and indigenous research on sustainability and help widen its reach globally.”
A key highlight of the event was the panel discussion on “Bridging Research Through Industry and Academia,” moderated by Venkatesh Sarvasiddhi, Managing Director of Springer Nature. The discussion featured esteemed panellists, including Dr. Shashank Shah, Director, Higher Education, NITI Aayog; Dr. Suneet Tuli, Dean School Of Engineering, Shiv Nadar University, Delhi – NCR; Dr. Gitanjali Yadav, Group Leader, National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR); PP Sunil Acharya, India & South Asia Lead: Education, Space, NPO, Channels & Alliances, AWS. Together they explored the collaborative role of industry, academia, and government in advancing impactful sustainability initiatives.
During the event, six outstanding women faculty members from Shiv Nadar University, Delhi – NCR were felicitated for their immense contributions. These faculty members included Professor Bimlesh Lochab, Department of Chemistry; Dr. Geetanjali Chawla, Department of Life Sciences; Dr. Ipsita Mandal, Department of Physics; Dr. Vijayata Fulzele, School of Management and Entrepreneurship; and Dr. Sumedha Moharana, Department of Civil Engineering.