Government of India

Skip to Main Content

Government of India

Student Thesis Competition, Season 5: Writeshop

March 20, 2025

About the Event

18 young minds from across India came together in Delhi to deepen their understanding of urban river management at the Student Thesis Competition (STC) Season 5 Writeshop, held from 20-22 March 2025. The Writeshop saw participants from urban planning, architecture, landscape architecture, and food science & technology.

Translating academic insights into practical solutions, the two-and-a-half-day Writeshop featured several interactive sessions, including a detailing of NIUA’s Urban River Management Plan, followed by a role-play exercise to help students understand different stakeholder perspectives through the subtle art of negotiation. Students also presented their thesis topics and interacted with mentors to understand the best way forward.

The participants collaboratively developed the ‘River-Run’ game on urban river management. Students were also invited to the office of the National Mission for Clean Ganga to explore their flagship monitoring portal, PRAYAG, gaining insights into digital data repositories and spatial mapping of the Ganga and Yamuna Rivers.

The event was graced by Dr. Debolina Kundu, Director, NIUA; Shri Nalin Kumar Srivastava, Deputy Director General, NMCG; Shri Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, former-DG NMCG & Chief Advisor, Water & Environment vertical, NIUA; Shri Dheeraj Joshi, Director, NMCG; and guest lecturer Dr. Shyamli Singh, who delivered her presentation titled “Jal Dhara to Jan Dhara: An Approach to Revive Rivers”, where she shared her expertise on citizen participation in river-sensitive interventions.

A key highlight of the Writeshop was the exposure visit to Asita Park, developed by the Delhi Development Authority, where students witnessed real-world river-sensitive interventions on World Water Day.