New Delhi: Kaif Ali, a Faculty of Architecture & Ekistics student, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), won the prestigious Commonwealth Secretary-General Innovation Award for Sustainable Development-2021. He is the only Indian amongst 15 awardees from 54 Commonwealth countries to win the prestigious award for his contribution towards Covid19, refugee shelter crisis, and climate change.
According to a JMI press note, Kaif has invented low-cost portable housing for Covid-19 quarantine and shelter from extreme weather conditions like earthquakes and flooding. His design has been recognized by the UN under the top 11 emerging innovation start-ups solving climate challenges.
Congratulating Kaif for the achievement, JMI Vice-Chancellor Prof. Najma Akhtar said that the university is proud of him.
“We expect that it will motivate other university students to work hard, think out of the box to get noticed and contribute to nation-building,” Prof. Akhtar said.
During the pandemic, Kaif researched how architecture could prevent the spread of disease. He designed a prefabricated sustainable shelter, SpaceEra, that would help reduce transmission of the virus and house refugees worldwide in the future.
Elated Kaif Ali said, “Winning the Commonwealth Innovation Award lifts my confidence to a greater level and motivates me to work even harder than yesterday and innovate unusual solutions to achieve a sustainable future. I pledge to become the voice of the youth transforming the Commonwealth and to Be the Change!”.
Each award winner received a trophy, 3,000 pounds (3,00,000INR approx.) in prize money, and the opportunity to scale up their innovations in collaboration with partners and mentors across the Commonwealth.
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