The Obama Foundation Scholars Program at Columbia University brings together rising leaders from around the world who have demonstrated a commitment to finding solutions to challenges in their communities, countries and regions. Over the course of an academic year, the Obama Foundation Scholars will have the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and skills and to build new capacities and networks that will accelerate their impact in their home countries.

The Urban Works Innovation Challenge 2018, a joint project of the Columbia Global Centers | Mumbai and the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, was designed for passionate individuals and teams to create environmentally sustainable solutions for 21st-century workspaces in India. Funded by the RMZ Foundation and supported by the CoWrks Foundry, applications were invited from India as well as from all departments of Columbia University.

As a nation with enormous bio-diversity, India needs to protect its ecological resources.  As a rapidly expanding economy, however, it cannot ignore the need for infrastructural development. Public awareness, policy interventions, and creative solutions are required for reconciling conservation of wildlife with the need for expanding landscape connectivity through roads and highways.