Bangalore, 15 Dec: Kautilya School of Public Policy, Hyderabad affiliated to the Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM), has signed an MoU with Heritage Beku to create opportunities and experiential activities for public policy students in the field of heritage conservation and protection. The partnership is focused on building a long-term relationship by facilitating guest lectures, heritage walks, interaction with governmental and non-governmental organizations, policy making activities, student internships and much more. 

The MoU was signed at the Nandi halt railway station followed by a brainstorming session on preserving the station in a rightful manner and a historical heritage walk by Heritage Beku. The walk was aimed at familiarizing the audience with the area and creating awareness about the need for robust policy in conservation of the historic Nandi railway line in Bangalore. 

Speaking about the partnership, Priya Chetty Rajagopal, co-founder Heritage Beku said, “Delighted that a citizen initiative like #HeritageBeku signed an MOU with Kautilya School of Public Policy  and this will ensure many options for heritage preservation and the students focusing on planning and sustainability. We look forward to mutually leveraging this to benefit heritage.”

“The MoU between #HeritageBeku and Kautilya School is a significant step towards building capacity for policy formulation to achieve effective convergence of heritage conservation and urban governance. I congratulate Ms. Priya Chetty Rajagopal of #HeritageBeku and Mr. Sridhar Pabbisetty of Kautilya School of Public Policy for this initiative. I am sure this extraordinary step, which will lead to developing a new generation of professionals who will demonstrate that heritage conservation and modern development need not be mutually exclusive,” said Sajan Poovayya, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India.

“A culture that does not care for its past has no future. Yet, the past must be conserved without judgment. Hitting that sweet spot of inculcating pride in the past, without being judgmental, is what a good well-rounded education is all about. This MOU will go a long way in ensuring a nuanced and deep love for heritage amongst the young students” said T. R. Raghunandan, Director, Avantika Foundation.

Sridhar Pabbisetty, Founding Director, Kautilya School of Public Policy, added, “At Kautilya School of Public Policy, we want to create unique opportunities for our students to get entrenched with public policy making and activities across diverse fields to enrich their understanding of public policy and its making. Our collaboration with Heritage Beku is one such endeavor to create exposure towards heritage conservation. We look forward to many more deep conversations on pressing issues with the help of Heritage Beku.”