The University of Hyderabad (UoH) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with INFORM (Interdisciplinary Forum for Climate Resilience and Sustainability), a newly established Section 8 company registered by the University of Hyderabad to advance interdisciplinary, action-oriented research and innovation for sustainable development and climate resilience.
The signing of the MoU marks an important milestone in the University’s efforts to strengthen its societal engagement and translational impact through collaborative and outcome-driven initiatives.
Conceived as an extended arm of the University of Hyderabad, INFORM has been established to translate the University’s knowledge, research strengths, and interdisciplinary expertise into actionable outcomes through collaborative engagement with governments, industries, funding agencies, civil society organizations, and international partners. While the University generates knowledge through teaching and research, INFORM is envisioned to function as a dynamic implementation and facilitation platform to convert ideas into scalable solutions, policy interventions, pilot projects, and impact-driven programs.
INFORM will function as an interdisciplinary forum and think tank focused on areas related to climate resilience, sustainability, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a special emphasis on generating data-driven policy outputs and evidence-based recommendations. It will bring together expertise from multiple domains—including environmental sciences, engineering, artificial intelligence, exploration and management of natural resources, data analytics, public policy, economics, social sciences, and governance—to address complex societal challenges in an integrated manner.
The establishment of INFORM as a Section 8 company provides several strategic advantages to the University of Hyderabad and its stakeholders.
For faculty members and researchers, INFORM creates a flexible and agile platform to undertake multidisciplinary, consultancy, translational, and mission-mode projects with faster operational mechanisms and enhanced engagement with external agencies. It enables the University ecosystem to respond effectively to emerging national priorities and large-scale societal challenges.
For students, INFORM is expected to create opportunities for hands-on problem solving, internships, innovation-driven projects, field engagement, and exposure to real-world policy and development challenges, thereby enhancing employability and experiential learning.
For government agencies, industry, and development partners, INFORM offers a credible institutional mechanism to access the University’s intellectual strengths and collaborate on evidence-based policymaking, technology-enabled solutions, sustainability assessments, climate adaptation strategies, and impact evaluation studies.
The Section 8 framework also enables greater institutional flexibility in mobilizing external resources, fostering partnerships, incubating innovative programs, and executing projects in a time-bound and professionally managed manner while remaining aligned with the University’s broader academic and societal mission.
University officials highlighted that INFORM is expected to emerge as a nationally recognized platform for interdisciplinary collaboration and policy innovation, reinforcing the University of Hyderabad’s commitment to creating meaningful societal impact through research excellence, partnerships, and sustainable solutions.
The MoU signed marks the formal beginning of a long-term partnership between UoH and INFORM to build resilient, data-informed, and sustainable pathways for addressing emerging societal and environmental challenges.
The MoU was signed by Dr. Devesh Nigam, Registrar, University of Hyderabad, on behalf of the University in the presence of Prof. J. Anuradha, Vice Chancellor (i/c), and Prof. M. Ghanashyam Krishna, Director, Institution of Eminence (IoE). The signing ceremony was also attended by the Directors of INFORM—Prof. Samrat Sabat, Prof. Debashis Acharya, and Prof. Vishnubhotla Chakravarthi,—who were present to mark the formal commencement of this strategic partnership between the University and INFORM.
Prof. J. Anuradha, Vice Chancellor (i/c), stated, “INFORM will serve as an important extended arm of the University to transform interdisciplinary knowledge into actionable outcomes. We are confident it will significantly enhance UoH’s contribution towards sustainability, policy innovation, and societal impact.”