Bandan Jot Singh, a BITSian from the batch of 2005-2010, has been selected as a team member on the International Antarctic Expedition (IAE), 2013. The expedition will be led by Sir Robert Swan, the first person to walk both the North Pole and the South Pole.

The expedition, which is organized by the 2041 Foundation , aims at creating leaders for education, environment and sustainability across the globe through a leadership and sustainability program called ‘Leadership on the Edge’. More than 60 people from about 20 countries will be part of the expedition which starts from the port of Ushuaia, Argentina.

The selection for the expedition has been very carefully done to identify potential sustainability leaders for a greener future. Through a network of industry and academia, Bandan has been working in the domain of renewable & alternative energy with a focus on ‘Sustainability in Energy’ initiatives. Some of the key features of his work include:

• Consulting in the establishment of research divisions in the energy domain, including initiatives such as Energy Monitoring and Storage in IITs.
• Working with technology companies in Alternative Energy to help achieve less dependency on pollution-producing fuels like coal.
• Collaborating with companies to set up Energy Control and Monitoring for Smart Micro-grids in rural areas through the Community Entrepreneur Model.

The expedition, which will kick off in March 2013, is being covered by leading print media publications, news channels and social media. Last year, companies like Airtel, Coca-Cola , Shell, BP and even smaller firms sponsored the Indian who was part of the expedition team.

Kudos to Bandan Jot for making BITSians proud! We wish him all the luck 🙂

You can follow live updates of the exciting story leading to the Antarctica Expedition in March 2013 on the Expedition Blog: http://goingtosouthpole.tumblr.com/. You can also get in touch with Bandan at goingtosouthpole@gmail.com to find out more and to send your good wishes.