Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham’s World Centre of Excellence on Landslides wins the prestigious International Program on Landslides, Kyoto Landslide Consortium (IPL-KLC) Award for Success. The award was presented in the ongoing 6th World Landslide Forum at the historic Palazzo dei Congressi, Florence, Italy, on 14th November. Amrita won this award in recognition of their outstanding achievements in the area of landslide research.
This recognition comes in the light of the University being reconferred of the title of “World Centre of Excellence on Landslide Risk Reduction (WCoEs)” for the 3rd time in a row by the International Programme on Landslides (IPL). The university will hold the title till 2026.
Dr. Maneesha V Ramesh, Provost, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, and Director, Amrita Centre for Wireless Networks and Applications received the award and a cash prize of $3,000. The prestigious award recognizes successful projects within IPL, assessed based on activities over the past three years. Scientists from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham topped among all the scientists in the world within the IPL.
This distinguished IPL award acknowledges commendable projects within the International Program on Landslides (IPL), evaluated through an assessment of activities conducted over the past three years at each World Landslide Forum. The committee conducts an extensive review of all the papers in the landslide journals and those submitted across all volumes of the book series on landslides. Following this comprehensive evaluation, the selection committee selected the publication, Landslide Early Warning Systems: Requirements and Solutions for Disaster Risk Reduction, India designating it as a significant outcome of Amrita’s IPL project. The award-winning publication was authored by Dr. Maneesha Vinodini Ramesh, Hemalatha Thirugnanam, Balmukund Singh, M. Nitin Kumar, and Divya Pullarkatt
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham has successfully deployed the world’s first wireless sensor network system which was later upgraded to the AI-integrated Internet of Things (IoT) system for detection and early warning of landslides in Western Ghats and the Himalayas, the two major global landslide hotspots. The system has successfully provided warnings to the community through the Government since deployment in 2019.
The re-election is a testament to the University’s groundbreaking work on detection and early warning of landslides. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham has successfully deployed the world’s first wireless sensor network system which was later upgraded to the AI-integrated Internet of Things (IoT) system for detection and early warning of landslides in Western Ghats and North-Eastern Himalayas, 2 landslide hotspots in the country.
The first deployment was in Munnar, Kerala India in 2019. Following the success of the deployment, at the request of the Government of India, the university has also deployed a similar system in Sikkim, Northeast Himalayas. This applied research, with significant global value for all landslide-prone areas, was directly initiated by the University Chancellor, Mata Amritanandamayi Devi to develop low-cost technologies for wide-area monitoring of landslides, to save human life.
