University of Toronto India Foundation
Inspiring meaningful, tangible impact
Driving Change Through Collaboration
Techtonic Challenge:
Innovations for the Sustainable Urban Transition
Launched in 2024 by UTIF and our partner Social Alpha, this exciting incubation program supports innovative solutions to tackle India’s most pressing urban sustainability challenges. It invites early-stage startups and innovators from across India to contribute ideas that drive the transition to more sustainable and resilient Indian cities and municipalities of all sizes.
Driving change through collaboration
UTIF x IIT Bombay E-Cell: supporting early-stage innovations
UTIF partnered with IIT Bombay’s E-Cell for the Eureka! Business Plan Competition, supporting the Energy & Sustainability Track. UTIF provided a grant to the winning startup, along with mentoring support to help scale their innovation.
Techtonic Challenge:
Innovations in sustainable urban transition
A partnership between UTIF and Bangalore’s Social Alpha, this pitch competition and cohort-based incubation program supports innovative solutions that tackle India’s most pressing urban sustainability challenges. Each year, the program supports 10 early-stage Indian startups in upscaling and piloting products that drive the transition to more sustainable and resilient cities.
Gallery
resources
OVERVIEW:
Project Guidebook by IMUCP 2025–26 student team, along with community partner Raah Foundation and supported by UTIF, addresses gendered inequities in nutritional access among Indigenous communities in Palghar through a design justice approach. Through policy analysis and gender-sensitive training, it strengthens accountability, translates lived experiences into actionable insights, and advances Indigenous women’s agency in nutrition, health, and decision-making systems.
OVERVIEW:
Project Guidebook by IMUCP 2025–26 student team, along with community partner YUVA and supported by UTIF, advances an Inclusive City Climate Action Planning framework, enabling collaboration between city governments, civil society, and urban poor communities to translate global climate priorities into equitable, locally grounded Climate Action Plans responsive to vulnerable populations.
OVERVIEW:
This scoping report examines gender-responsive climate action and SDG localization in Raigad through participatory, evidence-based research, including a Conference of Panchayats that enabled local governance dialogue and validation. Led by TISS and supported by UTIF, with SCAC Maharashtra, Waatavaran, Asar, and PDAG, it advances locally grounded, policy-relevant climate action insights.
OVERVIEW:
A Book of Abstracts from ARCS 10.0, the Annual Research on Cities Summit hosted by XIM University’s School of Human Settlements in Bhubaneswar (February 2026). UTIF supported the conference through knowledge product development, and nomination of distinguished speakers, strengthening its academic quality and global engagement across 25 research presentations on urban governance and resilience.
OVERVIEW:
A peer-reviewed paper published at CHI 2026, produced under Dr. Nusrat Jahan Mim’s project Urban Heritage and Social Sustainability: Empowering Kolkata’s Idol-Makers through Generative Artificial Intelligence, supported by UTIF’s Research Catalyst Grant 2025-2026. Drawing on a four-month ethnography in Kumartuli, Kolkata, the study examines how idol-maker communities bring sacred forms into being through devotional craft, challenging secular assumptions in Human-Computer Interaction research.
OVERVIEW:
A peer-reviewed paper published at ICLS 2025, produced under Research Catalyst Grantee Dr. Jim Slotta’s Critical Action Learning Lab (CALL): Facilitating Students’ Critical Action on Urban Problems, supported by UTIF’s Research Catalyst Grant 2024-25. The study examines a Participatory Action Research curriculum co-designed by teachers at a K-12 school in Bengaluru, India, addressing plastic waste through community-engaged learning.
OVERVIEW:
A peer-reviewed paper published at CSCL 2024, produced under Research Catalyst Grantee Dr. Jim Slotta’s Critical Action Learning Lab (CALL): Facilitating Students’ Critical Action on Urban Problems, supported by UTIF’s Research Catalyst Grant 2024-2025. The study reports on the co-design of a culturally relevant school makerspace in Bengaluru, India, integrating computational thinking with critical action pedagogy.
OVERVIEW:
A peer-reviewed paper published at ICLS 2024, produced under Research Catalyst Grantee Dr. Jim Slotta’s Critical Action Learning Lab (CALL): Facilitating Students’ Critical Action on Urban Problems, supported by UTIF’s Research Catalyst Grants 2024-2025. The study documents outcomes of an international design workshop where 39 educators across 14 countries developed curricula addressing pressing socio-environmental issues.
OVERVIEW:
The Progress Report 2023-25 captures its two years of co-creating research & entrepreneurship partnerships, innovation, and measurable impact. Showcasing collaborative efforts across India, it highlights how academia, industry, and communities are advancing climate resilience through climate-tech innovations, strengthening sustainable urban infrastructure, and driving data-led approaches for inclusive, resilient urban transitions.
OVERVIEW:
The AI and the City conference provided a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue and knowledge exchange on the transformative role of AI in urban contexts. Co-organized by UTIF, School of Cities India at the University of Toronto and the IIIT Bangalore. This conference explored the intersection of AI and urban dynamics, how AI can be leveraged, while critiquing its possible uses and impacts.
OVERVIEW:
The Flyover Guide developed by a team of senior undergraduate students from U of T and Ashoka University under IMUCP, alongside our community partner, RannNiti; to support communities looking to revitalize underused spaces under flyovers.
OVERVIEW:
Voices from the Food Frontlines shares global stories of resilience and innovation in food systems. A public scholarship project, produced by the Feeding City Lab at the University of Toronto, this podcast spotlights grassroots action, community research, and sustainable transitions; from urban gardens to emergency food supports, building just and regenerative foodways for the future.
OVERVIEW:
A resource guidebook developed by a team of senior undergraduate students from U of T and Ashoka University under IMUCP Program for the transgender community, offering a user-friendly platform with direct links to government and NGO schemes and to address the gaps in support and the challenges faced by Pune’s transgender community.
OVERVIEW:
The session explored strategies for effective data-driven storytelling and visualization, with Dr. Karan Singh guiding participants on audience-specific storytelling, aesthetic data presentation, and practical applications for their research.
OVERVIEW:
The session explored the role of visual design in communication, highlighting the interaction between graphics and AI while emphasizing that impactful storytelling requires both technical skills and creative thinking.
OVERVIEW:
The CRUSH Workshop by UofT India Foundation in collaboration with University of Toronto School of Cities and IIT Delhi in July 2024, convened researchers, urban planners, and policymakers to discuss climate-resilient housing for strengthening communities in climate-vulnerable regions.
OVERVIEW:
Project Guidebook by IMUCP 2024-25 student team on SWaCH’s waste trail, serving as a case study for scaling its model along with raising awareness of waste pickers’ work to support SWaCH’s financial sustainability.
OVERVIEW:
Final Report by U of T students where they collaborated with Tata Trusts and GSVS for Disease of the Stone Project to develop low-cost, reusable PPE solutions for Rajasthan’s miners suffering from silicosis, while also creating educational materials to promote its adoption and awareness in affected communities.
OVERVIEW:
Project Guide for IMUCP 2023-2024 which aims to help the Pune Municipal Corporation to gauge sentiment analysis regarding their projects by designing an internet archive platform model for internal PMC staff and for Pune citizens to become active agents in the urban governance process.
Articles
OVERVIEW:
Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada visited Mumbai for the launch of the Canada–India Talent and Innovation Strategy, engaging with university leaders, policymakers, and entrepreneurs to strengthen the Indo-Canadian innovation and skills corridor. He interacted with founders at the cleantech startup showcase by UTIF, highlighting the role of universities in advancing cross-border research and innovation partnerships.
OVERVIEW:
Written by Fathima Sulthana, a fellow of the Summer Workshop on Urban Mixed Methods, this piece captures her first-hand experience of the collaboration between UTIF and the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, highlighting interdisciplinary learning, applied fieldwork, and cross-cultural academic exchange in Toronto.
OVERVIEW:
UTIF in collaboration with its partners aims to embed gender justice, indigenous knowledge, and grassroots leadership into climate governance, setting a replicable model for districts across Maharastra and beyond.
OVERVIEW:
A collaboration between TISS, the MHSCAC, Asar Social Impact Advisors, Waatavaran Foundation, PDAG and UTIF, launched a first-of-its-kind community-led and gender-responsive district climate action planning initiative in Raigad district in Maharashtra.
OVERVIEW:
As part of the Techtonic program by the University of Toronto India Foundation, Social Alpha, KDISC, and KILA, the Thiruvananthapuram city corporation will distribute 15 electric tricycles to Haritha Karma Sena members. The initiative aims to enhance waste management and improve service delivery for 1,170 workers across 100 wards.
OVERVIEW:
IIIT-B hosted a conference on AI in urban planning and sustainability in collaboration with the University of Toronto and UTIF. Experts from 22 institutions discussed AI’s role in urban mobility, ecological issues, and cybersecurity. The event saw participation from global universities and industry players, focusing on AI solutions for high-growth cities like Bengaluru.
OVERVIEW:
IIITB, UofT India Foundation and the University of Toronto jointly hosted a conference to explore the role of AI-powered public-private partnerships in addressing key urban governance challenges such as wate disposal, and climate adaptation.
OVERVIEW:
Launched in 2024 by the UofT India Foundation and Social Alpha, Techtonic – Innovations in Sustainable Urban Transition is a challenge-driven initiative addressing critical urban issues in India. The program empowers entrepreneurs and innovators with all required resources, from grant funding for pilot deployments, technical mentorship, capacity-building workshops to scale innovations, and access to market for pilot deployment and validation with urban local bodies.
OVERVIEW:
In a bid to develop critical social consciousness as part of their Urban Studies programme, the undergraduate students of U of T accompanied workers of SWaCH, to analyse various social dynamics in Pune.
OVERVIEW:
Launched in February 2023 with Tata Trusts, the University of Toronto Centre in India brings together U of T’s School of Cities and Indian partners to advance research, public engagement, and municipal training on urban issues like climate, health, and governance.
Get in touch with us
If you’re interested in collaborating with us, or just want to learn more about us, drop us a ‘hey’ and we’ll get back to you!
- Ministry of New, Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400001, IN
- contactus@uoftindiafoundation.com