Indumathi Arunan: A sustainability researcher on entering the field

Indumathi grew up in Bangalore, India, and has recently returned home after completing a Master of Environment at the University of Melbourne. 

It was observing her local environment that initially inspired Indumathi to go into sustainability.

“I have been passionate about the environment and sustainability from a young age,” Indumathi shares. “When I was younger, it started with my noticing the poor waste management in my city, with heaps of garbage around the streets, as well as constant water scarcity around cities in India. 

“I always had the feeling of, “I want to grow up and fix this because it isn't right”.”

“Over the course of my university education, my passion has solidified further, as I realized the urgency of the issue for our health and wellbeing, as well as for a just and equitable world,” Indumathi shares.

Indumathi urges anyone working in the sustainability space to place more emphasis on the intersectionality of the field. 

What we are doing in the science community is so very important. But I want to share the important message that all our work MUST be intersectional. The science community often does not factor in social factors in their research and I think that is very important.

The master’s experience 

Having received offers from a number of international master’s programs across the US and Europe, Indumathi chose to go with the University of Melbourne’s Master of Environment because of the flexibility it offered in terms of subject choices. 

“I did the tailored specialization, focusing broadly on Urban Sustainability, and chose subjects from the fields of environmental governance and policy, economics, engineering, and management, including an internship and research project,” Indumathi shares. 

Gaining experience through internships while studying was a highlight of the degree.

“I absolutely loved all my internship experiences,” Indumathi shares. “During my master’s, I interned at Indian Institute for Human Settlements in Bangalore during a semester break, as well as in the Climate Resilience Team of City of Melbourne as part of an internship subject. 

“Both experiences were very valuable, as I could see how what I was learning at Uni was being implemented in ‘real life’. Especially with my City of Melbourne internship, I got to see firsthand how governance can be a powerful tool to achieve sustainability outcomes. 

“I got to see how government and non-governmental organisations function in the sustainability field, and it helped me choose what avenue I wanted to work in after graduating.”

Working and studying in both Australia and India has given Indumathi another layer of perspective and connectivity in the sustainability field. 

Meeting people from all over the world was a very big plus point for me, since my environmental network has become global now, which might come in handy in the future.

“By working and studying both in India and Australia I got to see how different countries handle environment-related issues, in terms of the level of development, governance styles and cultures. 

“By staying in Australia, I got to observe how the city functions and noted many aspects that could be applied to the Indian setting, such as bike lanes, waste management, green infrastructure, and public participation.” 

Practical experiences were another highlight of Indumathi’s studies. 

“I loved the field visits we went on for various subjects, like the landfill visit in solid wastes class, the developing suburb visits in urban sustainability class, and the eco-village visit in the consumerism class. 

“I also very much enjoyed being part of the Postgraduate Environment Network (PEN) group and going on camps with them every semester.” 

Starting out in the field 

“After graduating from the MEnv, I took some time off to settle back home, after which I interned at IORA Ecological solutions (an environmental consulting firm based in Delhi, India) from August to November 2020,” Indumathi shares. 

“I worked mainly on two projects during my internship - USAID's Forest PLUS 2.0 and UNDP's SECURE Himalayas. Both projects involved conducting assessments of the socio-ecological landscapes in regions around India and providing sustainable interventions. 

Indumathi has also been working on publishing her master’s research on greenhouse gas emissions from online food delivery services, and has just received notice that it will be published in the Journal of Resources, Conservation and Recycling.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was a challenging year for recent graduates. But Indumathi was confident that she’ll could make a difference in the field and shares advice for others in a similar position:

I used this time to be very mindful of what my vision and mission are in this field and work towards that.

“What has helped me deal with my imposter syndrome is realizing I have enough skills and experience from my degree to do these jobs, as well as pick [up] any new skills that I require,” Indumathi shares. “And most organizations and companies know where students are at in terms of knowledge and skills, so they have generally been accommodating and helpful to recent graduates.

“What has helped is talking with a lot of professionals who work in different fields. As soon as I returned to India, I met up with a lot of people in different sectors and asked for their experiences.” 

Indumathi has one final piece of advice for her peers, which strongly aligns to her own attitude towards making an impact through her work in the sustainability sector: 

Go where you can have the most impact over making money if you can. The world needs so much help at the moment, and every person counts.

Since speaking with Indumathi, she has secured a job as a Research Fellow - Climate,  at the Centre for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC). CCDC is a not-for-profit based in New Delhi and is a strategic partner of the international NGO Health Care Without Harm.

Her main area of work is on transitioning the Indian health sector, both public and private,  into green and climate-resilient health care.

Connect with Indumathi on LinkedIn , and be sure to join the Science Alumni group to keep up to date with news and events.