05 April 2018
2012 YSSPer Ali Kharrazi
"In recent years, in addition to research, I have increasingly pursued educational and capacity building efforts for developing the next generation of sustainability researchers and practitioners. Towards this end, I designed and led a two-week study abroad program in March 2018 for my students at The University of Tokyo focusing on sustainable policy and practice in Vienna. This program was in collaboration with lecturers at Vienna University of Technology (TU-Wien) and Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) and included lectures on sustainable architecture, waste management, and economic history of sustainable development. In addition, the program included visits to and lectures at leading institutions in Vienna focusing on sustainable development such as the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). At IIASA, students became more familiar with global governance, science diplomacy, and participated in a two-day workshop led by the Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) group titled “How can advanced mathematical modeling tools be useful to address sustainability challenges?”
Our two-day workshop at IIASA was the most important component of the two-week program. At IIASA students learned more about policy challenges relating to sustainable development through real case studies and were familiarized with the skills and mindset needed to conduct systems analysis and aid evidence-based policymaking. Informing public policy on sustainable development through systems thinking approaches is one of the main strengths of IIASA. As a graduate of 2012 YSSP program, these approaches continually influence my research and therefore, I also wanted my students at The University of Tokyo to be inspired to apply these approaches in their future studies and careers. Overall, the two-day IIASA workshop was a great success and students developed new capabilities for systems thinking and were motivated to contribute more of their studies and careers towards sustainable development."
Ali with his students and IIASA colleagues from the ASA program.
About Ali Kharrazi
Ali Kharrazi’s main interest concerns sustainability challenges of coupled economic-environmental systems and the development of models and metrics that can evaluate the resiliency of these systems to guide policy and decision making. As a guest research scholar at IIASA, he is examining the resilience of water, energy, and economic systems and their vulnerability to shocks and disturbances.
Dr. Kharrazi completed his undergraduate studies in Economics and Mathematics at the City University of New York and earned a Master's degree at the London School of Economics in Information Systems. He holds a PhD in Sustainability Science from The University of Tokyo. His twitter account is: @arikaraji
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