Infrastructure connects people to opportunities, promotes economic growth and improves quality of life. It also provides a pathway for countries to integrate their climate agenda by investing in projects that reduce carbon footprints. According to World Economic Forum’s (2020) Global Future Council on Infrastructure, leaders in the public and private sector are becoming ever more aware of the importance of building a more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable world. But this world cannot be built without the corresponding sustainable infrastructure. There is a need to identify the pressing issues, closing the growth loops and designing new pathways is essential to ensure a sustainable and equitable future for all.

In the context of pressing national development goals and challenges, global focus on climate change, mainstreaming of sustainable development goals (SDGs) with national policies and programmes, policy makers around the world are grappling with the need for more resources to steer the global economy on to a more sustainable long-term development path. Globally, countries are also embracing the emergence of digital ecosystems and green finance to support the development process. The emerging trends in the world of infrastructure are that of sustainable, equitable, digital, and green finance.

Ensuring sustainability in infrastructure development is challenging due to the competing demands of economic growth and environmental issues expectations. Actions to mitigate and adapt to the new realities are required to be taken across infrastructure sectors, including energy systems, transport, urban and real estate development, digital strategies and financing and policy ecosystems for development.  

The direct and indirect actions for sustainability are being implemented by the governments, private sector and public sectors in transitioning to new scales of infrastructure, energy, transportation and ecosystem of economic development. New industrialisation model embraces the understanding of circular economy applications to deliver lasting methods of innovations and sustainable solutions. Amidst these developments, we are also challenged with the inclusive development in society. Decision makers often are compelled to prioritize projects with short-term returns, making it challenging to allocate resources to initiatives that may not be commercially lucrative but are crucial for addressing social disparities. Market actors need better solutions through research and experiments. 

In this digital era, as infrastructure becomes increasingly interconnected and reliant on digital systems, the risk of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure has increased. The complexity and interconnectivity of technologies demands thorough risk assessments to mitigate potential failures and disruptions. Continuous technological advancements present both opportunities and challenges for policy makers, companies and research organisations compelling them to develop new frameworks and models of applications.

While there is growing momentum on all development fronts, the development is being financed by the financing landscape which is coming through several channels and instruments like responsible financing, green financing, sustainable financing and direct methods of project financing. There is still a requirement of standardized metrics and clear definitions for ‘green’ projects helping investors to assess the environmental impact accurately. Green financing often requires higher upfront costs and longer payback periods, deterring potential investors and project developers. The challenges in the domain increase the longevity of the solution to the financing institutions.

As we navigate to higher growth, new models of development and relatively uncertain path to walk, the convergence of sustainability, technology, equity, and green financing is likely to reshape the landscape of infrastructure development, fostering inclusive and environmentally conscious economic growth.

AIM OF THE CONFERENCE

Against the aforementioned backdrop, the conference aims to delve into the issues surrounding the complex interplay in economic growth, environmental challenges, and social equity for ensuring that infrastructure development shapes the national and global sustainability agenda 2030. ICIDS provides platform to discuss pursuits of infrastructure development that is sustainable, technologically advanced, equitable, and financed through green initiatives.

PARTICIPATION  

Conference invites academicians, industry professionals, policy makers, research scholars, students, and other stakeholders.

TECHNICAL TRACKS

T01 - Energy transition and zero carbon agenda: 

Energy infrastructure, green energy: solar, nuclear, wind, etc., waste management and recycling, climate summits and new age energy policy, future of energy, environment friendly and sustainable mining. 

T02 - Emerging trends in transportation and mobility:

Road, rail, maritime, aviation, urban transport, multi-modal logistics, supply chain, intelligent transport systems, interconnected transport networks, mobility-as-a-service, electric and green hydrogen mobility. 

T03 - Green Finance for new-age sustainable infrastructure:

Green bonds, green borrowing, public finance, private finance, public-private partnership, project finance, risk management, asset monetization

T04 - Sustainable cities and urban infrastructure:

Smart solutions for cities and urban infrastructure, green buildings, climate responsive and resilience in design and construction, nature-based solutions for cities, inclusive urban development  

T05 - Realigning workforce and Diversity, equity, inclusion:

Upskilling & reskilling the workforce, tapping into the hidden workforce, HR driving climate change adaption, AI-empowered workforce evolution, and shift from talent acquisition to talent access, DEIB approach agenda and organisations.  

T06 - Digital infrastructure on energy-environmental efficiency:

Digital infrastructure and digital technology application in enterprise research and development, design, manufacturing, market operation and management, optimizing energy utilization technology and production process, automation innovations and management, energy utilization efficiency and reduction of energy consumption.

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION

• Extended abstracts of original research papers, case studies, or practice papers are invited on any of the sub-themes of the conference. The abstract should be a minimum of 1500 words.
• Authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to submit full papers.  
• All abstracts and papers will undergo a blind review process. 
• Refrain from submitting papers that are significantly similar to a work already published or under review for a conference or journal.
• Download the template from the conference website and submit your manuscript accordingly. 

PUBLICATION

• Abstracts of presented papers will be published in a conference proceeding.
• Selected full papers, as recommended by the review committee through a blind peer review process, will be published in either a book or special journal issue. The book from the first conference was published by Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group) and is Scopus indexed.

BEST PAPER AWARDS  

Recommended papers by the Award Review Committee will have opportunity to win following category awards

• ICIDS 2024 Best research paper awards   
• ICIDS 2024 Promising Scholar Award  
• ICIDS 2024 Honorary Fellow President’s Award

IMPORTANT DATES

VENUE

The conference will be held at Adani University, Ahmedabad (India)

CONTACT

All questions about submissions should be emailed to icids@adaniuni.ac.in