Welcome to geography in the 21st century! Explore a world of ideas!
The Institute of Geographical Studies (TIGS) started originally as The Indian Institute of Geographical Studies and was formally registered in 2015. With TIGS,
students engage in interactive learning to see connections between geography and their own lives. For example, they learn about:
1) Earth (latitudes, longitudes, processes such as earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, climate change, volcanoes, etc.),
2) How human beings and Earth interact (pollution, building cities, transportation changes), and
3) How populations organize themselves on earth (ie. how human settlements are arranged on Earth, how people migrate, how our populations change etc.).
4) How geography connects with current events that affect all our lives — international relations, extreme natural events (“natural disasters”), environmental issues, innovative solutions to problems that require geographical thinking and analytical skills, and social and environmental justice issues.
Teachers learn about the nature of geography as a discipline, why it is important for students to receive a good geography education, and how to teach it interestingly. They learn how to make geography learning an exciting life-long experience of understanding and skills.
Parents learn about how they can enjoy geography with their kids in even simple activities, how to help their children learn geographical skills (e.g., orientation, giving and receiving directions, reading maps and atlases). Parents learn, and are encouraged, to have
geographical conversations with their children. Vision for the future of GeoVidyaa Geography Centers [GVGCs]:
Our hope is to set up in many locations around the country, each locally run and serving its region.The result would be a network of GVGCs pooling talents and resources with TIGS and partner organizations helping
with larger tasks (e.g., large-size resource development). We are endeavoring to raise funds that will empower each GVGC to become self-sufficient within about three years. You can get involved in may ways with this,
apart from
making donations in cash/kind. If you would like to discuss your support for our work, please contact us.
Trustees
Kiran Subbaraman
(Managing Trustee)
I am a software engineer, building products that make a positive difference for people. I have always been interested in geography because it connects people and their environment.
I am a TIGS Trustee because of this interest, and because of TIGS’ focus on making geography education more approachable and applicable to everyone.
I act primarily as a sounding-board in discussions related to directions that TIGS intends to take.
Mallikarjun Javail
(Trustee)
I am an Information Technology professional.
I am passionate about using geography to better understand the world around us.
My association with TIGS started with introducing OpenStreetMap to students. I am exploring geographical connections of various plants in the colonial era and developments in the field of botany and botanical illustrations.
T K Ramkumar
(Trustee)
I am a mechanical engineer. I’ve worked in several engineering organisations in consulting, software, and test and measurement.
Dr Balachandran’s paper linking geography and the travels of a Carnatic music composer, and Harm de Blij’s books kindled my continuing interest in geography and its importance.
Geography is important to organisations, especially educational, I consult with. I realised by being a Trustee for TIGS, I could enable the connection.
Academic
Muthatha Ramanathan
(Research Associate)
I am a human geographer by training with a Ph.D from University of Washington, Seattle.
I have specialised in Political Ecology, Development Geography and Critical GIS and taught at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bengaluru.
I have been part of TIGS since 2014. I help with conceptualising the annual IGYS conference and I conduct workshops therein.
Sunil Ganu
(Communications Associate)
For 38 years, I have been professionally active in language teaching (English and French) at all levels of university education. I hold Master’s degrees from the U.S. in both languages.
My special interest is the customized teaching of languages for specialized domains.
For TIGS, I have held communication workshops to facilitate communication in the Geographical space. I am a regular at the annual IGYS conference.
Chandra Shekhar Balachandran
(Founder, Director)
I am a Bengaluru native. I earned my PhD in Geography at Kent State University, Ohio. After teaching in the US for about 20 years, I returned to India in 2000 and I started TIGS to help deliver more relevant and engaging geography education.
Through TIGS, I have worked to offer non-formal geography education in different formats primarily for school children, and for anyone else interested. (Here is my CV)
IT Team
Sivashankar Gurumurthy
(Webmaster)
(Biographical information forthcoming)
Kanishk Gokul
My name is Kanishk. I am an 18-year old homeschooler living in Chennai.
I joined The Institute of Geography Studies (TIGS) as a student in the Geography.over.Distance (G.o.D) program in 2015.
After my first experience at the International Geography Youth Summit (IGYS), I started to volunteer at TIGS. Computers being my field of passion, I volunteered to be on the IT Team.
Pranav Shankar
(Biographical information forthcoming)
Anirdesh Y S
(Biographical information forthcoming)
Ramachandra
(Biographical information forthcoming)