The former president of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam, has been visiting UCF for a series of lectures, which will conclude Tuesday, Oct. 2.
Kalam will speak at 10 a.m. in the Pegasus Ballroom of the Student Union. His topic will be “Sustainable Development for 3 Billion.”
The India Center at UCF, whose creation was announced earlier this year, is hosting the visiting dignitary, along with the UCF Global Perspectives Office.
In addition to holding elective office, Kalam is a professor of aerospace engineering. He played a significant role in his country’s nuclear research and development program, and is sometimes popularly referred to as the “Missile Man of India.”
He has authored multiple books, and is the subject of as many biographies and even a movie. Living up to another moniker, the “People’s President,” Kalam engaged India’s youth last year in the “What I Can Give” movement, which aims to address the problem of corruption.
While visiting at UCF, Kalam also spoke about “Energy Independence and Carbon Neutral Nations” and “World without war, is it possible? World Vision 2030.”
Kalam has been meeting with faculty, student and community groups throughout his stay.
In addition to The India Center and the Global Perspectives Office, sponsors and partners include The India Group, Anil and Chitra Deshpande India Program Endowed Fund, UCF Diplomacy Program, UCF Student Government Association, UCF International Services Center, UCF Political Science Department, UCF History Department, UCF LIFE, UCF Book Festival 2013 in association with the Morgridge International Reading Center and the Global Connections Foundation.