• Could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us about your role in the development of the First Mauritius Atlas of Terrestrial Ecosystems?
  • I was born in Mauritius in 1985 and pursued engineering studies in Australia, then a Masters in Sustainability Leadership in Sweden. I’ve returned to Mauritius in 2011 where I’ve had various professional roles. The First Mauritius Atlas of Terrestrial Ecosystems is an outcome of my PhD research at UDM, which I started in 2022.
• What inspired you to work on the Atlas, and why was it important to develop such a comprehensive mapping of Mauritius’ terrestrial ecosystems?
  • The idea of an Atlas came about as I worked on natural capital accounting. Following the UN statistical standard, this led me to use various types of geospatial data and to produce various maps. Since maps are a form of information that people comprehend relatively easily, we thought an Atlas would be a great way to disseminate results.
• The Atlas provides the first spatialised accounts of ecosystem extent and condition for Mauritius. Could you explain what this means in simple terms for the general public?
  • “Extent” means the surface area occupied by different ecosystems on the island. There are different categories, for example forest ecosystems, agricultural ecosystems, and even urban ecosystems. These are broken down into sub-categories in terms of their altitude or terrain type (like steep slopes, mountains, ravines, etc.) and climatic characteristics (like dry and humid regions).
  • “Condition” describes their “quality”, or the state they are in compared to a reference state, usually an undisturbed, natural state. This is represented on a scale of zero to 1, where 1 is the natural state. To illustrate where we were in 2020: the best-preserved district (Savanne) only had a score of 0.42 out of 1. The lowest-scoring was Riviere du Rempart (0.24 out of 1).
• What was the most challenging aspect of developing the Atlas, and how did you overcome it?
  • The most challenging was executing the ecosystem accounting and mapping itself, as I had never worked with GIS (geographical information systems) before. There were data gaps to fill, other data to obtain and process in a meticulous way, and even if there is a UN standard to follow, it doesn’t give you a step-by-step guide for GIS operations. The learning curve was very steep: it took me 1 year to produce landcover maps, and at first, I computed condition indicators by watersheds as ecological units – this was wrong because a watershed can contain different ecosystems. I had to go back to the literature and find the right way to identify ecosystems, compute the condition indicators, and finally the aggregated condition scores in a map format. I made many mistakes along the way but managed to resolve them by testing different operations, re-checking and refining the process, until everything was coherent and aligned with the standard. In the end there is no secret, it’s all about putting the hours (days, months, years) into it.
• How can the Atlas support the Government, planners, landowners and other stakeholders in making informed decisions about land use, conservation and ecosystem restoration?
  • Mauritius is party to the Rio Conventions, meaning the UN conventions on climate change (UNFCCC), biodiversity (CBD), and to combat desertification or in our case, the loss of productive land (UNCCD). Mauritius is also committed to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include targets aligned with the Rio Conventions. The Atlas provides information that is pertinent to all of those: natural ecosystems store more carbon and protect communities from climate-related risks such as flooding; they are habitats for our unique biodiversity, and healthy landscapes support agricultural production and food security.
  • The Atlas gives an overview of the state of nature on our island. It shows where the different types of ecosystems are, where they are, and what state they are in at different scales: the map pixel (10m resolution), the district, and the municipal and village council area. This can help to guide land use decisions – to avoid degrading ecosystems in good condition, or to preserve the healthiest agricultural lands. It can also guide resource allocation – to channel restoration efforts to degraded areas. This kind of prioritization is not possible without such a comprehensive assessment.
  • In this context, we can also explore how ecosystem information can support compensation mechanisms: if land conversions degrade ecosystems in a given site, restoration of another site can be made mandatory. This is the principle of the new Biodiversity Net Gain regulation in the UK, a legal framework that mobilizes key stakeholders around the concept of “Nature Positive” development.
• From a research perspective, what makes the Atlas particularly significant for Mauritius and potentially for other island states?
  • Our island has been actively transformed since colonization and is in a state where we should (and can) begin to restore its ecosystems, in accordance with international commitments and for our own benefit. The Atlas, and additional ecosystem accounting results, is a decision-support tool towards this objective. What is particularly interesting is that we can use the data as a baseline for different land use scenarios and explore how these would impact ecosystems in the future, both in terms of extent and condition, but also in terms of ecosystem services. This would allow us to test interventions and potentially estimate their costs and benefits, both financially and for the economy in a broader sense.
• What has this project taught you personally as a PhD student and researcher?
  • It taught me many things, and I don’t think I can relate all of them here. Perhaps most strikingly, there are incredible tools, data, and methods out there that allow us to evaluate things we couldn’t (or didn’t know how to) quantify before. It’s just a matter of putting in the effort and building the capacity to use them. Then, insights must find a way into the mainstream knowledge base. Many studies are valuable but haven’t been disseminated enough to generate real impact. They “stay in a drawer”, as the saying goes. The information must make its way into public and private governance mechanisms.
• What are the next steps for this research?
  • There are many avenues and tangents we can explore. For instance, compensation mechanisms as mentioned above. I also started working on the correlation between ecosystem condition and flood risk, which is relevant to Nature-based Solutions and the insurance industry. We can also enrich the Atlas with additional indicators, like the distribution of plant and animal species.
• Finally, what message would you like to share with students and young researchers who are interested in biodiversity, environmental science and climate-related research?
  • In this work, it’s important to have a specialty that keeps us driven, yet for it to be impactful, we must also learn (at least some of) the language from different fields (ecology, finance, policy) to make our contribution relevant across disciplines.

 

Comment vivez-vous cette nouvelle prise de fonction ?

C’est la troisième fois que j’assume cette responsabilité. Si la fonction m’est désormais familière, le contexte dans lequel je l’exerce est, quant à lui, particulièrement nouveau et stimulant.

L’internationalisation de l’enseignement supérieur est appelée à jouer un rôle de plus en plus important dans le développement de l’économie mauricienne. Notre département est déjà pleinement engagé dans cette dynamique, avec une population étudiante majoritairement internationale, notamment en provenance de Madagascar, du Congo, du Togo, du Gabon, du Cameroun, du Rwanda et des Comores. Nous proposons une formation qui s’inscrit pleinement dans l’espace académique francophone.

Notre Licence bénéficie également d’une reconnaissance particulière puisqu’il s’agit d’une licence nationale française, délivrée en collaboration avec notre partenaire historique, l’Université de Limoges.

Je connais donc bien les responsabilités liées à cette fonction, mais le contexte actuel ouvre de nouvelles perspectives. C’est précisément ce qui rend cette mission particulièrement stimulante. Notre ambition est de renforcer l’attractivité du département et de contribuer à attirer les meilleurs talents du continent africain. Au regard des différentes initiatives engagées par le Ministère, je demeure très optimiste quant aux perspectives de développement et de rayonnement de notre département.

 

 

Quelle est votre vision pour le département dans les deux à trois prochaines années ?

Notre vision repose sur quatre priorités majeures.

• La refonte du programme de Licence en Informatique Appliquée, en étroite collaboration avec nos collègues de l’Université de Limoges, afin de l’adapter aux évolutions du secteur et aux besoins émergents.
• Le développement d’une Licence en Robotique, en collaboration avec nos collègues de la Faculté d’Ingénierie, afin de renforcer notre offre de formation dans un domaine technologique en pleine expansion.
• La révision du Master en Intelligence Artificielle et Robotique, dans une perspective d’actualisation et de renforcement de son positionnement académique.
• La relance du projet de Master en Cybersécurité, actuellement en attente, en concertation avec nos partenaires de l’écosystème universitaire francophone.

Ces différentes initiatives devraient nous permettre de consolider notre offre de formation, tout en répondant davantage aux évolutions technologiques et aux besoins du marché.

 

 

Comment comptez-vous encourager la recherche et la publication au sein du département ?

En matière de recherche, il me semble essentiel d’adopter une approche qui dépasse les frontières des départements et des facultés. Les enjeux actuels sont de plus en plus complexes et nécessitent une collaboration interdisciplinaire ainsi qu’une mise en commun des expertises.

Dans cette perspective, nous échangeons actuellement avec nos collègues afin de mettre en place un programme de recherche structuré, fédérant plusieurs projets et susceptible de mobiliser des financements externes, notamment auprès d’institutions privées, d’ONG et d’universités partenaires.

L’objectif est de créer une véritable dynamique de recherche autour de projets ancrés dans les réalités et les enjeux de notre territoire. Nous souhaitons ainsi favoriser la production de travaux de qualité, encourager les publications scientifiques et, surtout, contribuer à des recherches susceptibles d’avoir un impact concret sur la société.

Cette dynamique devrait également contribuer à renforcer la visibilité scientifique et l’attractivité de l’Université.

 

 

Quelles opportunités voyez-vous en matière de collaboration avec l’industrie et d’autres institutions ?

Notre formation entretient déjà une relation étroite avec le monde professionnel, notamment à travers les stages obligatoires prévus en deuxième et troisième année. Par ailleurs, la présence, au sein du Faculty Board, de professionnels et de personnalités reconnues du secteur technologique constitue un atout important pour renforcer ces liens avec l’industrie.

Je pense toutefois que notre ambition doit aller au-delà de la seule préparation des étudiants à leur future insertion professionnelle. Notre responsabilité est également de leur donner les outils nécessaires pour évoluer dans un environnement technologique en constante transformation.

Il est donc essentiel de développer chez nos étudiants non seulement des compétences professionnelles solides, mais également une culture de la recherche, de l’innovation et de l’interdisciplinarité. Nous devons les préparer à être capables d’anticiper les évolutions, de s’adapter aux transformations du monde du travail et, pourquoi pas, de contribuer eux-mêmes à façonner les technologies de demain.

C’est cette approche globale qui permettra à nos diplômés d’aborder leur avenir professionnel avec davantage de confiance et de sérénité.

Congratulations to Dr. Keshav Bhuckory, a member of the non-academic staff at UdM, who has just earned his PhD in Geotechnical Engineering, a specialisation within Civil Engineering. His achievement is a testament to perseverance, passion, and the pursuit of knowledge. We are proud to see our staff members reaching new academic heights and inspiring others to aim higher.

 

1. What was the focus of your PhD research?

My PhD. is in the field of Geotechnical Engineering, which a specialisation of Civil Engineering and pertains to the behaviour of earth materials (soils and rocks), using the principles of soil mechanics to solve problems and enhance base constructions, soil excavations and also prevent disasters such as landslides among others. My thesis focussed on the sustainable stabilisation of soils to prevent landslides.

 

2. What inspired you to pursue a PhD in Geotechnical Engineering?

Following my first 2 diplomas, my undergraduate degree, my masters degree, and getting chartered, I have always worked in the industry involved with excavation, base construction and landslide prevention. I have worked for the Japan International Coorperation Agency (JICA) under the outsourcing company Kokusai Kogyo Co. Ltd. as the Project Coordinator for Landlside Prevention in Mauritius under a bi-lateral agreement between the Government of Mauritius and the Government of Japan. During this time I had the opportunity to work wiith Japanese Doctors, who are world-leading experts in Geotechnical Engineering and have further pushed me towards this field which is in high demand in the world.

 

3. What was the most challenging part of your PhD studies?

The  most challenging part of my studies was keeping my productivity up in terms of sample collection and laboratory experiments during the COVID-19 pandemic lock-down. Some equipment were not available at the university and I had to look for external laboratories. I also had to find the funding for buying some of the equipment. I had to import equipment from China, but most ports from China were closed during the pandemic, causing me delay in my research. Moreover, I had to learn new skills in the field of electronics to modify the apparatus coming from China since they use different electric frequencies as compared to Mauritius. Fortunately, I was the first student of the Université des Mascareignes to secure a full scholarship from the Higher Education Commission of Mauritius (HEC), which allowed me to be financially worry-free.

 

4. How does your work contribute to solving real-world civil engineering problems

As my thesis focusses on the sustainable stabilisation of soils to prevent landslides, I have developped new techniques of stabilising landslide-prone areas, using by-products such-as bitumen and waste products such as crushed glass in an attempt to save lives and property, while reducing the burden of landfill disposal. This new method proved to be 14.3 times more efficient than some traditional stabilisation methods. This makes it a fully sustainable solution to lanslide prevention in terms of financial, social and environmental impact and in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.

 

5. What are your next steps after earning your PhD?

Since there are many materials that have yet to be researched in the field of Geotechnical Engineering, I intend to do more academic research concerning the same. I also wish to help the Government and private sector in terms of consultancy in Geotechnical Engineering, given the scarcity of qualified resource person in this field.

 

6. What advice would you give to students considering a PhD in civil or geotechnical engineering?

A PhD is a great journey with many ups and downs. My advice to aspiring doctorate students is to never give up. It is not necessary to complete the PhD in the shortest time possible. A PhD, especially in the Engineering sector, varies in complexity. It is better to take some more time, but do the research well and excel in that field of study.

 

Ritrik Ramma is currently pursuing his studies at ENSIL-ENSCI in Limoges. He shares with us his thoughts on the course, his experience as a student, and life in Limoges.

Can you tell us about the program you are pursuing in Limoges?
The program I’m pursuing is Electronics and Telecommunications. In my first year at ENSIL-ENSCI, I studied a lot of analog electronics, digital electronics, electronic board engineering, microwaves, computer science, and signal processing. We also had some common core subjects which gave me insight into other fields of engineering. I find that very interesting—it’s general knowledge that is useful to have when you become an engineer.

How different is the education system in France compared to Mauritius?
The main difference is that in Mauritius, we follow a British-based system. On a personal level, I find the level here higher, the courses and lectures are faster-paced, and you need to be very attentive. There is also a lot of practical work, which is great because it gives you hands-on experience.

What are some key skills or knowledge you’ve gained so far?
As I mentioned, there is a lot of practical work. From programming microprocessors and PLCs to mastering software like MATLAB, LabVIEW, and ADS (for microwave circuits), and even Excel, I’ve had the chance to learn new things and improve on what I already knew.

How do you see this academic experience contributing to your future career?

Having the “titre d’ingénieur” will be a great asset for my career—it will allow me to aim higher. I’m learning a lot, especially things that are directly relevant in the industry and in companies. With all the practical work and the internships I will do, I hope that by the end of my course, I’ll be able to adapt easily to any workplace.

How has your overall experience been living in Limoges?

Being bilingual really helps. The adaptation was relatively easy. Plus, we have a group of Mauritians here who help guide newcomers, which is great. Limoges has almost everything you might enjoy—restaurants, cinemas, and a good transport system.

What do you enjoy the most about life in Limoges?
I think Limoges has a great atmosphere for studying. It’s not too cold in winter, life is peaceful, there’s no violence, and there are many students from all over the world. You can build a network, and of course, we also have our own Mauritian community.

What advice would you give to future students preparing to study at ENSIL-ENSCI?
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—seize it! Don’t forget what you learned at UdM; you’ll definitely use it again.

Through a trilateral agreement between the Université des Mascareignes, the French Embassy in Mauritius, and the engineering school of the Université de Limoges, scholarships are awarded to outstanding Mauritian students, giving them the opportunity to pursue their studies at ENSIL-ENSCI (École Nationale Supérieure d’Ingénieurs de Limoges).

We caught up with Tanvi Chandika Kishto, who is currently studying at ENSIL-ENSCI, as she shared her experience with us.

Can you tell us about the program you are pursuing in Limoges?
I am currently enrolled in the National Master’s Degree in Engineering, specializing in Electronics and Telecommunications at ENSIL-ENSCI. The program is very hands-on, combining theoretical knowledge with practical lab work.
In addition to specialized modules such as digital and analogue electronics, microwaves, and signal processing, we also have common core modules that cover fluid mechanics, programming, and even some accounting. This allows us to gain insight into other fields of engineering as well.

How different is the education system in France compared to Mauritius?
One major difference is the emphasis on practical learning in France. At ENSIL-ENSCI, we have regular laboratory sessions and group projects, which complement the theoretical lessons. The curriculum is also very structured and focused on specialization.

What are some key skills or knowledge you’ve gained so far?
I’ve gained strong technical skills in microcontrollers, embedded systems, and signal processing.
I’ve also had the opportunity to use engineering software such as LABVIEW, ADS (for microwave circuits), and CONTROL EXPERT (for drawing ladder diagrams and GRAFCET to control automatons).

How do you see this academic experience contributing to your future career?
This experience is not only enriching my technical knowledge but also providing valuable international exposure. With future internships and industrial visits planned over the next two years at ENSIL-ENSCI, I hope to become adaptable to a wide range of professional environments.

How has your overall experience been living in Limoges?
Living in Limoges has been a very positive experience. It’s a peaceful city with a welcoming atmosphere and a good balance between student life and cultural activities. The transition from Mauritius to Limoges was smooth, thanks to the guidance of former UDM students who are already living here.

What do you enjoy the most about life in Limoges?
I particularly enjoy the calm environment and the beautiful green spaces. It’s also rewarding to be part of a diverse student community made up of people from around the world — it’s a great opportunity to learn about many different cultures.

What advice would you give to future students preparing to study at ENSIL-ENSCI?
I would encourage them to be open-minded and to take full advantage of every academic and cultural opportunity. I’d also advise them not to forget the knowledge acquired at UDM — it will be very useful during their time at ENSIL-ENSCI.

How do you feel about this nomination?
My nomination as Head of the Doctoral School at the Université des Mascareignes enhances this sense of belonging and the feeling of being an integral part of a team at UdM. It’s indeed a great perception about being given the possibility to handle additional responsibility alongside my academic role. I’m delighted about this opportunity which would enable me to scale up my skills and grow professionally.

 

Can we attribute this achievement to your hard work and dedication?
I believe that dedication and hard work is always there, for all working people, but what makes the difference is going beyond working hard. What I mean here is, when we continue doing the hard work even after we get tired of doing the hard work we already did. That’s what I can say about my hard work and dedication. To some extent, it was also a question of availability. There are many academic colleagues at UdM who are already taken up with other additional responsibilities and cannot afford any add-on. Whereas, I was willing to take an auxiliary responsibility for the furtherance of the Doctoral School and UdM.

 

What are your plans or vision for the Doctoral School?
As Head of the Doctoral School my primary objective is to ensure that the relevant procedures for graduate students are followed and monitored regularly, and that appropriate provision is made for graduate studies to go on seamlessly, in line with regulations, Research policy, and Codes of Practice at UDM. Moreover, there is also a need for reinforcing materials, equipment and resources for the proper evolution of the Doctoral School. The aim is to provide adequate training and development initiatives and opportunities for higher degree by research candidates for the latter to develop capabilities and experience extending beyond their disciplinary knowledge. My vision is to contribute to the development of a powerful research and innovation environment at UdM that drives economic and social progress in Mauritius and worldwide.

 

Is there anything else you would like to highlight?
Research is a doorway, opening onto a whole new outlook on the world, it inspires something in you that makes you want to find out things. You need neither be especially clever nor especially gifted, you just need to be very curious. On that note I would like to thank the Director General of UDM, Dr. Radhakhrishna Somanah for inspiring us to become more and more academically curious and embark into academic Research. Also, a special word of thanks to my predecessor Dr. Swaleha Peeroo for having done a wonderful job. Thank you.