Highlights
‘Innovation and Global Cooperation for Sustainability’ (12 to 14 March 2024) highlighted the achievements of the programme ‘A New Passage to India’ (ANPtI) and connected awardees and project teams that received funds under different funding lines – all within the context of SDGs.
The participants shared knowledge, networked and discussed Indo-German academic exchange and its importance in the times of changing geopolitics.
The highlights of the conference were
- First ever meeting of more than 200 persons who received DAAD funding under the ANPtI programme
- Meeting of the project leaders for the jointly funded projects under the Indo-German Partnership programme implemented by UGC and DAAD
- Thematic workshops, World Café, BarCamp, design thinking workshops, poster presentations
- Active contribution of the participants in sessions, pitches, poster presentation by selection
- Networking within various groups across different career stages
- Paperless, environment friendly action
Programme
Take a look at the Complete programme here
Programme of the conference
Find out how the three days went...
From 12 to 14 March 2024, the DAAD office in New Delhi organised an onsite conference on “Innovation and Global Cooperation for Sustainability” in New Delhi with the support of DAAD Bonn – section P24 and ST34. The conference also marked the conclusion of the DAAD program “A New Passage to India (ANPtI)”, which has been running successfully for the past 15 years and was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
Over the course of three days, 50+ guests from 40 German institutions and 160+ guests from 110 Indian institutions discussed Indo-German academic exchange and cooperation with its importance in today’s geopolitical times along with its prospects in a series of interactive workshops and events.
The conference kicked off with a fire-side chat on “Indo-German Cooperation” by Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee, President, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and Neeta Prasad, Joint Secretary International Cooperation, Ministry of Education, discussing the developments and perspectives for future cooperations. The day also showcased a unique event format called “BarCamp”, a brainstorming session on 18 unique topics which were proposed, selected and discussed upon by the participants in 6 small groups.
Day 2 witnessed DAAD alumni, WISE alumni, project partners and early career researchers from DAAD-funded projects (ANPtI) joining hands to exchange and present ideas of ongoing and future cooperation projects with formats such as pitch presentation, panel discussions and experience sharing. Culmination of the day was a fun poster presentation, where more than 35 project partners and alumni exhibited their research through texts, charts, graphs and other visual aid with a focus on Indo-German Cooperation.
Day 3 of the conference was opened by Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee, President, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), followed by a keynote speech by N.V. Varghese, Former Vice Chancellor, National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), where he mentioned “Education is the most sustainable investment for people and countries, as you cannot take education away from people”. The day focused on the contribution of higher education institutions to the SDGs. In seven parallel panel discussions, over 20 speakers from German and Indian universities, research institutes and political offices shared their knowledge on relevant research and the role of higher education institutions. The focus topics were sustainable strategies for higher education, mitigating climate change through knowledge transfer and capacity building, and promoting inclusion through higher education institutions.
The conference closed with a panel discussion on “Innovation and Global Cooperation in Higher Education for Sustainability” focusing on key factors for integration of SDGs into the fabric of higher education institutions in the context of academia and research.
The success of the conference was visible as DAAD India brought together more than 150 recipients of DAAD funding under the ANPtI programme from Indian and Germany under one roof. The event setup was not just a spectacle but a format where each participant had to contribute and be a part of the interactions, which was well received by the partakers.
Background
In the year 2009 the DAAD launched ‘A New Passage to India’ (ANPtI). This programme was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). During the 5th Inter-Governmental Consultation in 2019, the Indian and German governments expressed their willingness for a long standing and stronger higher education and research partnership between the two countries. Subsequently a new project phase of the ANPtI was agreed upon from 2019 to 2024.
‘A New Passage to India’ has been running successfully for the past 15 years fostering Indo-German academic relations.