Dr Lasch, how is the Indo-German relation developing in the world of science?

The Indian higher education system is impressive. It consists of 43,000 universities and colleges, is very heterogeneous, has great diversity and is currently evolving dynamically. India is making great progress in the world of research and has global ambitions. The country has positioned itself well in the field of technology transfer as well as in other selected research areas and is catching up with world leaders. Therefore, India is not only perceived as a strong partner by the DAAD. In October 2024 the German government published the policy paper “Fokus auf Indien (Focus on India)” and 7 Indo-German government consultations took place in New Delhi. Considering the current changes in transatlantic relations, the successful partnership with India – which is of interest to us especially in the field of university cooperation, the recruitment of skilled labour and the expansion of technology transfer activities – is becoming even more important. As a DAAD Regional Office, which has earned a lot of trust over the 65 years of its presence in India and has built up a large network of numerous institutions, we are noticing a high and growing interest in India on the part of German universities.

How do you plan to celebrate the Jubilee?

We are intensifying our network and hosting around 120 representatives from more than 80 universities and colleges in the last two weeks of March. It is an excellent opportunity to familiarise them with the Indian higher education system. In addition to the different events which will take place over the two weeks, we have also organised a delegation visit for German university leaders and assisted two other delegations. The highlight is a joint evening event as part of the Indo-German Forum: Research, Innovation and Transfer on Indo-German academic co-operation. The Indo-German Forum is a biennial event organised by the German House for Research and Innovation (DWIH) New Delhi, the management of which was taken over by the DAAD in 2016. As part of the forum, we are also celebrating 100 years of DAAD and 65 years of DAAD in India.

What did the three delegations from Germany expect?

For the first time, the DAAD organised a higher education policy fact-finding mission to India. We hosted 20 top representatives from German universities and visited universities and research institutions in Hyderabad and New Delhi with them over the course of a week. Our aim was to provide an insight into the Indian higher education and research landscape and to facilitate many networking opportunities for exchange, for example at a reception in Hyderabad organised by the German Consulate General in Chennai. The second large group that visited India were representatives from around 20 German universities of applied sciences (HAW). The German University Consortium for International Cooperations (DHIK) held its first consortium meeting in Coimbatore, India, where the DAAD is promoting a major transnational education project: The German School of Technology has now been officially inaugurated. The third large group of German university representatives is coming to New Delhi for the conference of the Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE). Among them are representatives from the International Offices of around 50 German universities. The DAAD is organising a joint stand at the APAIE and we, as the regional office, are offering a supporting program for all German participants consisting of a comprehensive briefing and visits to Indian universities. Around 120 German guests from all three delegations attended the Indo-German Forum.

Did the Indo-German Forum of the DWIH in New Delhi have a special focus this year?

This year at the Indo-German Forum, we decided to focus on institutional connections and science diplomacy. This included an intensive session in which we organised six roundtable discussions for representatives of universities, research and funding institutions. Four to five participants each from Germany and India participated here and discussed topics that had already been identified in advance in Indo-German stakeholder discussions organised by us. The topics included equitable research partnerships, cross-border research careers and ways to transfer technology. We had a total of around 60 speakers from India and Germany and are very pleased that the tables were equally represented. The highlight of all the activities from the two weeks described above was the evening event.

What made the highlight event so special?

The German Ambassador Dr Philipp Ackermann attended the large joint evening event and DAAD Secretary General Dr Kai Sicks welcomed the guests. A high-ranking panel outlined a joint future for Indo-German research cooperation and inspired further discussions. The evening was organised as a network meeting for Indo-German cooperation. Finally, as part of the event, we presented a DAAD position paper on India, in which we summarised the potential for cooperation with India for German universities and made recommendations. At the large networking reception, around 120 German university representatives came together with the partner network of the DAAD and the DWIH in India. The future demands new thinking and new approaches from us, but I believe that in India we have a good partner at our side for precisely this.

Interview by Bettina Mittelstraß (25 March 2025)