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Fostering global partnerships, advancing global education through collaboration and exchange, and expanding international opportunities in higher education! DAAD supports the internationalisation of German higher education institutions by facilitating cooperation with international higher education institutions and promoting exchange and mobility at all academic level. This page outlines various DAAD programmes that support institutional cooperation and provides practical tips on how to initiate successful cooperation. It showcases successful joint projects between higher education institutions in Germany and South Asia — including India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka — and provides helpful resources for institutions seeking to expand their cooperation activities.

Focus areas and trends

Explore current themes and activities shaping Indo-German academic cooperation, from internationalisation strategies to employability and innovation.

DAAD iHED-International Higher Education Dialogue

The International Higher Education Dialogue (iHED), initiated by the DAAD Regional Office New Delhi, fosters collaboration between Germany and South Asia in higher education.

Through conferences and workshops, it promotes knowledge exchange, good practices, and internationalisation. iHED connects international offices of universities in Germany, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan—continuously expanding its network of partners.

Discover the DAAD’s flagship platform for structured Indo-German academic dialogue on internationalisation.

Take a look at the recently concluded and upcoming events. (linked to iHED one pager)

How to initiate a cooperation

Establishing a successful international partnership begins with a clear vision, mutual interests, and the right academic counterpart. The steps below outline how Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) can initiate and develop sustainable cooperation with German universities.

Step 1: Define the Cooperation Objective

To initiate a successful partnership, the international HEI should clearly outline the cooperation objective, including:

  • Fields of Expertise: Align with shared academic or research interests
  • Academic Level: Specify whether the focus is on teaching or research .
  • Goals: Clarify the purpose and goal, e.g. increasing German student/researcher exchanges, curriculum development, complementing study programs through German HEI, or collaborative research projects.
  • Basis of Contact: Leverage existing institutional connections or collaborations, alumni ties, or past fellowships of academic staff.
  • Duration: Determine the cooperation timeline.

Tailoring objectives to respective German HEI increases the likelihood of a meaningful and  and mutually beneficial partnership.

 

Step 2: Identifying Potential Partners

Finding the right partner is crucial. Consider these approaches:

Scientific Journals: Identify German researchers publishing in your field.

  • Former Germany Alumni: Connect with scholarship recipients (DAAD Alumni, AvH Alumni, Max Planck Alumni etc.) or graduates of German HEIs at your institution for direct academic contacts.
  • Online Resources: Consult databases

Higher Education Compass: Information on German HEIs, study/research options, and international cooperation.

German Research Institutions (GERiT): Directory of over 23,000 German research institutions.

Research in Germany: Information on the German research system and funding opportunities.

Step 3: Contacting German Universities

Step 3:

  • Identify the relevant contact, such as the head of the International Office of the German HEI, researchers or
  • Draft a concise email (in English or German) introducing your institution and outlining the cooperation objective.
  • Maintain communication and refine priorities, guidelines, and other cooperation details.

The DAAD publication “Guidelines for Student Exchange, Dual/Double & Joint Degree Programmes” offers an overview of the higher education systems in India and Germany. It provides practical insights into HEI types, degree structures, internationalization processes, and approval procedures for international cooperation, serving as a comprehensive guide for developing academic partnerships.

 

Facts & Figures

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A New Passage to India (2009-2024)

Launched in 2009 by the DAAD and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the programme A New Passage to India (ANPtI) has strengthened Indo-German academic collaboration for 15 years. With a total German investment of €35 million, it has supported numerous initiatives. Alone between 2019 and 2024 a number of 35 cooperation projects were funded. Key components of ANPtI included:

  • Indo-German Partnerships in Higher Education (IGP), co-funded by the Indian government
  • German-Indian Higher Education Cooperation Projects (DIHSK)
  • Working Internships in Science and Engineering (WISE)
  • Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (IGCS) at IIT Madras

Discover the highlights of the funded projects under “A New Passage to India” scheme here: Link to IGP booklet

The DAAD fellowship is the best platform to enrich the knowledge in both academic and research fronts and to understand the cultures of each country very well.
Dr B G Unni, CSIR NEIST- Jorhat

Good Practices

This poster collection showcases successful DAAD-funded cooperation projects between German and Indian higher education and research institutions. These initiatives exemplify impactful collaboration between German and Indian higher education and research institutions, supported by the DAAD—often in partnership with Indian bodies like the University Grants Commission (UGC), the Department of Science and Technology DST) and the Council for Science and Industrial Research (CSIR). These projects span 1 to 4-year and demonstrate the impact of academic collaboration in advancing shared .

Index

  • Experimental Architecture and Material Culture (EAMC): IIT Roorkee/RWTH Aachen
  • Situated Architectural Knowledge: IIT Roorkee/RWTH Aachen
  • Applied Research for Sustainable Energy in Buildings: MNIT Jaipur/ OTH Amberg-Weiden
  • Combating Environmental Pollution through Internationalisation of Education in Germany and India (COMPOLL): IIT Delhi/ TU Dresden
  • A New Passage to India Phase II: Delhi University / University Wuppertal
  • A New Passage to India Phase I: Delhi University / University Wuppertal
  • Indo-German partnership in Climate and Water Research (IGCaWR): IIT Madras/FU Berlin
  • Sustainable Networks for the Future (DE/IN CeMIS): O.P. Jindal Global University/ University of Göttingen
  • Exploring Cultures of Learning in India and Germany: IIT-BHU / University of Heidelberg
  • Iron supply in pregnancy – a model to establish research exchange, high level education and cooperation with India: Christian Medical College, Vellore / University of Heidelberg
  • Hardware-aware Algorithms in Scientific Computing: IISc Bangalore / University of Heidelberg
  • Law and Transformations: Opening Conversations between Germany and India: NLSIU/ HU Berlin
  • A New Passage to India:  Symbiosis International University/ Berlin School of Economics and Law
  • IIT Indore – LU Hannover Partnership: IIT Indore/ LU Hannover
  • Climate Change Impacts on Coastal Infrastructure and the Adaptation Strategies: IIT Madras
  • Indo-German Centre for Sustainability: IIT Madras/RWTH Aachen
  • Innovations in Soundproofing Solutions Enhancing Comfort and Sustainability: TheFuture of Noise Reduction: Jadavpur university / NIT Silchar / DLR Braunschweig
  • Developing institutionalized cooperation in education and research: The IDEaLplatform: BharatiVidyapeethDeemed University, Pune/ Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore/ University of Cologne
  • NAMASTE+ Göttingen India Higher Education Cooperation: IISER Pune/University of Göttingen
  • IIT Madras – University of Passau Collaboration: A Journey Through Decades: IIT Madras
  • Collaborative Indo-German project on estimating and predicting natural hazards in the Himalayan region (Co-PrePARE): IIT Roorkee/ University of Potsdam
  • Chemical Innovations for Sustainable Future: NIT Rourkela/IIT Indore/ University of Regensburg
  • Chemical Innovations for Sustainable Future: NIT Rourkela/IIT Indore
  • Innovative Concepts for Traffic and Vehicle Safety: Hindustan Institute of Technology & Science, Chennai/ Trier University of Applied Sciences, Trier
  • Hierarchical Nanomotor-Loaded Microcarriers Adorned with Upconversion Nanoparticles:

Function for Enhanced Imaging and Therapy: Indian Institute of Science Bangalore/ TUD Dresden/IFW Leibniz Dresden

  • Modeling the dynamics of self-assembled network in Ag-Hbn platform: Indian Institute of Science Bangalore / TU Dresden
  • An Indo-German Partnership: IIT Bombay/ TU Muenchen
  • Verkehr-SuTra: Technologies for Sustainable Transportation: IIT Kharagpur/TU Muenchen
  • Electronic Structure Engineering of Transition Metal Nitrides with Computational Chemistry: NIT Trichy/ TU Darmstadt
  • Decoding Attention from Gaze: A Benchmark Dataset and End-to-End Models: IIT Kharagpur/ Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems
  • MANGO: Low-Cost open-source needle guidance: IIT-BHU/ TU Darmstadt

Posters as picture gallery – Pictures very heavy for the wbsite/ pack in one pdf booklet – Please provide the booklet)

 

 

Testimonial 2

Devanathan

“My 6 months stay as a doctoral student at the SPPU in Pune was incredibly enriching. The knowledge I gained at the Department of Pali and Buddhism has promoted my academic career. I was also able to gain valuable insights into Indian culture and way of life. I am very grateful.”

Aspasia Werner

PhD Scholar, University of Göttingen

 

DAAD Funding Programmes

Are they the same as the ones on the website?