“The federal government of Germany, in its master plan has identified key areas of research. The high-tech strategy as it is called is a collaborative work of the government departments, industry and universities and we have indentified five key areas of global challenges,” said Dr. Stefan Weckbach, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Chennai.
He was speaking at the inaugural of the two-day Germany research expo organised in Chennai on February 25 and 26.
The high-tech strategy aims to enable science and industry in Germany to pioneer solutions in the following fields: Climate/energy, health/nutrition, mobility, national safety and communication/IT.
For humankind
“The strategy defines areas that represent challenges of global dimensions and will benefit humankind,” Dr. Weckbach said.
There is cutting-edge research taking place in the universities and research institutions in Germany in various fields.
The High-Tech Strategy aims to use forward-looking projects to shift the focus of research and technology on to concrete social and global goals, and the key areas identified by this initiative are intensely researched.
The expo that had tremendous response from the student community was organised as part of the ongoing Year of Germany in India celebrations.
Internationalisation
“The overwhelming response in Chennai shows that Germany is a sought-after destination for higher learning. The process of internationalisation and restructuring of university system has resulted in more number of courses offered in English and increase in the number of international students,” said Dr. Weckbach.
There are at present 5,038 Indian students in Germany pursuing higher education.
According to German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), India ranks second on the list of the top countries of origin of international students enrolled in master's and Ph.D programmes in Germany. According to the National Institute of Science Technology and Development Studies (NISTADS) 2011 report, Germany is the second most productive partner in collaborative research with India in science and technology research.
As Ms. Prashasti Rastogi of DAAD, New Delhi, points out, Germany tops the list of the most international countries in the higher education arena and 12 per cent of students in Germany are international.
The expo
A 50-member delegation from 18 German universities, research and funding institutions participated in the expo.
The information about Ph.D opportunities at the participating institutions was announced on a customised DAAD Academic Matchmaking website 30 days prior to the event.
“Academicians interacting with the prospective Ph.D candidates is a novel idea and this has saved a considerable amount of time and cost,” said Ms. Padmavathi Chandramouli of DAAD Chennai.
The expo in Chennai was the last in the series of expos held in Delhi and Hyderabad from February 18 to 22 by DAAD.
