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Hyderabad: Bolstering Indo-German academic collaboration, a 20-member delegation from Germany visited Hyderabad on Monday as part of a Higher Education Policy Information Visit to India. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), a funding organisation which aided around 3 million scholars in Germany since 1925, led the delegation representing over 15 applied and technical universities.
Kathrin Misera Lang, the interim German consul general in Chennai, highlighted the strategic importance of Hyderabad in Indo-German relations. “Hyderabad is home to several pharma and IT companies, and many German companies also have a base here,” she said. “With 2,00,000 Indians already residing in Germany and actively enriching our societies, and bilateral trade reaching 30 billion euros, educational partnerships are the next step.”
The delegation’s visit highlighted Germany’s growing interest in India’s educational landscape. DAAD secretary general Kai Sicks praised India’s academic progress while identifying areas for improvement.
“There was an impressive rise of science and academia in India,” Sicks noted. “While more Germans and Indians are participating in student exchange programs under DAAD, we need greater awareness to help German students explore India better.” Sicks also addressed structural differences between the two countries’ academic systems. “India gives great attention to knowledge transfer, but Indian institutions tend to work in silos,” he observed. “In Germany, we have ‘clusters of excellence,’ wherein several institutes come under an umbrella for research, which could be a model worth exploring.”
The delegation’s itinerary includes visits to premier institutions in Hyderabad and Delhi. Katja Lasch, director of DAAD’s regional office in New Delhi, stressed the visit’s practical aspects. “Germany is always looking for opportunities for cooperation and student exchange,” she said. “During our visit to IIT Hyderabad, we learned about their autonomous vehicle service, and IIIT Hyderabad gave us valuable insights into public-private partnerships.”