What are the similarities and differences between India and Germany when it comes to innovation and entrepreneurship?
Together with the German House for Research and Innovation (DWIH) New Delhi, TUM Mumbai organized an Indo-German Dialogue “Young Innovators” at three prestigious Indian universities in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai in November 2017. Two of these entities are long standing partner universities of TUM, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and the IIT Bombay. The interactive forum focused on the exchange of ideas in a larger multidisciplinary technical and social context between young generation researchers and entrepreneurs.
TUM was represented by the Space X Hyperloop Pod Competition winners - the WARR Hyperloop team. Mariana Avezum and Thomas Ruck outlined the team’s journey to winning the competition for two consecutive times. An innovative architectural approach on how to clean up our oceans from plastic micro particles was presented by Marcella Hansch, founder of the NGO start-up “Pacific Garbage Screening” and an alumna of RWTH Aachen. The dialogue was complemented by Indian student projects or start-ups of the visited universities. The showcased Indian projects ranged from frugal adaptations of simple medical devices such as crutches to the development of technologies to improve maternal and child healthcare in rural India and sustainable irrigation systems. The event series was accompanied by DWIH representatives as well as the International Officer for Asia of the TUM International Center (IC), Dorothea Broednow and the Liaison Officer of the TUM Mumbai office, Hanna Kriebel.
The one week program further comprised a meeting with the Science Counselor, Mr. Stephan Lanzinger of the German Embassy New Delhi, a visit to the premises of the Mercedes-Benz Research and Development Center in Bangalore, where the WARR Hyperloop Team presented their project to representatives of the senior management and several interactions on campus with start-ups and student organized projects such as a Formula Student Team and the Student Satellite Project of IIT Bombay.
DWIH’s Indo-German Dialogue “Young Innovators” was successful in connecting young researchers and entrepreneurs from Germany and India. At the same time, showcasing Germany as a hub for research and innovation in general. Facilities such as TUM’s MakerSpace and the Entrepreneurship Center are essential to support young innovators and entrepreneurs in an academic environment in order to gain professional experience. The applicability of research was deemed tremendously important by both sides, Indian as well as German.
Further information:
WARR Hyperloop
German House for Research and Innovation (DWIH), New Delhi