TUM Mumbai Liaison Officer Mohaa Vyas: a portrait

The Indian megacity Mumbai is one of the world’s largest urban areas. In 2014 TUM established a liaison office here – like the ones in other cities around the world. They are part of the university’s efforts to build a global network in order to boost its visibility and increase its international impact, both in the world of research and society at large. Mohaa Vyas (37) is Senior Regional Manager at TUM Mumbai.

Liaison officer Mohaa Vyas in Mumbai — Mohaa Vyas represents TUM in the Indian megacity of Mumbai. With her fellow liaison officers at TUM San Francisco, TUM Beijing, TUM Brussels, and TUM São Paulo, she works to raise the university’s international profile and build its network. Photo: Gaurav Kagda

For Mohaa Vyas, the working day starts with coffee – and a little exercise. “I try to stay active,” she says. “The pandemic has forced me to spend far too much time at home.” She loves talking with people, interacting with them, exchanging ideas. And that, in short, has been her job description as the liaison officer at TUM Mumbai since 2020.

Promoting scientific exchanges

Mohaa Vyas creates contacts. She brings experienced researchers together to exchange ideas in their areas of expertise, for example through the Indo-German Partnership (IGP) project, which she helped to get off the ground. With the support of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and its Indian counterpart UGC, the IGP project seeks to expand the cooperation of TUM with the Indian Institutes of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) and Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur), in particular in the fields of climate and environmental science, energy, mobility and transport.

And, reflecting the importance of promoting young scientific talent, Jayjayanti Basumallik and Praval Sharma, two masters students at the TUM Hochschule für Politik München, are working with Mohaa Vyas to organize a virtual student competition: It brings together masters and doctoral students from Germany and India to do research in the areas of climate science, sustainability and the environment.

A location with many opportunities

As the senior regional manager for India, Mohaa Vyas is working to expand the international reach of TUM and highlight the achievements of TUM researchers, for example by placing them at international events. She supports German-Indian projects and initiatives in dealing with organizational issues and also looks for suitable contacts. An important aspect of her work is networking on behalf of TUM and promoting the transfer of scientific results into Indian society.

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