TUM Mumbai: Visiting the Indian liaison office to strengthen partnerships

TUM Global, News, TUM Mumbai |

In mid-April, TUM Mumbai Liaison Officer Mohaa Vyas welcomed a guest for the first time since the start of the Corona pandemic: Layla Eberle, Senior International Strategist from the TUM Global & Alumni Office, was at IIT Bombay for a one-week training course as part of the Erasmus+ program. On this occasion, she discussed with the Indian colleagues, among other things, the Indo-German Partnership project (IGP) Exploration.

Group picture from the visit to the partner university
At IIT Delhi, Mohaa Vyas and Layla Eberle met Prof. Naveen Garg, Dean of International Relations. Photo: IIT Delhi

In the course of her visit, Mohaa Vyas and Layla Eberle traveled together to New Delhi to visit the Dean of International Relations of our partner university in India's capital and to meet with many of the contact persons who support the diverse cooperation opportunities between TUM and Indian universities and companies. 

The personal meetings with the partners as well as with representatives of the German Embassy, the DWIH and the DAAD – with whom TUM has been cooperating closely for a long time – were enormously informative. 

Exploring future potential in India 

Indo-German cooperation, which dates back to the late 1950s, is of great importance to both countries. The fact that TUM has been present with its own liaison office in Mumbai since 2014 and is immensely active throughout the country is highly appreciated and supported by the German representations in India. 

Of particular interest was a meeting with representatives of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC), which have various funding calls at the researcher level. Many of these are aimed specifically at female researchers. 

Visit to long-time partner IIT Delhi

At IIT Delhi, a TUM partner since 2001, the two TUM representatives exchanged views with IIT Delhi's Dean of International Relations. Prof. Naveen Garg lived in Germany during his doctoral studies and is very familiar with the German higher education system, local traditions, and culture. 

They discussed numerous topics of common interest such as agriculture, water, climate, environment, and AI, and discussed opportunities for further collaborations between TUM and IITD, such as workshops and student and faculty exchanges.

Personal contact absolutely recommended for optimal exchange

Both Mohaa Vyas and Layla Eberle are utterly convinced after this experience that personal presence on site made it much easier to establish contacts and to identify opportunities for significant new projects more efficiently.

Due to travel restrictions, it was also the first direct encounter for the two colleagues: "It was great to finally meet Mohaa in person and sit down with TUM stakeholders and partners in India. There is so much potential in this country that we can still use for TUM with her commitment together with our partners in India," stated Mrs. Eberle.

If you would like to learn more about Layla Eberle's experience during her Erasmus+ training stay at IITB – and are now perhaps interested in a stay abroad yourself – feel free to join the next TUM Global Spotlight via Zoom!

June 8, 1 – 1:30 p.m.: With Erasmus+ to IIT Bombay – a personal insight

For more information on funding lines for researchers and other opportunities and topics related to India, please contact Mohaa Vyas.

 

More about TUM Mumbai
More about Exploration. An Indo-German Partnership
More about worldwide training opportunities through Erasmus+
More about the IGSTC