UP News - University of Potsdam

Photo : Sandra Scholz

Delegation from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Roorkee, India visits the University of Potsdam.

A delegation from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Roorkee, India, visited the University of Potsdam on March 20. The aim of the talks was to intensify cooperation and to extend it to other areas as well. The University of Potsdam has been working closely with IIT Roorkee for many years. Joint research interests exist in particular in the geosciences and life sciences, which led to the joint establishment of the international research training group NatRiskChange a few years ago. Founded in 1847, IIT Roorkee was admitted to the prestigious IIT group in 2001. Today, it is one of the best technical universities in India.

“Relations between India and Germany have gained in importance in recent years,” says University of Potsdam President Prof. Oliver Günther, Ph.D. “It is important to develop and strengthen our joint forces. The existing scientific bridges can serve as an important basis here. An expansion of joint research on sustainability topics such as green hydrogen, CO₂ capture and storage technologies, water chemistry and hydrology, but also astrophysics represent exciting topics for future cooperation.”

Since 2020, for example, researchers from both universities have been working together in the environmental science project Co-PREPARE on the assessment and prediction of natural risks in the Himalayan region, which is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The initiative for Co-PREPARE also came from a graduate of the NatRiskChange RTG at the University of Potsdam who is now a professor at IIT Roorkee. “Despite the initial difficulties caused by COVID-19, the project is running very successfully,” says Dr. Jürgen Mey of the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Geography. “Co-PREPARE has now produced about 50 publications, as well as a lively exchange of master’s and doctoral students - and it will serve as a nucleus for more extensive collaboration.”

In the future, for example, there will be a joint international graduate college, which Potsdam hydrologist Prof. Dr. Axel Bronstert wants to launch with colleagues from the IIT. During the visit, the parties agreed upon a stronger exchange of master’s students, especially with the Faculty of Science. The University of Potsdam and IIT want to work out further scientific commonalities, especially in the mathematics and natural sciences, at a joint workshop. In addition, cooperation is planned in the area of technology transfer, in which IIT Roorkee and the University of Potsdam both rank among the national leaders.

More information:

The “Co-PREPARE” project: https://www.uni-potsdam.de/de/umwelt/forschung/ag-hydrologie-und-klimatologie/forschungsprojekte/co-prepare

The NatRiskChange Research Training Group: https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/natriskchange/

IIT Roorkee: https://www.iitr.ac.in/

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