10 Women From India Chosen For Research Program Under IGSTC

Ten women researchers from India and two from Germany were awarded under the Women Involvement in Science and Engineering Research (WISER) program to promote women researchers in India and Germany to participate and collaborate in ongoing R&D and innovation projects on the occasion of 13th foundation day of Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC).

They will receive financial assistance and will not need to apply for fresh project grants in partnering countries. IGSTC celebrated the day yesterday to highlight its achievements and its role in promoting the Indo-German partnerships in science and technology since its inception in 2010.

"Research efforts should be directed towards contributing to society and making a positive impact on people's lives," S.K. Varshney, head of International Cooperation Division at the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and co-chair of IGSTC, said at the inauguration of the program.

Stephan Grabherr, Charge d'Affaires of the German embassy in Delhi, highlighted the significance of collaborations between industries and universities and stressed the need for fostering strong partnerships and knowledge-sharing between these two spheres. Rajesh Nath, Managing Director, German Engineering Federation (VDMA) in India, also participated as guest of honour.

IGSTC Director R. Madhan emphasised the significant programs and achievements that have fostered a strong partnership between India and Germany while Annapurni Subramaniam, Director, Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) and the chief guest for the occasion, emphasised on the significance of increasing the representation of women scientists and ensuring a proportional number of women-led projects for fostering inclusivity and diversity within the scientific fraternity.

Industrial Fellowships-2023 Awards were given to 20 young Indian researchers from leading academic and research institutions spread across India. While this fellowship provides exposure to young Indian researchers at German industrial ecosystems and applied research Institutions for 6-12 months, the WISER program facilitates lateral entry of women for persuing research in science and technology, create avenues for long term Indo-German research collaborations and enhance capacity building & networking.

IGSTC also organised an outreach event on the day which was attended by scientists, academicians from around 30 institutions in and around Delhi wherein the attendees were briefed about available opportunities at IGSTC for Indo-German collaboration in S&T. The success stories of IGSTC programs were also presented during the event.

The IGSTC), a bilateral institution established by DST, Government of India, and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Government of Germany, to promote science and technology collaboration with a focus on applied research and technology development, has supported 54 applied research projects on various thematic areas, 55 bilateral workshops, capacity building through 82 Industrial & early career fellowships, 23 WISER fellowships for women researchers and small ignition funding for seven projects.

The main focus of IGSTC over the years has been to provide a networking platform between the Indian and German researchers/industry personnel and has connected more than 6,300 researchers/industry personnel through its various programmatic activities.