DAAD Alumni South Asia

Welcome! The DAAD would like to keep in touch with you even after your funding period has ended. This longstanding relationship between you and the DAAD expands in the form of a strong network over the South Asian region – India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Alumni in South Asia

The DAAD Regional Office operates a two-fold approach for its alumni in South Asia:

Subject-specific: Join other alumni for Sustainable Development Goals by showcasing your research and giving back to society. This will not only strengthen scientific exchange but also contribute to deliberating upon global challenges.
Interdisciplinary and regional: Gear up and build regional networks through activities, workshops, seminars that transcend individual subjects. Interdisciplinary topics will forge stronger networks.

Connect with the DAAD in South Asia at alumni.newdelhidaad.de.

DAAD Alumni Associations in South Asia

DAAD alumni have come together with other Germany alumni and established a number of associations. This is how they meet and stay connected academically as well as socially.
Do connect with them!

As a DAAD alumna or alumnus, a wide array of world-wide programmes and special offers are available for you. Check out here.

DAAD facilitated learning the magic of disciplined research and the principle of 'one person can make a difference' from Germany, the Land of Ideas.

Dr Archana Raghavan Sathyan, Kerala Agricultural University

Alumni for SDG

The specialist web talk series ‘Alumni for SDG’ showcases important and relevant topics of the Sustainable Development Goals. It is brought to you by DAAD alumni from the region, that is from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. They will talk about their research work, as a way to give back to society. Bridge builders between South Asia and Germany, alumni strengthen the network of subject experts active in the fields of various SDGs.

This was a great opportunity and platform for us to share experiences and best practices across the nations in the region. Thanks, DAAD regional office for organizing such a great event.

Dr Ishanka Karunarathne, Sri Lanka

Alumni Meets

Stay connected with other alumni through regular regional meetings.

DAAD Alumni Meet Colombo, Sri Lanka 2024

25 – 26 April 2024

The alumni meet served as a catalyst for reviving and strengthening alumni networks and activities for professional growth and community development.

H.E. Dr. Felix Neumann, German Ambassador to Sri Lanka, officially opened the meeting by highlighting the significance of fostering partnerships through alumni engagement within Sri Lanka.

Alumni Meet in Colombo 2024

DAAD ASND

The alumni meet was attended by academicians, researchers and important stakeholders from government agencies. The event served as a catalyst for reviving and strengthening alumni networks and activities for professional growth and community development. With a focus on the management of international cooperation projects and alumni affairs, the participants engaged in enriching discussions and deliberations on interdisciplinary collaboration.

H.E. Dr. Felix Neumann, German Ambassador to Sri Lanka, officially opened the meeting by highlighting the significance of fostering partnerships through alumni engagement within Sri Lanka. Mr. Stefan Winkler, Director, Goethe-Institut Sri Lanka formally welcomed the dignitaries and alumni guests at the Goethe-Institut where the event took place.

The one-and-a-half day event encompassed a diverse array of activities, including discussions, group activities, and peer learning sessions involving alumni and the alumni association – German Alumni Association of Sri Lanka (GAASL). Brainstorming sessions focused on enhancing and cultivating alumni networks by exploring innovative ideas, formats, and strategies. Drawing from insights and experiences on Indo-German collaboration initiatives, the alumni workshop delved deeper into the topic of ‘Management and Administration of International Cooperation Projects’. The previous/ongoing projects supported by DAAD under various cooperation schemes were presented by the alumni to showcase good practice examples and its impactful outcomes in terms of capacity building, enhanced policy, and sustainability.

Introductions were made to various offers and funding schemes for DAAD alumni. A dedicated session on the Germany-alumni social networking platform – Alumniportal Deutschland was introduced with the aim to maximise the utilization of alumni services.

It was a fruitful endeavor which served as an excellent platform for fostering collaboration and synergy among the alumni of the German Academic Exchange Service and Alexander von Humboldt Foundation from diverse fields and disciplines.

DAAD Alumni Meet in Kathmandu, Nepal 2023

27-28 April 2023

The recent alumni meet, held in Kathmandu, Nepal, brought together more than 50 participants including DAAD alumni and alumni of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH), alumni associations and stakeholders from various disciplines and backgrounds. The main objective of the one-and-a-half-day event was to renew networking opportunities amongst alumni, establish new partnerships, and generate novel ideas for international cooperation between Nepal and Germany.

The alumni meet was officially opened by H.E. Dr. Thomas Prinz, German Ambassador to Nepal, who addressed the DAAD and AvH alumni with welcoming and encouraging words. Dr. Prinz also hosted the dinner reception for the esteemed alumni and important partners at his residence on the first day of the alumni meet.

One of the highlights of the event was the dedicated workshop on the topic of “Management and Funding of International Cooperation Projects” facilitated by DAAD. The workshop yielded learning opportunities for all and tangible outcomes in the form of concrete ideas for collaborative/cooperation projects with Germany, for instance:

Gender Disparity: Women Researchers in STEM
Sustainable Rice Production and Marketing
Flood Risk Management and Resilient Sustainable Structures
Water Treatment Technology for Agriculture / Water for All

Recognising the value of practical insights, intricacies and challenges involved in the management and funding of international cooperation projects, the workshop also incorporated peer learning and good practice examples of the DAAD funded projects. The resource persons from Bhutan (Dr Roshan Chhetri from Royal University of Bhutan under PRAXIS project with University Rostock, Germany) and from Nepal (Prof. Dr Sunil Prasad Lohani, Kathmandu University under SDG-Partnerships along with Dr Deepak Paudel from Save the Children initiative, Kathmandu under EXCEED project) were invited to share their previous/ongoing cooperation projects as exemplary cases.

The second day commenced with the brainstorming session on internationalisation of higher education and the current focus and approach of Nepalese HEIs on importance of internationalisation. Thereafter, alumni offers and services extended by DAAD (scholarship programmes for alumni, events for alumni; online and onsite) were introduced. For the first time, DAAD New Delhi introduced and utilised one of the largest social networking platforms (approx. 20,000 members) – Alumni Portal Deutschland: https://www.alumniportal-deutschland.org/en/ for this event for coordination and communication with the participants.

Overall, the alumni meet provided an excellent platform for alumni to foster partnerships with each other, enhance knowledge exchange, create synergies, and open avenues for future collaborations with Germany.

DAAD Alumni Meet for Pune and Mumbai Region 2022

DAAD organised the Alumni Meet in Pune in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut Max Mueller Bhavan Pune on 24 and 25 November 2022.. DAAD alumni groups from the Pune and Mumbai regions were invited for this 2-day event set within the framework of the “Critical Zones” – Exhibition of the the ZKM, Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe.

The first part of the programme included a visit to the exhibition and an interdisciplinary panel discussion on resilient societies within the context of the SDGs. The second part focused on the role of DAAD alumni and how they can contribute towards the facilitation of Indo-German science cooperation within the SDG context.

Check out some photos

The deep exposure to Germany's unique research culture was, by far, the best thing that happened in my academic career.

Prof. Dr Ranjan Ghosh, IIM Ahmedabad

Funding Programmes for Alumni

Here are some funding opportunities from the DAAD for former scholarship holders such as yourselves:

The DAAD fellowship is the best platform to enrich the knowledge in both academic and research fronts and to understand the cultures of each country very well.

Dr B G Unni, CSIR NEIST- Jorhat

Alumni Corner

From Bengal to Berlin: A Journey and a Relationship

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