Prof. Dr Swati Acharya receives the Federal Cross of Merit

The DAAD extends its congratulations to Prof. Dr Swati Acharya on this important honour.

As a distinguished and highly experienced professor of German studies, she has headed the Department of Foreign Languages at Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU). With over 27 years of teaching experience, she has made a significant contribution to the promotion of the German language and literature in India. Her research covers a broad range of topics.

Between 1989 and 2008, she received several short-term DAAD scholarships, including scholarships to the University of Cologne (1989) and Humboldt University in Berlin (1994). In 2006, with DAAD funding, she actively participated in the conference “India in German-speaking Europe” in Berlin.

She has made a significant contribution to the promotion of German studies in India. In 2024, she was elected to the prestigious German Academy for Language and Literature, making her the first and so far only Indian woman to receive this honour. She is a member of the academic advisory board of the Friedrich Schlegel Graduate School at Freie Universität Berlin. In addition, in 2024 she was appointed Science Ambassador of the AvH and President of the Goethe Society of India (GSI). As President of the Goethe Society of India, she remains connected to the DAAD through the annual international conferences.