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Wiss-Nama Newsletter-4th April 2018

11.04.2018 - Article

News from Indo-German cooperation

DFG and DST sign Programme of Cooperation 2018

On the occasion of her first trip to India, Professor Dorothee Dzwonnek, Secretary General of DFG, has witnessed the signing of this year’s Programme of Cooperation between Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) on February 14, 2018. She also discussed the relations between the two organizations with DST’s Secretary Professor Ashutosh Sharma. The Programme of Cooperation document details a planned joint call for proposals later this year, the beginning of formal talks about co-funding large consortia with Indian and German P.I.s, as well as the resumption of the joint activities surrounding the Nobel Laureate Meetings held annually in Lindau, Germany.

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Highlights from India and Germany

Anja Karliczek to serve as new German Education and Research Minister

Anja Karliczek has been chosen to serve as Germany’s new Minister for Education and Research. She will succeed current Minister Johanna Wanka. Karliczek is trained as a banker, and she worked as a hotel manager before being elected to the German Parliament in 2013, where she worked mostly on finance issues. Merkel’s governing coalition has promised an increase of 3 percent per year for research agencies such as Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres and Max Planck Society.

Germany switched on Synlight, the world’s largest artificial sun

German Scientists are switching on the world’s largest artificial sun in the hope that intense light sources can be used to generate climate-friendly fuel. This experiment is being conducted in Jülich and is designed by scientists from German Aerospace Center (DLR). The device features 149 industrial-grade film projector spotlights, and each one is roughly 4000 times the wattage of the average light bulb. It produces light about 10,000 times the intensity of natural sunlight on Earth.

Rs 1000 crore (12.48 Billion Euros) for research in science and technology in next two years under IMPRINTII: HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar

The Union Minister for Human Resources and Development, Shri Prakash Javadekar said on March 6, 2018 that in a major boost for research and innovation in the country, the Central Government has sanctioned a sum of Rs. 1000 crore for the phase two of the Impacting Research Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT) India programme. In a statement in the Visitor’s Conference held in New Delhi, the Minister said under the IMPRINT-II, a fund is being created by the Department of Science and Technology and Ministry of Human Resource Development together, in which participation will come from industry and other interested Ministries. The project will be run as a separate vertical in coordination with the DST. Prof. Indranil Manna of IIT-Kharagpur will be the National Coordinator. The proposals for IMPRINT-II will be called from March 16.

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Upcoming Events and Conferences

Falling Walls Lab India 2018

The DAAD - German Academic Exchange Service and DWIH - German House for Research and Innovation New Delhi, together with the Jadavpur University Kolkata, bring the next edition of the Falling Walls Lab India 2018 on April 7, 2018. This initiative is supported by the Federal Foreign Office, Germany. Falling Walls Lab is a unique competition that provides young researchers and entrepreneurs a platform to present their research project business plan or social initiative. The winner gets to compete with Falling Walls Lab winners from across the world at the global Lab finale that takes place in Berlin on 8 November 2018, and also gets a ticket to the prestigious Falling Walls Conference on 9 November where leaders from science, industry and policy-making meet.

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DAAD Events

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) will be organizing a series of events for Indian students and researchers interested in pursuing studies or research in Germany and webinars for students joining German universities shortly.

Webinar: Masters at HECTOR School of Engineering and Management

April 12, 2018, 15:00 hrs, any place convenient to the participant with a good internet connection.

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InfoSession – Study in Germany

Find out everything about higher studies in Germany - eligibility, admission procedures, scholarships and more.

New Delhi: April 17, 2018, 15:00 hrs, German House, 2 Nyaya Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021

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Webinar: Masters in Germany

April 26, 2018, 15:00 hrs, any place convenient to the participant with a good internet connection.

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InfoSession – PhD in Germany

Find out everything about PhD in Germany - eligibility, admission procedures, scholarships and more.

New Delhi: April 27, 2018, 15:00 hrs, DAAD, DLTA Complex, 1 Africa Avenue, New Delhi 110029

Attendance only by registration

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Calls for Proposals: Funding opportunities and Scholarships

International PhD program in Life and Natural Sciences

International Max Planck Research School in Molecular Biomedicine and Cells in Motion Graduate School invite applications for 16 fully financed PhD posts, which involve high-profile research and scientific training with a focus on life cell imaging.

Application deadline: April 13, 2018

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Call for proposals of “Bioeconomy International”

Bioeconomy International invites applications from candidates for cooperation projects with partners in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, India, Malaysia, Russia and Vietnam. Projects in the frame of “Bioeconomy International” shall significantly contribute to at least one of the following fields of action of the National Research Strategy Bioeconomy 2030, including securing global nutrition, ensuring sustainable agricultural production, producing safe and healthy food, using renewable resources for industry and developing biomass-based energy. The aim of this program is to fund German partners (universities, research organisations and industry) in international consortia. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) intends to support the implementation of the National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030 (NFSB 2030) in an international context by funding collaborative R&D projects involving foreign partners.

Application deadline: April 16, 2018

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International Max Planck Research School ‘Many-Particle Systems in Structured Environments’ in Dresden

This IMPRS, which is devoted to addressing some of the central contemporary themes in theoretical and computational physics, chemistry and materials science, seeks young scientists for its doctoral programme. It offers excellent research facilities at the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems as well as at its partner institutions in Germany–in particular the Technische Universität Dresden. The standard entrance qualification is a Master degree or a Diploma in physics, chemistry or mathematics. The PhD degree will be conferred by the Technical University in Dresden or by one of the partner institutions.

Application deadline: April 30, 2018

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Postdoctoral Visiting Fellow at GIGA

Applications are invited for a six-month fellowship at the GIGA Institute of Asian Studies (IAS) to be a part of the team working on India particularly in GIGA’s Research Programme “Power and Ideas”. The fellow will be working broadly on Indian politics and/or foreign policy on topics like, digitalization in India, the role and evolution of political communication (incl. social media) in India, state and non-state actors and their agency in Indian foreign policy making, connectivity in Indian foreign policy and Asian geopolitics and Indian party ideologies. Applicants should have a doctoral degree in political science or a related social science field from a university or research institution in India. The GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies / Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien is an independent social-science research institute based in Hamburg.

Application deadline: June 1, 2018

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Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for German Chancellor Fellowship

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation invites applications from Indian young professionals from wide range of fields such as politics, business, media, public administration, society and culture. The Fellowship for prospective leaders offers talented young professionals an opportunity to spend a year in Germany which they can use to advance their professional training and conduct together with their German host a project they have developed themselves.

Application Deadline: September 15, 2018

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Know the Indo-German science landscape: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

To acquaint our readers with the scientific scenario in India and Germany and to highlight the Indo-German cooperation in the field of science and technology, we would like to introduce one German or Indian Science institution in every edition, as a feature in our newsletter.

The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology focuses on matters regarding the origins of humankind. The Institute’s researchers study widely-differing aspects of human evolution. They analyse the genes, cultures and cognitive abilities of people living today and compare them with those of apes and extinct peoples. Scientists from various disciplines work closely together at the Institute: Geneticists trace the genetic make-up of extinct species, such as Neanderthals. Behaviourists and ecologists, for their part, study the behaviour of apes and other mammals. At present, the institute comprises four departments and one Max Planck Research Group. The Max Planck Society conduct basic research in the natural sciences, life sciences, and humanities. Since its foundation in 1948, eighteen Nobel laureates have emerged from its ranks. The Max Planck Society with its 84 Max Planck Institutes and facilities is the international flagship for German science.

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Did You Know?

41 new species are discovered by scientists every single day.


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