Welcome
Wiss-Nama Newsletter May 2025
Upcoming events and conferences
Networking event: DWIH Network Day
Office of German Centres of Research and Innovation in cooperation with DWIH New Delhi is organising the DWIH Network Day on June 27 in Cologne, Germany. The event will provide an opportunity to meet the management teams of DWIH offices in India, the USA, Brazil, and Japan. Attendees will gain valuable insights into the research and innovation landscapes of these countries and the activities of these innovation centers. The event will highlight the services offered by DWIHs and explore how institutions can engage with this global network. Interactive sessions will allow for in-depth discussions, enabling participants to explore potential cooperation opportunities for their institutions or researchers. Additionally, the event will facilitate networking with a wide range of representatives from international offices, academia, research, government bodies, and entrepreneurship promotion agencies in Germany.
Innovators Connect – Tandem 2025
DWIH New Delhi and its partner incubators are organising a two weeks immersion programme in Hyderabad, Bhubaneshwar and Bengaluru from November 3 to 14 for young researchers interested in start-up founding and early-stage start-up founders from India and Germany ‘Innovators Connect – Tandem’. The programme will include design thinking workshops, information sessions, mentoring, networking sessions, lab visits and more. 30 participants will be hosted at partner incubators in India. They will work in teams for problem-solving, developing new ideas and their technology development, and get exposure to start-up and innovation ecosystems of India and Germany.
DAAD Events
Web Session: Bachelors in Germany
Join this web session to know more about doing Bachelor’s in Germany and get your questions answered too.
June 3, 2025, 3:00 PM, Online
Web Session: Masters in Germany
Join this web session to know more about doing Masters in Germany and get your questions answered too.
June 10, 3:00 PM, Online
Web Session: Funding Opportunities for Academic / Institutional Cooperation
The DAAD Regional Office New Delhi invites researchers, faculty members, academicians and institutional representatives from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Germany to an information session on DAAD-funded programmes. This web session aims to provide valuable insights into cooperation-based funding opportunities offered by DAAD, with a focus on initiating and strengthening academic partnerships between institutions in the region and Germany. It is open for researchers, faculty members, representatives international offices at universities and academic administrators
June 10, 2025, 4:00 PM, Online
Higher studies in Germany
Students/researchers will be guided about opportunities in Germany – Eligibility criteria, types of universities, various master courses, types of PhD, scholarships, application procedure, visa procedures etc. Following the presentation, the students can clarify their queries in the interactive Q&A time.
Bangalore: June 11, 2025, 2:00 PM, Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, 716, CMH Road, Indiranagar 1st Stage, Bangalore 560038
International Web Talk Series - Alumni for SDGs 3 and 13
The DAAD Regional Office in New Delhi and Jakarta are pleased to invite you to participate in the International Web Talk Series: Alumni for SDG on SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 13 (Climate action).
June 11, 2025, 3:30 PM to June 13, 2025, 4:30 PM, Online
Web Session: PhD in Germany
Join this web session to know more about doing a PhD in Germany and get your questions answered too.
June 17, 2025, 3:00 PM, Online
Online Session with German Universities
Learn more about study opportunities in the fields of IT and Engineering in Germany and interact with representatives of TU Dresden – Dresden University of Technology, Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences and Munich University of Applied Sciences.
June 18, 2025, 3:00 PM, Online
Online: My Student Journey - Khushboo and Apoorv share their Story
Khushboo Garg, currently a Master student at Ludwig Maximilian University in Human Biology and Apoorv Shriniwas Kulkarni, currently a Master student at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Electrical Engineering & IT, share their story about to how to study in Germany. Get your questions answered too.
June 25, 2025, 3:00 PM, Online
Calls for proposals
EMBO Lecture Courses in India
European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) funds up to six lecture courses per year in India. The aim of a lecture course is to teach participants, primarily PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. The course should provide participants with background and underlying concepts, thereby making the topic accessible to scientists with diverse scientific background. EMBO Lecture courses may also include practical training. Organizers are encouraged to consider covering scientific writing, job applications, presentation skills or grant application writing.
Application deadline: July 1, 2025
Multiple Short-Term Fellowships at ICAS-MP for the Academic Year July 2026–June 2027
The M.S. Merian – R. Tagore International Centre of Advanced Studies (ICAS:MP) invites applications for fellowships for the academic year July 2026–June 2027. The project, funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), is based in New Delhi but welcomes research from beyond India and South Asia. Fellowships are available for Postdoc and Senior researchers working on the following themes: Working Group ‘Theory from the South’, Thematic Group ‘Constructing Alternative Pasts: (New) Sources and Methods’, Thematic Group ‘The Challenge of Gender’ and Thematic Group ‘Normative Conflicts and Transformations: South Asian Perspectives’. The fellowship supports research that focuses on comparison, translation, multilinguality, and decolonized theoretical perspectives. Applicants must have at least one year of post-PhD experience by the start date. Fellowships are for up to five months and are open to researchers worldwide, with a preference for those based in German or Indian academic institutions.
Application deadline: July 15, 2025
Max Planck Postdoc Program
The Max Planck Postdoc Program offers early career researchers a range of benefits to help advance their scientific careers. These include, a guaranteed contract of at least three years, a targeted mentoring program with mentors from other institutes or industry, a career workshop within two years to explore options in science, industry, or entrepreneurship, access to career development and coaching from the Planck Academy and high-quality mentoring and supervision guidelines. The program introduces a new recruitment procedure with positions advertised collectively twice a year for six weeks, aligning with international standards and the typical timing of postdocs completing their degrees.
Application deadline: September 1, 2025
Indo-German Funding Opportunity for Joint Research Projects in the field of Social Science Research
In pursuance of the MoU signed between the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and the German Research Foundation (DFG) Germany, proposals for joint Indo-German academic research projects in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities are invited. Proposals submitted by teams of principal investigators with some initial cooperation experiences are welcome. The objective of this programme is to promote and strengthen the research cooperation in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities between the two countries, by providing funding to allow joint research activities for internationally excellent research in relevant areas of mutual interest and benefit. This is a co-funding mechanism for the support of joint research projects between ICSSR and DFG. Applicants must be permanently employed in a research or academic position in a recognized research or academic institution – either publicly funded university/college, deemed universities recognized by the UGC or a publicly funded research institute or ICSSR research institutes/recognized institutes. They must also hold a PhD or equivalent qualification and have an interest in high quality research which may be evident by past studies, publications and academic background.
The collaboration opportunity will be open throughout the year with no deadline.
Consolidator Grants: ERC awards €678m in grants to back excellent research across Europe
The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded its 2024 Consolidator Grants to 328 researchers across Europe. These grants, totalling €678 million, aim to support outstanding scientists and scholars as they establish their independent research teams and develop their most promising scientific ideas. The funding is provided through the EU’s Horizon Europe programme. The grants will support scientific projects spanning all disciplines of research from engineering to life sciences to humanities. Researchers of any nationality with 7-12 years of experience since completion of PhD, a scientific track record showing great promise and an excellent research proposal can apply. Research must be conducted in a public or private research organisation (known as a Host Institution/HI). It could be the HI where the applicant already works, or any other HI located in one of the EU Member States or associated countries.
Institute of the month
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, founded in 1737, is a prestigious research institution in Germany. Known for its commitment to social responsibility, democracy, tolerance, and justice, it offers a diverse range of programs across 13 faculties, covering natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, and medicine. With around 28,000 students and over 210 degree programs, it ranks among Germany's largest universities. The university is particularly recognized for its interdisciplinary research, especially in the humanities and natural sciences. It aims to further enhance its international reputation by focusing on several key areas, such as, expanding global partnerships to attract researchers and students, offering research-driven study programs and training opportunities, encouraging collaboration between different academic fields for innovative problem-solving, strengthening the university’s self-governance and independence and increasing partnerships with research organizations, businesses, and communities. The university's international engagement is reflected in its diverse student body, with over 4,500 students from 138 countries, extensive exchange programs, and numerous English-language graduate courses.
Great women in science
Claudia Felser
Claudia Felser studied chemistry and physics at the University of Cologne, earning a diploma in solid-state chemistry in 1989 and a doctorate in physical chemistry in 1994. She completed postdoctoral fellowships at the Max Planck Institute in Stuttgart and the CNRS in Nantes (France). In 1996, she became an assistant professor at the University of Mainz, and by 2003, she was promoted to full professor. She is currently a scientific member and Director at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids in Dresden and has served as the Vice-President of the Max Planck Society's Chemical-Physical-Technical Section since June 2023. Her research focuses on the design, synthesis, and physical characterization of quantum materials, especially Heusler compounds and topological materials, with applications in energy conversion and spintronics. Felser's research often involves international collaborations, including with scientists from India. Her work in materials science, particularly in areas like spintronics, topological materials, and quantum materials, aligns with the research interests of many Indian researchers, especially those working in institutions like the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs). She is a fellow of the Materials Research Society of India (MRSI), which indicates her active participation in the Indian scientific community. The MRSI is a key platform for advancing materials science in India, and her association with this organization highlights her engagement with Indian research developments and the fostering of international collaborations.
Did you know?
33.33% people in Germany aged 25-64 have a university degree including Bachelor’s, Master’s, doctoral or short-cycle university degrees.