Indian Consul General visited the University of Passau

The Consul General of India, Sugandh Rajaram, visited the University of Passau to enquire about its programmes connecting India and Germany. India is one of Passau’s major partner countries in terms of visiting scholars and international students.

Centre front row: University President Carola Jungwirth, Consul General Sugandh Rajaram and Vice President Professor Ursula Reutner. Back row from the left: Barbara Zacharias (Head of the International Office and Student Services Division), Professor Joachim Posegga (Faculty of Computer Science and Mathematics), Professor Hans Ziegler (School of Business, Economics and Information Systems), Professor Franz Lehner (Dean of the School of Business, Economics and Information Systems), Professor Martina Padmanabhan (Faculty of Arts and Humanities), Professor Jörg Fedtke (Faculty of Law). Image: University of Passau

Consul General Sugandh Rajaram was welcomed by the University’s President, Vice President and professors from all four faculties. Mr Rajaram enquired about the state of co-operation in research and teaching and reported on the great interest of Indian universities in further internationalisation and expansion of their global partnerships. Both sides affirmed their desire to intensify co-operation, especially in research. ‘India is a strategic partner country of the University of Passau that we maintain intensive exchanges with – notably with the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Madras. I am therefore delighted to welcome the Indian Consul General here today’, University President Jungwirth said. During a guided tour of the campus with Indian students the Consul General had the chance to find out about the academic conditions and the support for international students at the University.

The University of Passau has maintained close relations with partner universities from India for many years. It currently has partnerships with five Indian universities: the National Law School of India University; the National Law University, Delhi; the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras); and the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati. Vibrant exchanges exist between scholars from both countries and various joint research projects are ongoing. During the last five years, 60 Indian academics have visited the University of Passau in total. Furthermore, a joint doctoral degree programme between IIT Madras and Passau has, since 2014, allowed participating doctoral candidates to simultaneously obtain an Indian PhD as well as a German doctoral degree.

All four faculties of the University of Passau offer student exchange options. In the past three years, the University of Passau has welcomed 30 Indian exchange students, while 44 students from Passau spent part of their studies in India during the same period. In the current semester, 97 students from India are enrolled at the University of Passau as degree-seeking students, making Indian students the second biggest group of international students after Austria. The most popular degree programme among students from India is the M.Sc. Computer Science, which is offered in English and German.