TUD Dresden University of Technology and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), one of the top-ranked universities in India, have formalized a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to establish the "transCampus" partnership. The agreement was handed over to Federal Minister of Education and Research Bettina Stark-Watzinger in the presence of Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi as part of the 7^th Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) between India and Germany on October 25-26. Following the deliberations, TUD was lauded on the highest political level as an outstanding example of international cooperation in research and of academic and institutional exchange.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted this initiative as a special example of how both countries are deepening their bilateral cooperation in teaching, research, innovation and entrepreneurship. “People-to-people connections are an important pillar of our relationship. Today, we have decided to work together in skills development and vocational education. An agreement has also been signed between IIT Madras and TUD Dresden University of Technology. I am confident that our young talent pool will find new opportunities to contribute to Germany's development. I congratulate Chancellor Scholz for his faith in the capacity and capability of Indian talent,” noted Modi during his concluding remarks.

The MoA establishes a framework to support interdisciplinary research, joint faculty, PhD students and Research Groups as well as dual-degree programs in four fields: Microelectronics and AI, Metabolic Diseases, Sustainability and Transport Science, and Entrepreneurship. The transCampus is the established TUD tool for strengthening strategic global academic partnerships.

Prof. Ursula Staudinger, Rector of TU Dresden, highlighted the agreement as a key milestone: “This agreement to form a transCampus together with IIT Madras takes our established cooperation to the next level. It represents an ambitious and innovative step toward truly internationalizing our research and academic capabilities. The transCampus joining forces between IIT Madras and TUD is forging a bridge between two of the world’s most innovative scientific communities.”

Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan, Director of IIT Madras, emphasized the significance of this partnership for India’s academic landscape: “IITM is thrilled to partner with TUD in setting up a transCampus, conceptualized as a hybrid joint campus. Select faculty from both the institutions will be a part of this campus and will pursue joint research, teaching, fundraising and innovation.”

For more than ten years now, TU Dresden has maintained a transCampus partnership with King’s College London. The research-guided partnership now extends far beyond its roots in the life sciences. Prof. Ronald Tetzlaff, Chief Officer for Technology Transfer and Internationalization at TUD, emphasizes: “Since establishing transCampus with King’s College London in 2015, TU Dresden has been at the forefront of high-impact international partnerships. Our collaboration with IIT Madras reaffirms our commitment to excellence through strategic, global cooperation.”

This MoA represents a significant milestone in international academic cooperation, underscoring both universities' commitment to fostering a borderless educational environment. The transCampus initiative exemplifies the potential of global partnerships to advance meaningful research and prepare future leaders to thrive in an interconnected world.

© Krishna Moorthy

During their stay in India, the delegates from TUD also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the IITM Research Park for Internationalization of Start-ups and Entrepreneurship. The newly established MoU marks TUD's first collaboration with an international partner focused on supporting start-ups and represents IITM Research Park's inaugural partnership in Germany. The partners are intensifying their collaboration through an innovative “Startup Exchange Initiative,” which facilitates exchanges between German and Indian start-ups.

Since summer 2024, TU Dresden and IIT Madras, in cooperation with RWTH Aachen, have been teaching the joint Master’s degree program Water Security and Global Change. It encourages students to not only address water security issues from a variety of perspectives, but also helps them garner important international and intercultural experience for their careers by studying at three excellent universities on two continents.

The current and future collaborations are a testament to the importance of India as a cooperation partner for TU Dresden. Every year, hundreds of young people from India begin their studies at our university. As a point of contact for these talented individuals, TU Dresden opened a Scientific Liaison Office in Chennai on behalf of the Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism last week. It strives to strengthen cooperation between scientists and entrepreneurs in India and Saxony, all the while supporting the strategic selection of students for STEM degree programs at universities in Saxony.

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