High-level delegation from India visits TUD: Deepening cooperation and strengthening collaboration on cutting-edge technologies

On January 15, 2026, Prof. Roswitha Böhm, Vice-Rector for University Culture and Internationalization, and Prof. Angela Rösen-Wolff, Vice-Rector for Research and Technology Transfer, welcomed a high-level delegation, led by Secretary S. Krishnan from the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) at TUD Dresden University of Technology. Representatives from the German Federal Ministry for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation (BMDS), Embassy of India, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism (SMWK) also took part. On TUD‘s side, the vice-rectors were accompanied by Prof. Andreas Pinkwart (TUD|excite), Prof. Karl Leo (Chair of Optoelectronics), Prof. Thomas Mikolajick (Chair of Nanoelectronics), and Prof. Christian Georg Mayr (Chair of Highly Parallel VLSI Systems and Neuro-Microelectronics), among others. The visit came immediately after Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s visit to India this week.

Prof. Ursula Staudinger, Rector of TUD, emphasized: “The visit of the MeitY Secretary–led delegation to TU Dresden, following the German Chancellor’s recent visit to India, underscores the strategic importance of our university as a trusted partner in international science and technology cooperation. Our collaboration with India goes beyond an academic partnership—it reflects a shared commitment to shaping a sustainable, technology-driven future. Through our transCampus partnership with IIT Madras, we unite research excellence, exceptional talent, and responsible innovation to tackle global challenges across borders.”

Prof. Roswitha Böhm remarked: “The visit underscores the critical role of global academic partnerships in shaping the digital future. By connecting disciplines and regions, we foster scientific excellence, societal impact, and the further development of our transCampus partnership with IIT Madras.”

Prof. Angela Rösen-Wolff added: “This high-level exchange with MeitY and Germany’s digital policy stakeholders provides vital momentum for collaborative research in semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and smart systems. Such partnerships are essential to strengthening technological sovereignty and addressing global challenges.”

© André Wirsig

The bilateral exchange aimed to discuss the expansion of cooperation, particularly in the areas of semiconductors, AI, electronics, IT, start-ups and innovation-driven entrepreneurship. This renewed meeting of high-level Indian partners at TUD coupled with leading Indo-German start-up initiatives testifies to the close partnership with India and underscores TUD's important role as a driving force for research-driven innovation and talent pipelines in cooperation with India.

Background: Close partnership between TUD and India

Every year, hundreds of young people from India begin their studies at TUD – Indian students make up the largest group of non-EU students at TUD. As a point of contact for these talented individuals and strengthening collaborations in science, teaching and entrepreneurship between Saxony and India, TUD opened a Scientific Liaison Office in Chennai on behalf of the Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism in 2024.

Also in 2024, TUD 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. It aims to create a framework to support interdisciplinary research, joint faculty, PhD students and Research Groups as well as dual-degree programs in Microelectronics and AI, Metabolic Diseases, Sustainability and Transport Science, and Entrepreneurship.

Impressions of the delegation visit

Contact
Dr. Avinash Chekuru
International Office
TUD Dresden University of Technology
Tel.: +49 351 463-36121