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Exchange: Prof. Dr. Michael Pfeffer, Vice President of Ravensburg-Weingarten University, Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann, Prof. Varghese Panthalookaran and his colleague Prof. Manoj Tharian as well as Gerlinde Kretschmann and Prof. Dr. Gerhard Schneider (f.l.).

"India has an extremely high potential. For us as a university, it will become an important partner country." Visibly impressed, Prof. Dr. Gerhard Schneider returned from the South Asian country; which is the most populous democracy and the fastest growing economy in the world. The Rector of Aalen University was a member of the approximately 100-member delegation, who had visited the Indian subcontinent under the leadership of Prime Minister of the State of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann. Representatives from science, business, and politics took advantage of the trip in order to establish new contacts with Indian companies, organizations, and universities; and to strengthen existing relationships.

The thematic focus of the trip was a sustainable urban development in the fields of mobility, water waste, and energy, as well as innovative technologies for mechanical engineering and automotive production. In India, the demand for motor vehicles is steadily growing, which is why the subject of electro-mobility is also in high demand. The delegation visited the cities of Bangalore, Pune, and Mumbai in the Indian state of Maharashtra, with whom Baden-Württemberg has had a partnership for two years. Within a few years, Maharashtra has developed into one of India's most important industrial regions, in which a number of companies from Baden-Württemberg are also producing. "The economic dynamic of India instills excitement and offers enormous potential for companies and the exchange of students," says Prof. Dr. Gerhard Schneider. Aalen University already has numerous cooperations and relations with the South Asian country. For example, there is a cooperation with the "Jawaharlal Nehru University of Technology" in Hyderabad, the capital of the state of Telangana. Last year, a cooperation agreement was signed with the "Symbiosis University of Applied Sciences" in Indore. A cooperation with the "Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology” is in the works.

Currently, 72 students from India are enrolled at Aalen University. "We want to expand the cooperation with India in order to gain students who want to receive their degree here. Those who once lived here for some time have a completely different relationship to Germany," emphasizes Prof. Dr. Gerhard Schneider. The same applies in reverse of course: "India offers huge markets. We can also gain access to them through students who completed an exchange semester in India and are willing to go there for a couple of years during their professional life." Schneider would like to establish a strategic exchange with India on a scientific level in cooperation with other Baden-Württemberg universities.

The fact that the world is proverbially small is also evident in the enormous India, Prof. Dr. Schneider experienced at the "Indian Metal Cutting Machine Tool Exhibition" (IMTEX) - the most important international machine tool trade in South and Southeast Asia where a young Indian tapped him on the shoulder. "He was a master's graduate, which I supervised two years ago. His father is the head of Mapal India and later at a reception sat next to Minister of Economic Affairs Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut and State Secretary Petra Olschowski, and was enthusiastic about Aalen and the university," says Schneider. Thanks to the delegation trip, important contacts were made - and, of course, the advantages of East Württemberg could be presented to Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann:

"At the IMTEX, we visited the stands of SWH, Mapal and Zeiss together, and the Minister President was very impressed by how well Aalen is connected to the regional companies."