Katrin Isabelle Bernard embarked on a transformative journey in Chennai from February to August 2023, conducting data collection for her master thesis during her exchange with the IGCS.
Dr. Christoph Woiwode‘s suggestion to explore a research exchange in India sparked her interest, leading to a successful fellowship application in November 2022. With Dr. Woiwode’s support, Katrin refined her research, prepared a compelling exposé, and secured the needed recommendation letter.
Click the link below to read her full experience blog where she shares a detailed insights into the crucial steps of preparation and her experiences during her stay in Chennai.
Last Friday, our Katchipedu Nook Self-learning Space was honored by a visit of Mr. Scott Hartmann, Cultural Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Chennai, and his colleague Mr. Gokula Selvarajan, Experiential Learning Coordinator. They took a keen interest in the project activities, enjoyed the fun interaction with the learners, and also participated in a field visit to Katchipedu village. The Consulate has many opportunities for funding the promotion of individual learners in various ways, including scholarships and beyond, which also offers workshops for further qualification. We are looking forward to more collaborations in the future. A big thanks for your visit!
IGCS is proud to announce that the 5th iteration of the Indo-German Dialogue was successfully conducted on 13th – 15th October 2023 at Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu, South India, on the theme “Genus loci – Locality matters: Embedding sustainable transformation in local contexts”. Congratulations to IGCS-post doc Dr. Christoph Woiwode, the F5Green Foundation, and Tiruvannamalai. Over the years not only a network but also a sort of “IGD family” has grown with new delegates joining in every time. We are extremely grateful for the partnership with Renuka and Raj from F5 Green Foundation who welcomed some 30 participants to their ‘Vaan Sirappu’ Knowledge Exchange Centre on their marvellous farm in what was to be an experiential immersion to local sustainability practices and places of practice.
Sharing one’s own experiences from practice and research through case studies and field trips, in discussions, dyadic encounters, through reflective exercises and group interactions, also developing ideas to create a potential for collaborations, describes in a nutshell the format of the IGD series as a continuously evolving platform of interdisciplinary, cross-cultural Indo-German interaction. Besides plenty of sharing, talking and chatting, we explored the ‘genus loci’ by climbing the sacred mountain Arunachalamalai. We were also deeply impressed by a farmers’ collective whose members displayed their detailed, intergenerational knowledge about the ecosystem habitats related to agriculture. It has been once more an extremely rewarding and worthwhile event. A big thanks to IGCS for the co-funding and to every one and all who made this IGD such a glowing event.
