Category: News

The Institute of Sanitary Engineering and Solid Waste Management (ISAH), Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover, invites applications for the position of a

Research Associate (PostDoc, m/f/d) in the field of sustainability and circular economy

(Salary Scale 13 TV-L, 100 %)

to be filled as soon as possible. The position is limited until December 31^st, 2024. The scope of the position corresponds to 100 % of the collectively agreed working hours.

Background

In 2010, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) and several German universities jointly established the Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (IGCS), located on the IITM campus in Chennai, as a platform for international academic exchange and interdisciplinary research collaboration on major sustainable development issues. In Germany, the IGCS activities are supported by the ‘TU9’ group of Technical Universities (led by RWTH Aachen University) and Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel. Focus areas of sustainability education and research related to water (Kiel Univ.), waste (TU Hannover), land use and rural/ urban development (RWTH Aachen Univ.), as well as energy (TU Berlin).

The IGCS is part of the initiative “A New Passage to India” by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). It receives funding from the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) via DAAD and the Dept. of Science and Technology, Government of India. Since its inception, the IGCS has offered short-term Winter/ Summer Schools on various sustainability topics, workshop participation, and short- and long-term research stays to students and researchers from India and Germany at IGCS Chennai or the German partner universities. German and IITM academic staff closely collaborate both in teaching and research.

In the research field of Waste Management and Circular Economy at ISAH, research and networking activities between India and Germany on the topic of recycling management and resource conservation are to be further developed. This includes a stay of several months each year at IIT Madras. Thereby, under consideration of already existing research fields, the following priorities should be set:

• Greenhouse gas reduction through pyrolytic processing of organic municipal waste
• Development and implementation of cross-sectoral circular economy measures in the water-food-energy-waste nexus
• Sustainable recovery and recycling processes of post-consumer plastics

Furthermore, a key task is networking with partner institutions, which includes state agencies, industries and civil society organisations in India and Germany, as well as consolidating existing networks within the IGCS and promoting research and teaching cooperation. This includes my own teaching activities at the IIT Madras and LUH. Additionally, the objective is to form a close interaction with the other IGCS core areas.

Working field

You should conduct research projects and teaching together with IGCS colleagues in different formats as well as individually (e.g. lectures at IITM and your home university in Germany, create content for workshops, teach and supervise Summer and Winter School students). With the support of the Indian and German project coordinators, you will actively contribute to organizing events. Furthermore, you will be a point of contact for exchange students and scientists, who are planning their stay in Chennai or in Germany. The majority of your work time you are required to spend at the IGCS office at IITM in Chennai, at least six of twelve months. You will be able to solicit research grants in Germany (e.g. DFG, industry) and collaborate with IGCS’ area coordinators in Indian research projects, engage in IGCS activities and support in teaching.

Requirements

• Completed university degree (M.Sc.; M.Tech.) in civil and environmental engineering, process engineering, or cf.
• Experience in teaching
• Knowledge of German and English (both fluent)
• The ability to obtain a work visa in India or Germany

Desired:

• Completed doctoral degree and successful publications in one of the above-mentioned sustainable research fields (pyrolysis of organic waste, plastics recycling, circular economy measures)
• Work-abroad experience and knowledge of the region

You are expected to engage in interdisciplinary research and design your own project ideas and focus areas in India.

The university aims to promote equality between women and men. For this purpose, the university strives to reduce under-representation in areas where a certain gender is under-represented. Women are under-represented in the salary scale of the advertised position. Therefore, qualified women are encouraged to apply. Moreover, we welcome applications from qualified men. Preference will be given to equally-qualified applicants with disabilities.

For reasons of cost, application documents will not be returned. Please submit copies only. Information on the collection of personal data according to article 13 GDPR can be found at https://www.uni-hannover.de/en/datenschutzhinweis-bewerbungen/.

The Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (IGCS) is dedicated to researching current sustainability challenges and disseminating the knowledge generated while facilitating exchanges of students and researchers.

Our bi-annual flagship international student exchange program, the Winter School at IIT Madras, was recently held from February 20th to March 3rd, 2023, on the topic “Microgrid – A Key Contribution Towards A Carbon Neutral Society”. Our participants assessed the accessibility to affordable, reliable, and sustainable forms of energy in the Indian and German context through an interdisciplinary set of lectures and workshops conducted by our Indian and German academics and practitioners. Based on the three main trends shaping the current and future global energy landscape – defossilization, decentralisation, and digitalisation – this iteration of our exchange program focused on the idea that promoting renewable energy systems, primarily through microgrids, is a potential approach and an innovative and viable solution towards a clean energy future, especially in areas not served by centralised electrical infrastructure. IGCS also provides a platform for participants to engage in peer learning through Group Work. These activities are designed to allow group members to gain hands-on experience in multidisciplinary collaborations to develop a set of research ideas. The collaborations also enable our participants to engage in intercultural exchange and travel.

We are delighted to announce the upcoming Summer School at TU Berlin, which will take place from 24th July to 04th August 2023. Arising from the idea that energy security, economic benefits, and clean energy integration are the main drivers of microgrid development and deployment worldwide, the Summer School aims to build on the success of the Winter School. Like the Winter School, this year’s Summer School in Berlin will comprise interdisciplinary lectures, Working Groups, Panel Discussions, Excursions in Germany and many other intercultural exchange opportunities. Our objective is to continue exploring the sustainable use of energy, a primary global concern.

We cordially invite Indian and German students to jointly and interactively develop their skills and knowledge about sustainable energy use in our upcoming Summer School in Berlin. Stay tuned for more information about the program and how to apply!

The RWTH Alumni Team cordially invite you to participate in the next session on sustainability and waste management of the RWTH India Alumni Insights event series!

Mr Anil Gokarn will talk about his private journey at the RWTH Aachen University and after, as well as the opportunities and challenges in waste management. You can find more information in the flyer below.

When: Friday, February 10th, 2023, 2pm–3pm CET // 6:30pm–7:30pm IST.

Where: Zoom. The link to the event will be sent to the registered persons shortly before.

Registration up to and including February 8th, 2023: 

https://formular.zhv.rwth-aachen.de/lip_offen/action/invoke.do?id=alumni_veranst_anm&thema=111

The RWTH India Alumni Insights series cooperates with the RWTH International Office, the Liaison Office New Delhi and the RWTH Alumni team.

The Center for Financial Accountability, Indo-German Center for Sustainability at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and Climate Trends opens an invitation to participate in the upcoming fourth Energy Finance Conference – 2022 (EFCI).

The conference is held against the backdrop of rapid changes in the energy sector we are witnessing post the pandemic, be it at the policy level, financing models or RE commitments.EFCI, in all its earlier editions in 2019, 2020 and 2021, has been an explorative exercise to understand and deliberate on some of the critical outstanding energy debates with far-reaching implications for people, markets and the environment. The ongoing energy transition, mainly defined by the choices of states to shift towards clean energy, has significantly boosted the development of renewable energy technology in India and abroad.

At a time when renewable energy is touted as the next best alternative to coal, the Indo-German Center for Sustainability at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and the Center for Financial Accountability, along with Climate Trends, felt the need to analyze the progress of this transition critically.

Topics for this year include Understanding the Energy Landscape in India, Public and private players in the energy sector, Financing models in the energy sector, Challenges in the ESG framework, Hydrogen, Storage, 2nd / 3rd generation biofuels as game changers and others.

The mode of the conference will be hybrid, as the conference will be held on December 6-7, 2022 at IIT-Madras, Chennai.

For more about the previous conferences, please visit their website.

Link to their promotional video and concept note at  EFCI 2022

For registrations, please visit https://bit.ly/efci2022.

Details of the sessions will be shared with the registered participants.