The IGCS team in Germany had the opportunity to visit IIT Madras in Chennai last month, where they were engaged in research and exchange teaching programs. Lisa Van Aalst, IGCS Project Coordinator at RWTH Aachen University, shares their experience in Chennai:
IGCS Team in Chennai
“After more than two years of working remotely, I finally had the chance to visit the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras campus, on a project management visit with the Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (IGCS).
Together with the IGCS Postdocs Christoph Woiwode, Daniel Rosado, and Khulud Alsouleman, we have had fruitful meetings strategizing on joint research projects addressing the Urban Water-Food-Energy-Waste Nexus in the Perumbakkam resettlement area as well as introducing hybrid teaching modules at IIT Madras in the field of sustainability.
Besides finally meeting face-to-face with our IGCS colleagues, we have also had the chance to interact with new faces and met our wonderful colleagues from DAAD India to discuss scholarship opportunities for Indian students and researchers.
In New Delhi, I had the chance to meet with RWTH Head India Office Benjamin Pfrang. Together with the Goethe Institut Indien and the German Embassy in New Delhi, we attended the inauguration of the Mayoor Public School Noida as a PASCH school. This initiative connects more than 2,000 schools worldwide where the German language is particularly important.“
Do you want to conduct your research with IGCS and our focus areas? We offer research grants to students interested in the field of sustainability. Visit our Grants page for more information.
The IGCS team in Germany had the opportunity to visit IIT Madras in Chennai last month, where they were engaged in research and exchange teaching programs. Dr. Khulud Alsouleman, IGCS post-doc in the area of Sustainable Use and Management of Energy and from the Technical University Berlin, shares the premise of their work in Chennai:
“It was an enriching experience to be close to the students in IITM, to deliver and discuss some important topics In Biomass conversion technologies. During my stay at IITM, I conducted some laboratory analysis in the chemical engineering department related to an initial project idea with Prof. Vinu (waste management Indian coordinator), to enhance the research cooperation not only between the Indian and German partners, but also between the IGCS areas.”
The IGCS Team in Chennai, IndiaDr. Alsouleman in IIT Madras
Do you want to conduct your research with IGCS and our focus areas? We offer research grants to students interested in the field of sustainability. Visit our Grants page for more information.
The IGCS team in Germany had the opportunity to visit IIT Madras in Chennai last month where they were engaged in research and exchange teaching programs. Dr. Daniel Rosado, IGCS post-doc in the area of Sustainable Water Management and from Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel shares the premise of his work in Chennai:
“Unplanned urbanization can have negative effects on the environment. At the IGCS we investigate how the lakes of Chennai, India, are affected by this uncontrolled urbanization and we look for ways to improve this situation.”
Do you want to conduct your research with IGCS and our focus areas? We offer research grants to students interested in the field of sustainability. Visit our Grants page for more information.
Microgrid — A Key Contribution Towards Carbon Neutral Society
Date: 20 February to 03 March 2023
Venue: IIT Madras, Chennai, India
Objective
Energy transition, clean energy, sustainability, carbon neutrality, defossilization as well as energy security have become primary targets and concerns worldwide.
Access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy is not only the key to the attainment of these targets but also the main promoter in achieving other sustainable development goals SDGs such as quality education, health, clean water, and sanitation in addition to different social services.
Based on the three main trends shaping the current and future global energy landscape – defossilization, decentralization, and digitalization – the promotion of renewable energy systems, mainly through microgrids is becoming one of the potential approaches and an innovative and viable solution toward a clean energy future, especially in areas not served by centralized electrical infrastructure.
Arising from the idea that energy security, economic benefits, and clean energy integration are the main drivers of microgrid development and deployment worldwide, this winter school aims at demonstrating microgrids as reliable and resilient power systems from different perspectives.
It brings together Indian and German students who will jointly and interactively develop their skills with the following learning outcomes:
Recognizing the concept of microgrid, its components, operation, modeling, and optimization.
Identifying the main challenges and outstanding issues in the ubiquitous/ widespread application of microgrids from economic, environmental, and social perspectives.
Proposing innovative solutions and strategies to implement microgrids as a sustainable energy system.
Schedule
This Winter School will run for twelve days from February 20th until March 3rd, 2023, and will have two major work streams. The mornings and afternoons will be reserved for lectures and talks given by Indian and German academics and practitioners. The second workstream is dedicated to project work (see below).
Format
The School will consist of lectures, group work, panel discussions, excursions, and intercultural exchanges.
The Winter School 2023 will be a physical event in Chennai, India.
Participants
The course is open to German* and Indian Masters and Ph.D. Students. Knowledge of energy topics is required. The number of participants is limited to 30 (15 German /15 Indian).
Selected participants from German universities will receive a mobility scholarship of up to 1050 EUR as well as a scholarship of 325 EUR to cover living expenses during the School.
Selected participants from Indian universities will be reimbursed for their travels by train.
IGCS is covering the cost of the stay.
*Non-German students and university graduates can apply if they are enrolled in the course of study at a German university to obtain a degree at a German university. For more information check the DAAD-Website: Bewerbungen um ein Stipendium (German only).
Application
Interested students may apply through the 2023 Application Form. The application deadline is 15 December 2022. Please note that the applications received after this date will not be considered.
The link is open from 05.10.2022 – 15.12.2022, 7 PM CET/11:30 PM IST. You will need to register first before you enter the actual form. You can switch between German and English. Please read the instructions carefully, including the help notes attached to many entry boxes.
Please prepare the following documents to be uploaded through the form:
CV
Transcript of records of last completed semester/graduation certificate
Letter of recommendation from an academic supervisor. It should state your academic and personal qualifications for participation in the School.
University study program enrolment certificate
Passport Copy
Positive results will be announced by the end of December 2022. We kindly ask you to refrain from inquiries about the application status in the meantime. Your data will be deleted if you are not accepted.
IGCS Area Coordinators for Energy, Prof. Dr. Krishna Vasudevan (Indian Institute of Technology Madras), Prof. Dr. Frank Behrendt (Technical University Berlin), and Dr. Khulud Alsouleman (Technical University Berlin).
This advertisement is based on the condition of funding through the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for the funding period 2023 – 2024.
As a result of our research in the Peri-Cene project and the Indo-German Dialogues on Green Urban Practices, we conducted a Workshop on “Agroecology: Exploring Food System Transformation in the Chennai Region” on Friday 26th August.
The event, funded by IGCS, was organized in collaboration with the Chennai Resilience Centre, Care Earth Trust, and the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Centre. More than 40 delegates gathered to exchange and share their views on periurban agriculture, urban gardening, and farming with the objective to identify options for how to create a network coalition for the metro-region of Chennai. Besides expert talks and interactive World Cafe sessions, we co-created a Nature Mandala and enjoyed folk music from Tamil Nadu related to farming.
IGCS is exhilarated to share our recent vlog post from our Alumni about their experiences during our recent Summer School at RWTH Aachen University. You can view the video below:
Video: Jaffar. This Summer with RWTH Aachen | The Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (IGCS)
You can follow our creative participants in their socials- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaff4r/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Jaff4r
#sustainabilitychallenge – Rethinking the Future of Plastics
Your ideas are too good to be forgotten!
IGCS and motan are carrying out a two-day virtual workshop.
Have you always had ideas on how to revolutionize the way we work and live with plastics in a sustainable way?
Then take part in our #sustainabilitychallenge: ‘Reduce | Re-Use | Recycle | Recover – Strategies Towards a Sustainable Plastics Industry: Rethinking the Future of Plastics’ and make a difference – shape the future with your innovative and sustainable ideas.
Our collaborative efforts are dedicated to helping students from Indian and German academic institutions to develop and foster sustainable ideas. This workshop is a continuation of our joint vision: incorporate innovative and sustainable ideas generation in interdisciplinary research, teaching, training, and exchange in the area of sustainable development. Together motan and IGCS would like to motivate and support students to conduct research in the area of plastics and the circular economy.
Thus, IGCS and motan jointly extend an invitation to be a part of our event. We are always looking for motivated students to carry out a research project or an industry internship supported by motan and the IGCS.
Applications are now open. Please find the link here.
Deadline: 31. October 2021
Workshop Details:
● Date: 6 – 7 December 2022
● Program: Impulse lectures by domain experts, work in small groups on related topics and presentations
● Target group: Students currently enrolled in an undergraduate (Bachelors), post-graduate (Masters), or doctoral program in Indian or German academic institutions
● Award: The winner will get the opportunity to work out a research project with the support of motan and the IGCS
Requirements:
● Letter of Motivation
● CV
● Certification of enrolment (in current university)
About motan
Sustainability is a core value within the motan culture. This means not only the products, solutions, and behavior but also the training of young people and the development of global networks. In addition to social aid and cultural projects, the foundation’s focus is on introducing social responsibility into business activities. For more information on motan and their activities, please visit the link.
IGCS Summer School 2022: Sustainable Waste Management in The Nexus of Climate Change and Low Carbon Economy
This edition of the IGCS Summer School, in the IGCS focus area of Sustainable Waste Management, specialized in designing a set of interdisciplinary lectures and an integrated approach that covers advances in research and technological implementations in Waste Prevention, reuse, and recycling approach, management, and regulatory aspects, as well as the socio-economic and environmental considerations. It connected concepts of sustainable waste management with clean energy, energy efficiency, reducing CO2 emissions, bio-based economy, and restoration of the ecosystem and its services.
The Summer School brought together students from Indian and German academic institutions with nationalities from across the world, comprising a pool of diverse specialization backgrounds, who jointly and interactively develop their skills with the following learning outcomes:
1. Identifying measures and opportunities in the circular economy to contribute to climate protection 2. Developing a fundamental and holistic understanding of different waste management systems and technologies 3. Proposing innovative solutions to strengthen the circular economy
Participants were engaged in interdisciplinary on-site and hybrid (online + on-site) lectures on the state-of-the-art practices and emerging waste management strategies in Germany and India, such as composting of biodegradable wastes, handling of construction debris, incineration of residual waste, and plastics upcycling methods, liquefaction of unsegregated municipal solid wastes and recycling of industrial wastes. They were also encouraged to learn from their peers and colleagues through working groups on specialization topics, intercultural workshops, student panel discussions, and entrepreneurship workshops.
The IGCS Team led by Dr Anna Uffmann participated in the 1st Aachen Aktionstag Nachhaltigkeit (Sustainability Action Day) on Friday, June 17th, 2022, under the motto “Wir in Aachen – Gemeinsam auf dem Weg!” or “We in Aachen – Together on the way”.The program invited diverse participants to exchange ideas and concepts on Sustainability.
You can find more information about the event under the link here.
The team presented and demonstrated the concept of Bokashi-composting through which kitchen waste can be recycled into meaningful products and reused in a circular way as a IGCSplant compost. Thank you to everyone who came to visit us on the day. We value the chance to interact with you and exchange ideas and views on Sustainability.
Have you always had ideas on how to revolutionise the way we work and live with plastics in a sustainable way?
Our IGCS-motan virtual workshop participants took this moto to our #SustainabilityChallenge: ‘Reduce | Re-Use | Recycle | Recover – Challenges and strategies in the handling of plastics’ in December of 2021. We heard many brilliant concepts, discussions and pitches that thrived to shape our common future with innovative and sustainable ideas. However, one group stood out the most and we asked them to summarize their winning ideas.
2021 Flyer on IGCS motan Workshop
IGCS-motan Workshop’s working group no. 3 represented by Marwa Madarani (University of Stuttgart), Shakunthala Natarajan (IIT Madras), Rajkumar Sahoo (Jawaharlal Nehru University) and Linus Uzoewulu (Kiel University) presented their idea titled ‘Alternatives to Single-use Plastics (SUP) – Using Plastics Properly.’ Here is an extract from their presentation:
Single use plastics (SUPs) are creating a menace to the environment. Among these, SUP bags are used to a large extent for a variety of day-to-day purposes. These bags eventually end up in the surrounding, clog waterways and lead to a large number of other environmental issues. Despite plastic bag bans, the use of SUP bags has not been curbed. India, and other countries like Lebanon, and Nigeria are still struggling from the spread of single-use plastic bags. Therefore to facilitate the mitigation of excessive consumption of plastic bags, the focus must be on creating awareness among humans about their responsibility to protect the environment. Banking upon the necessity to bring about this behavioural change in humans towards plastic use and disposal, we have come up with a solution, which will be detailed in the ensuing lines.
“Re-Plast” is an educational online game that aims to change the attitude of younger generations between 6-and 16 years old towered the single-use plastic bags through different missions with different levels. In each mission,” Re-Plast “focuses on spreading awareness step by step, starting from understanding the types of plastic bags; moving toward educating about reusing, reducing and recycling behaviours, and ending with replacing or encouraging single-use plastic bags alternatives. Further, the game will pop out, workshops and indirect questions to the children to assure the achievement of the mission’s goal and to collect data to understand adults’ behaviour toward plastic bags through the eyes of children respectively.
“Re-Plast” aims to swap two adjacent plastic bags “among several on each level board, as to make a row or column of at least 3 matching-plastic bags”. The game aims to earn coins within a certain number of plastic bags gathered to accomplish the missions.
‘Re-Plast’ game is just the first step of our solution. In our next step, we will develop the game to target different generations; in addition, we will conduct workshops at schools in collaboration with the eco-clubs there. After spreading awareness and knowledge about Sups, we will collaborate and share the collected data with the government to influence the governmental decisions concerning plastics. And to achieve our vision, which is moving toward Recycling, we will create an app called ”Circularis” Where Plastic consumers can register themselves in the app and notify us whenever they have got plastic wastes to dispose of. After the notification, our waste collectors will be dispatched to the consumer’s place to collect the plastic waste and monetarily incentivize the customer for the plastic waste deposited. Our waste collectors will transport the collected plastic wastes to recycling firms. Since we offset the transportation costs of recycling firms by bringing in our waste collectors, we could get the incentivization money from them in return for this favour. This along with the Re-Plast online game will create a better intervention for tackling the problem created by single-use plastics.
An Extract from Group 3’s Presenation during the first ever IGCS-motan Workshop
About IGCS-motan Partnership
The IGCS-motan collaborative efforts are dedicated to helping students from Indian and German academic institutions to develop and foster sustainable ideas. This workshop is a continuation of our joint vision: incorporate innovative and sustainable ideas generation in interdisciplinary research, teaching, training and exchange in the area of sustainable development. Together motan and IGCS would like to motivate and support students to conduct research in the area of plastics and the circular economy.
IGCS and motan are always looking for motivated students to carry out a research project or an industry internship supported. For more information about IGCS’ Grant opportunities click here. You can find more information on motan on their website here.
