As part of the Indo-German Partnership project (IGP), eleven selected TUM students – among them the three TUMCS bioeconomy students Fabia Sauter, Grace Girling and Katerina Zafirova – recently had the opportunity to take part in the Winter School on Localizing Climate Action on Floods and Droughts at IIT Bombay (IITB).
In the course of the IGP Winter School, the TUM students traveled to Kerala with Prof. Schreurs and Prof. N.C. Narayanan. Image: Sariga Premanand/TUM
The IGP Winter School in Mumbai was jointly organized by TUM and IITB, one of our most important Indian partners. Students from both universities participated in a virtual lecture series in advance and then spent a week visiting the Kuttanad region in the state of Kerala.
Prof. Miranda Schreurs, Chair of Environmental and Climate Policy at TUM and Prof. D. Parthasarathy, Professor at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IITB and Prof. N.C. Narayanan, Head of the Ashank Desai Centre for Policy Studies at IITB, were the academic heads involved in the organization and implementation of the School.
Remarkable interdisciplinarity: participants from a wide range of specialist fields
TUM students from different disciplines – ranging from Architecture, Bioeconomy, Communication Engineering to Politics & Technology – participated in the IGP Winter School. A series of online lectures prior to their departure introduced the participants to important technology tools and governance themes in climate change and disaster management – within India and globally.
Witnessing the magnitude of climate change first hand
The visit to India started on the IITB campus, where the TUM students met their IITB colleagues. Together, they went on a sightseeing tour through Mumbai. The next part of the trip took the students to the coastal city of Alleppey, which served as the starting point for all excursions in the Kuttanad region. Kuttanad is known worldwide for its rice cultivation below sea level and its geographical uniqueness.
Bringing back memorable experiences
The students were able to take away a lot from the IGP Winter School and in particular from their experiences on site. They had direct interaction with residents, representatives of organizations and researchers, learned about important local climate adaptation issues and experienced the life of the people in Kerala – a new culture, food, a new lifestyle and numerous boat rides.
They returned to TUM with a new perspective on climate change and disasters, a broader awareness of the urgency to do something about climate change, and, of course, many great memories and friendships for life.
In the framework of the IGP project Exploration, TUM together with IITB and also IITKGP are strengthening their collaboration in the fields of climate, environment and energy by organizing forums for researchers and facilitating student exchanges. More about the IGP project