7th Indo-German Winter Academy 2008 - IIT Madras (Chennai), India, December 13-19, 2008
Objective
To bring together bright students from the Indian Institutes of Technology and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in a learning environment and get them enthused about contemporary challenges in science and engineering.
What is the Indo-German Winter Academy?
The Indo-German Winter Academy is an annual academic event in India established in 2002, which is organized by the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) and the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Talented students from the premier technological institutions of India and the FAU are brought together in a collaborative learning environment, being sensitized to the challenging problems in science and engineering and the excitement of innovation. The Winter Academy 2008 focuses on the subjects "Fluid Flow, Heat Transfer, and Energy Conversion", "High Performance Computing for Engineering Problems" and "Semiconductor Processes, Devices, and Systems", which are of high scientific and industrial relevance.
Students from the departments of Mechanical, Chemical, Civil, Electronics, Electrical, Aerospace, Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics from each of the IITs (IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, and IIT Roorkee) are eligible for the Winter Academy, joined by FAU diploma students. The students prepare and present lectures on specific topics within the broad areas of the courses. Intensive discussions emerge, starting from basic theoretical aspects to final applications. The students and the participating professors interact over various aspects of research and exchange their ideas in an unconstrained atmosphere. The participating professors moderate all sessions. Due to the support by companies and funding organisations, participation, travel expenses, and accommodation are borne by the Winter Academy. As usual, possibilities for mutual research stays or internships in Germany and India arise in the frame of the academy. The intensive exchange on scientific, cultural, and interpersonal level is an important factor of the Winter Academy and an essential prerequisite for the establishment of long-term cooperation and networking.
The History of Indo-German Winter-Academy
The Indo-German Winter Academy offers a unique opportunity for students and faculty to interact and address relevant issues on a transnational level. It embodies an unprecedented cooperation of the FAU with all technical elite institutions of India, which could be established by no other German university.
The first Winter Academy was organized in IIT Kanpur in 2002, including participation of the IITs of Kanpur, Kharagpur, and Guwahati. Observing the phenomenal success of this academy, a second one was organized in IIT Guwahati in 2003. IIT Kharagpur played host to the third Winter Academy in Haldia in 2004. In 2005, the fourth Winter Academy was organized by IIT Kanpur in association with Tata Steel company in Jamshedpur with the IITs of Bombay and Delhi joining the group of partner institutions.
In the Winter Academy 2006, which was organized by IIT Kharagpur in Digha, IIT Madras participated for the first time. In 2007, IIT Roorkee finally completed the circle of IITs by joining the Winter Academy 2007 at IIT Guwahati. This successful series of Winter Academies was originally initiated by Prof. Franz Durst, former head of the Chair of Fluid Mechanics at the FAU, who directed the Winter Academy for the first four years from 2002 to 2005 until his retirement. The idea to carry out Winter Academies came about during research stays of Prof. G. Biswas (IIT Kanpur), Prof. R. P. Singh (IIT Kharagpur), and Prof. S. C. Mishra (IIT Guwahati), who stayed at the Erlangen Chair of Fluid Mechanics at the same time. It was felt that IIT students should be exposed to international contacts at an early stage of their education in order to see that good research is carried out at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. Furthermore, it was evident that a closer collaboration in education between German universities and Indian IITs would be commendable and of mutual benefit. Since 2006, the Winter Academy is directed by Prof. Heiner Ryssel, head of the FAU Chair of Electron Devices and of the Fraunhofer Institute of Integrated Systems and Device Technology (IISB) in Erlangen. He is also responsible for the Winter Academy in December 2008, which is organized by IIT Madras in Chennai.