10th year BayIND celebration a success

10th-year celebration of BayIND highlighted the diversity in Indian social and business culture through lectures on frugal innovation and entrepreneurship in India. Cultural events like a Bollywood Dance along with Rangoli were at the centre of attraction.

10 years ago, the Bavarian-Indian Centre for Business and University Cooperation (BayIND) was inaugurated to promote and foster academic and business cooperation between Bavaria and India. The 10-year BayIND celebration was celebrated together with Hof University, which celebrated its 25th Anniversary on the 14th and 15th June 2019.

In the evening of the 14th July 2019, the BayIND welcomed the Ambassador to the Republic of India, H E Mukta Dutta Tomar as the guest of honour for the opening ceremony. Along with Mr Bernd Sibler, Bavarian State Minister for Science and the Arts and the Indian Ambassador, the President of Hof University Prof Dr Dr hc Jürgen Lehmann lighted the oil lamp - an Indian welcome ceremony. The room was decorated with traditional fragrant cardamom garlands, which are a sign of hospitality in Indian culture.

The Ambassador H E Mukta Dutta Tomar highlighted in her speech the importance of BayIND's work to spread awareness about India in Bavaria and demystify India for Bavarian students and businesses. A special highlight was a personal letter of the Prime Minister of India Mr Narendra Modi on the anniversary of BayIND and Hof University, which was read by the President of Hof University during the festive event.

The evening was further enriched by the mesmerising open-air-concert from the Hofer Symphoniker at the premises. The concert set the right mood to a relaxed evening that was enjoyed with local delicacies.

After an eventful first day, the celebrations continued on the 15th July 2019 at the "Night of Science" at Hof University. Besides the events presented from various institutes of Hof University, the BayIND organised its evening programme on topics related to India.

The lecture on ''Past, present and future of frugal innovation'' by Ms Nivedita Agarwal from the Department of Technology Management at FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg attracted a diverse audience, including students from India who study at Hof University. Ms Agarwal explained the well-known Indian concept "Jugaad", which is understood as an improvised temporary arrangement for desired results. She provided an overview of the current developments in the field of frugal innovations as well as an outlook on opportunities for future economic developments.

Thereafter Mr José Jacob K, Senior Advisor of BayIND and social entrepreneur gave a lecture on the topic ''Entrepreneurship in India''. The presentation discussed the current dynamic start-up scenarios in India, especially in the city of Bengaluru where 25 per cent of India's start-ups are located.

To add more spice to the evening, Indian students studying at Hof University conducted a Bollywood dance. Their entertaining performance attracted a large audience that enjoyed the Indian music and dance moves.

Thereafter the international students discussed their intercultural experience and culture shock they experienced in Germany after coming from India. In the light of intercultural experiences, the evening came to an end with a film screening of "Amma & Appa". The directors themselves have made the movie on their own Bavarian-Indian love story. Jayakrishnan Subramanian from India and Franziska Schöneberger from Germany were present to answer their unique story after the movie.