A delegation from IIT Roorkee visited Brandenburg State Government (Germany) and Universität Potsdam, Germany, to deepen and expand academic and research collaboration with German institutions and state partners. The IIT Roorkee delegation comprised Prof. Kamal Kishore Pant, Director, IIT Roorkee; Prof. Vimal Chandra Srivastava, Dean of International Relations; and Prof. Ankit Agarwal, Department of Hydrology. The Government of Uttarakhand delegation was represented by Dr. Ranjit Kumar Sinha, Secretary, Technical Education, Uttarakhand, and Prof. Tripta Thakur, Vice Chancellor, Veer Madho Singh Bhandari Uttarakhand Technical University.
A key highlight of the visit was the signing of a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) between the Government of Uttarakhand (India) and the Government of Brandenburg (Germany), with IIT Roorkee playing an important facilitating and academic role in advancing this partnership. The JDI establishes a structured framework for long-term cooperation in science, technology, innovation, and capacity building, enabling sustained institutional engagement and joint programme development.
The cooperation will focus on priority areas of strategic relevance, including clean energy and the hydrogen economy; disaster resilience and early warning systems; drone and digital technologies for agriculture and climate monitoring; advanced manufacturing and new materials; and the application of data science and artificial intelligence in governance, healthcare, and cybersecurity.
The engagement brought together senior representatives from both sides, including Dr. Manja Schüle, Minister of Science, Research and Cultural Affairs of Brandenburg; Prof. Oliver Günther, President, University of Potsdam; Prof. Wolfram Berger, Vice President for Internationalization, BTU Cottbus–Senftenberg; and Dr. Vera Ziegeldorf from the Ministry of Science, Research and Cultural Affairs of Brandenburg.
The Joint Declaration marks a significant step towards deepened Indo-German regional collaboration through joint research, innovation, policy dialogue, capacity building, and cultural exchange. The Governments of Uttarakhand and Brandenburg have been pivotal in initiating and supporting this cooperation framework, while IIT Roorkee and the University of Potsdam will serve as academic and coordinating partners—driving research collaboration, strengthening talent and skilling pathways, and enabling sustained international academic engagement.
IIT Roorkee is proud to contribute to this milestone in Indo-German cooperation, aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 through innovation-led, sustainable development and globally relevant partnerships.