Heritage Network – Virtual Consortium Meeting held on June 26, 2020 (2:00 pm Paris time) to enhance Indo-European cooperation. 36 participants from more than 24 institutions of India and Europe participated in this online meeting. Fouad Bennis (President, Heritage Network), Director of International Relations, Ecole Centrale de Nantes, welcomed the participants. Prof. Rakhi Chaturvedi (Vice-President, Heritage Network), IIT Guwahati, delivered a brief informative address on the COVID-19 pandemic and presented an overview of the current situation in India. Frederic Dorel (Secretary, Heritage Network), delivered a brief account of the current situation in Europe owing to Coronavirus outbreak and its impact on academics. A keynote presentation on the Indian grading system and admission process in post-secondary education was given by Ms. Kavitha G.R., IIT Madras to the European partners for a better understanding of the Indian educational system.
Prof. P. Arumugam (Dean of International Relations), IIT Roorkee along with IR Executive Officers participated in this meeting. As change is constant and time has come to trust and shift towards the “virtual way of learning”, Prof. Arumugam deliberated on the necessity of more frequent virtual meetings among existing partners and emphasized on adopting online teaching mode in the present pandemic situation, when the mobility has affected between the partner institutes.
The discussions then led to the formation of a thinking group around Indo-European cooperation in the light of COVID-19 impact on HEI activities.