▍ A New Passage to India:

▍ "Exploring Cultures of Learning in India and Germany"

Project Coordination

━ Prof. Dr. Ute Hüsken
Heidelberg University
Prof. Dr. Jörg Gengnagel
Würzburg University
Prof. Dr. H. N. Prasad
Banaras Hindu University, India
Prof. Dr. Gopabandhu Mishra
Banaras Hindu University, India
Dr. Vinita Chandra
IIT-BHU, India

Project Administration
Anna Scarabel
npi@sai.uni-heidelberg.de
Postal address:
A New Passage to India
DAAD Project
Voßstraße 2, Building 4130
D-69115 Heidelberg, Germany

The project “Exploring Cultures of Learning in India and Germany” is part of the wider programme “A New Passage to India” funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and coordinated by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The programme aims at strengthening German-Indian academic relations by supporting of young academics and their acquisition of expert and core competences.

“Exploring Cultures of Learning in India and Germany” is a close collaboration between the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and the Indian Institute of Technology at the BHU (IIT-BHU) in Varanasi, India and the German Universities of Heidelberg and Würzburg. By focussing on the historically and culturally vastly diverse “Cultures of Learning” in India and Germany, the project looks into how learning in both countries has sustained identities and habitus over time while enabling and generating change, and how learning has shaped and continues to shape values and subjectivities.

The programme focuses on student exchange, including joint MA and PhD supervision. By bringing together students and teachers from the participating learning institutions, the exchange programme facilitates the investigation and experience of diverse social practices of learning. The participants thus achieve an understanding of how the respective other learning institution has, over time, managed to cope with social change while at the same time retaining a sense of identity and cultural continuity.

▍ Exchange Programme to Germany (Heidelberg/Würzburg)

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research support the cooperation of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and the Indian Institute of Technology of the Banaras Hindu University (IIT-BHU) with the German Universities of Heidelberg and Würzburg.

Doctoral students of BHU and IIT-BHU are invited to apply for a research stay in the German partner Universities. During their stay, the scholarship holders will actively participate in the academic life and work at the partner institutions, participating in classes, seminars and conferences organized by the hosting University.

Eligible applicants are Doctoral Students of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Students pursuing their research in Sanskrit Studies, Language and Literatures of India, Political Sciences of South Asia, or Transcultural Studies will be given priority. Further thematic areas of interest are Gender Studies, Ritual Studies, Study of Religious Traditions of South Asia and Buddhist Studies.

Scholarships: every academic year 3 scholarships are available (2 seats in Heidelberg and 1 seat in Würzburg). The Selection Committee decides where to send the students, based on their thematic areas. The scholarships run for 5 to 6 months and include a travel allowance.

▍ Exchange Programme to India (BHU/IIT-BHU)

The South Asia Institute (SAI) of Heidelberg University closely cooperates with the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and the Indian Institute of Technology of the BHU (IIT-BHU) in Varanasi, India. The academic exchange aims at the promotion of young academics with a special focus on exploring cultures of learning in India.

Two scholarships for Heidelberg M.A. and Ph.D. students for study and research stays at the BHU/IIT-BHU are awarded each year (2019-2022). During their stay, scholarship holders will actively participate in the academic life at the partner institution. The students will attend BHU and IIT-BHU courses, and work on their thesis with co-supervision from academics at the hosting institution.

The SAI invites applications for 2 scholarships (incl. travel allowance) for a stay up to 6 months at the BHU/IIT-BHU. Eligible are M.A. and Ph.D. students of the SAI/Centre for Asian and Transcultural Studies (CATS).

▍ Partners