Indian and German Students Discussed the Topic of Sustainability
20 students came together at the Indo-German Centre for Sustainability, IGCS, summer school in Aachen. The IGCS opened in December 2010 as part of the DAAD initiative " A new passage to India" at the Indian Institute of Technology, IIT, Madras in Chennai. The Centre for Sustainability is a collaboration between the University of Madras and a group of German universities led by RWTH Aachen. The Rector of RWTH Aachen and the Director of IIT Madras are directors of the center. The collaboration brings together German and Indian research in the fields of water, energy, waste management, and land use, with an interdisciplinary approach. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research has assumed the funding till the end of 2016.
Summer school participants came from many universities within Germany as well as from Chennai. The fourth summer school was organized by the RWTH Chair of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology under the direction of Univ.-Prof. Dr. Rafig Azzam. "We are very happy to be the hosts once again. Numerous colleagues from various areas have been involved this year for the students," said Azzam.
"Sanitary facilities are rare in Southeast India," explained Prof. Ligy Philipp, from IIT, speaking about the challenges of waste and water management. Excursions to regional water treatment plants and trash incineration facilities supplement the students' program.