India PlatformAnnual Report

2013-2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS

341016445860

Words from the Ambassador

The India Platform

Facts and figures

Activities by the India Platform

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Thematic highlights of Oct 2013 - Oct 2014

Notes, publications and press articles

Future Plans

Our globalised world requires new strategies and methods for solving problems. Indeed, many problems cannot even be formulated at the level of nations, but instead need a global effort. How-ever, though this fact is known to many, it rarely materialises in concrete steps, either because of fear of new ideas or because of the existence of large and cumbersome organisations.

Such a scenario demands individual efforts that set off a chain of reactions and initiatives. It is one such initiative that I encountered when I came to Belgium: the India Platform at Ghent University.

India and the European Union are strategic partners. This partnership requires long-term plans and visions with a good understanding of each other.

One of the bottlenecks that is usually identified for the collaboration of European business with India is the cultural gap. The bridging of this requires genuine understanding. This is what would make the partnership sustainable and interesting and move it beyond a purely instrumental mind-set.

India Platform builds on a research programme that examines the cultural differences between Europe and India. Its ambition is to bring the two continents together to help to solve each other’s problems and to build a global community.

I wish them the best of luck and look forward to seeing them grow.

Manjeev Singh PuriAmbassador of India to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union

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WORDS FROM THE AMBASSADOR

THE INDIA PLATFORMToday, most of us are aware of the opportunities India and Europe offer to each other. But what does that mean in practice? How do our histories and current challenges shape our chances of being equal partners?

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India and Europe

Today, Europe and India face particular kinds of problems. Europe con-fronts a greying population, massive retirement and increasing pressure on its social security systems as well as a shortage of researchers and pro-fessionals in many domains. India has an extremely young population but deficient education and health care systems, unliveable cities, and a lack of research culture.

The research of the Research Centre Comparative Science of Cultures (see www.cultuurwetenschap.be/pages/introduction) shows us that these problems are complementary in a particular sense: the problem of one often holds potential solutions for the problem of the other. But, the window of opportunity to implement these solutions and build the necessary bridges to do so, is narrowing down. With a Europe that is ‘retiring’ and an India that is growing at a very fast pace, the window of opportunity is less than a dec-ade. How are we going to spend those years? So far, we have primarily ap-proached each other instrumentally. We seek access to each other’s markets and we simply try to outcompete each other, thus curtailing our strengths rather than allowing them to flourish and be mutually beneficial.

A dream for a better future

The India Platfom vision translates globalisation in a social way and thus es-tablishes a different kind of relationship. Looking at globalisation outside of the prevalent straitjacket allows us to build 21st-century relations between Europeans as a people and Indians as a people, tackling problems in a mu-tually complementary way. For an elaborate explanation of the vision, see Appendix 1 or www.india-platform.org > policy and vision.

The India Platform vision allows us to

• build links between Europe and India between companies, educational institutions, governments, universities, cities, hospitals ...

• work in focus domains where the needs on both sides are acute• invest in consortia of institutions and companies, instead of individual

institutions and companies• choose emerging institutions and companies in India so that European

institutions and companies can grow along with them• focus on specific regions and develop from there.

During the past 8 years, the India Platform has brought together a consor-tium of universities, colleges, research institutes, hospitals, and companies (see further for the members of the consortia). Its coordinating centre is based in Ghent University, Belgium. A central India Platform office in Ben-galuru is the coordinating point in India.

“Connecting the peoples of India and Europe, against the background of a

coherent vision for long-term and sustainable relationships in the 21st-century”

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Governance structure of the IP

THE INDIA PLATFORM

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Partnerships

The India Platform has a particular business model, in which an authentic engagement with ideas is both the reason for partners to commit themselves and the glue between the partners in the consortia. Each partner earmarks a budget, which is kept by that institution under the condition that it is utilised exclusively for India Platform activities. The sums are not used for travel costs or for hotel costs of their own staff. Four levels of commitment are possible.

Outside of the India Platform partnerships, activities and contacts are facilitated where opportunities occur.

Stakeholders earmark 40.000 euros a year and commit themselves to all-round collaboration. They have direct access to the entire India Platform net-work in Europe and India. They have a stake in the vision and the strategy: they sit together annually to discuss it, and organise joint activities and pro-jects.

Preferred partners earmark 20.000 euros a year. They have direct access to the entire India Platform network in Europe and India. Potential pro-jects are discussed with them. They may participate in all India Platform activities.

Members earmark 10.000 euros a year. They have access to the India Platform network in Europe and India and may participate in all India Platform activ-ities.

Associate members do not earmark a budget. For the period of one year, they ex-plore potential contacts and projects within the India Platform framework. They may participate in all India Platform activities. After a one year associate membership, a decision is taken about the future of the partnership.

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Stakeholders in India

1. Alva’s Education Trust, Moodbidri (Karnataka)2. Amrita University (campuses in Karnataka, Kerala and

Tamil Nadu)3. BMS College of Engineering, Bengaluru (Karnataka)4. BNM Institute of Technology, Bengaluru (Karnataka)5. Gokula Education Foundation (M), Bengaluru (Karnataka)6. Institute of Finance and International Management (IFIM),

Bengaluru (Karnataka)7. Jyothy Group, Bengaluru (Karnataka)8. Karnataka State Women’s University (KSWU), Bijapur

(Karnataka)

Stakeholders in Europe

1. Ghent University Hospital (Belgium)2. NP-Bridging (Belgium)3. The University of Antwerp (Belgium)4. The University of Pardubice (the Czech Republic)5. The University of Aveiro (Portugal)6. The University of Groningen (the Netherlands)

Preferred partners

1. Valdel Group of Engineering, Bengaluru (Karnataka)2. Hasselt University, Transportation Research Institute (IMOB, Belgium)

Associate Members

1. University College Ghent, Faculty of Education, Health and Social Work (Belgium)

2. Futureprooved, Leuven (Belgium)3. The University of Twente (the Netherlands)4. The Academy for Creative Teaching, Bengaluru

(Karnataka)

Partners

THE INDIA PLATFORM

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Thematic focus groups

The research of the Research Centre Comparative Science of Cultures allows the India Platform to grow substantially in the social sciences. This research forms the basis of all IP activities and has supported and facilitated the other focus domains since 2013:

• Culture and Management• Engineering• Health Care• Liveable Cities• School Education• Social Sciences and Comparative Science of Cultures• Waste Management

Further details on the thematic focus groups are given in the ‘Thematic highlights’ chapter below and on www.india-platform.org.

Regional focus

As the vision note states, it was the choice of the India Platform director to start in one of the Indian states, Karnataka. After 8 years, the India Platform is well known in Karnataka, and growing in Kerala, Maharashtra, Telanga-na, Tamil Nadu and Delhi.

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FACTS AND FIGURESIn 2014, the India Platform witnessed substantial growth: geographically, the-matically and in human resources. One of the new developments is that our presence is felt in many places in Europe and India thanks to several IP Ambas-sadors. These ambassadors represent the India Platform by making use of their experience of living in an unfamiliar cultural environment. Another expansion is visible in terms of thematic foci: most of the focus domains are now coordi-nated by an India Platform head. A third new evolution is the organisational structure in terms of geographical foci: activities are being developed in Telan-gana, Maharasthra and Delhi. Both Orissa and Gujarat are being considered for potential involvement in India Platform activities in a focused way. The images on the following pages give a visual representation about these and other as-pects of the India Platform growth.

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Geographical presence

India: 181Belgium: 117

UK: 1

France: 4

The Netherlands: 11 Czech Republic: 7

Portugal: 2

Italy: 1

NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES

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Numerical presence

FACTS AND FIGURES: 2014 IN BRIEF

+4700 CONTACTS FOR POTENTIAL COLLABORATION

+120 VOLUNTEERS

14 STAKEHOLDERS

7 POTENTIAL NEW PARTNERS

6 INTERNS

4 ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

2 PREFERRED PARTNERS

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Growth

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

• Networking in different sectors of society: academia, politics, education, diplomacy, business …• Development of a vision • Outreach activities in Comparative Science of Cultures• Research in Comparative Science of Cultures

• Spreading information in all scientific domains• Facilitating collaborations in all scientific domains• Research in Culture and Management

• Commitment of IP Ambassadors• Development of a business model• Focus group on Waste Management• Focus group on Liveable Cities• Focus group on School Education• Focus group on Health Care

• Organisation of teacher training internships

• Initiating the plan of working with young retirees• Initiating the plan of universal health care

• Production of policy notes• Focus group on Engineering

• Discussion of vision with the stakeholders

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Activities in 2013-2014

Active involvement

In each of its focus domains, the India Platform organises meetings and events to initiate, facilitate and stimulate projects and activities. It also aims at giving advice on several policy issues at regional, national and in-ternational levels, because of which other kinds of activities are organised and advisory notes are written (for the notes: see a list of notes and publi-cations in Appendix 4). A third kind of activities are aimed at reaching out to potentially interested individuals: lay people, students, inhabitants of a particular region, etc. (For a list of these activities, see the appendixes and www.india-platform.org > projects and activities).

Facilitation

Against the background of its vision, the India Platform helps individuals and teams to initiate collaborations when an opportunity occurs. The do-main of the collaborations varies according to the opportunities; it might be one of the focus domains of the India Platform or another domain. (For a list of these activities, see the appendixes and www.india-platform.org > projects and activities).

Spreading of information

The India Platform has always made it a priority to disseminate information and extend invitations to the relevant target groups on activities relating to India and Europe. With that consideration in mind, it displays calls, an-nouncements and invitations on its website when requested, whether the organiser is an India Platform partner or not. (For a list of these activities, see the appendixes and www.india-platform.org > projects and activities).

FACTS AND FIGURES: 2014 IN BRIEF

Participant

Organiser

Keynote

lecturer

Interviewee

Discussant

70

2

26

164

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Mobility (students, staff, interns) in 2013-2014

Although the globalised world allows us to collaborate closely without phys-ically moving from one continent to another, certain kinds of activities can only be initiated or finalised by meeting each other in person. The India Platform manages the European Commission exchange programme Svāga-ta.eu with this aim in mind. Mobility of interns, staff and students is further facilitated and supported either through other programmes or through an ad hoc agreement. The images below show the numbers of individuals who travelled from Europe to India or the other way around and who are con-nected to one of the India Platform partners. (For a list of mobility activities, see the appendixes and www.india-platform.org > education and intern-ships).

Visitors: website and facebook in 2013-2014

In 2014, preparations were made for new frames behind the India Platform website. This will make it possible to depict the dynamics and the activities in a more accurate way and to provide appropriate guidance to different kinds of visitors.

The India Platform Facebook page has reached the number of 500+ likes, showing that there is scope for developing a specific communication pattern there.

Who we met

In the course of the years, the India Platform has built and sustained good contacts with government representatives, diplomats, potential and actual partners, companies and academics. Several personal meetings have been held. This has resulted in relationships of mutual trust and cooperation to-wards the India Platform regarding diverse issues, such as guidance in one of our focus domains, suggestions of new and interesting partners, and ex-tension of the work of the India Platform. (A list of people - excluding mem-bers of the India Platform partners - is given in Appendix 2).

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“When I got the opportunity of conducting my clinical internship in India, I grabbed it with both hands. I have gained a lot of knowledge during my internship at M.S. Ramaiah. The care system in India is very different from the one we know in the Netherlands, particularly because of the low percentage of insured patients and the lack of equal care. Looking back, it was a unique experience that I would definitely recommend to every student. As a tip I would say: when booking your flight, consider taking some extra time to discover India and try to be as unbiased as possible when letting all experiences come at you. ”

Karel Kuik, Master student in Medical Sciences

THEMATIC HIGHLIGHTS OF OCT 2013 - OCT 2014

Message from the Deputy Director

Dear reader,

It has been eight years since the birth of the India Platform at Ghent Uni-versity under the leadership and vision of Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara, our Director.

In the last four decades Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara has studied both In-dia and Europe and developed a research programme named ‘Comparative Science of Cultures’. This research programme supports and sustains the In-dia Platform, making it a one of a kind entity. Research results feed into the working of the IP and the problems encountered flow back to stimulate re-search. Unlike a consultancy company that claims to attract students to Eu-ropean universities for a fee, the India Platform tries to build people-to-peo-ple ties between the two continents. It is thanks to this very strongly present research dimension that we can develop new and innovative ideas, which are not just out of the box, but out of the entire box-factory.

This is what we call a socially responsible globalisation – not the story where one has to lose for the other to gain, and not the buzz word or curse word we hear so often. What counts are innovative ideas where the problems of one continent can become the solutions of another, if only they work together. The India Platform is one such bridge which people of both these continents can use to meet each other. Embedded in research, spread across Europe, and with an ever-growing team of dedicated Indians and Europeans, our dream is to build more such bridges and in multiple domains.

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Such innovative ideas are not just exciting and new, but also generate wea-riness and fear. Therefore, it is only appropriate to thank Ghent University, our Alma mater, for her ability to think beyond the frontiers of this small city and for establishing and supporting a project that operates on a conti-nent-wide scale. I also feel obliged to our stakeholder institutions both in In-dia and Europe for their participation, enthusiasm and support. For, bridges cannot be used without people who dare to walk on them.

This is my first letter to you and it is with joy that I tell you how exciting the past year (October 2013 - October 2014) has been. In the first half of the year, we have been very encouraged by the interest of the Flemish govern-ment to support the India Platform at a regional level with the incubation period for a Vlaams India Platform. Later this year it became clear that the new government in India is also showing interest in the ideas of the India Platform. During his most recent India visit, our director gave several lec-tures and had a series of meetings that showed this growing interest.

There have been interesting changes in the India Platform structure. Over the past year, we have identified seven key areas the India Platform will fo-cus on, in the coming years: Health Care, Engineering, Culture and Manage-ment, Liveable Cities, Waste Management, Social Sciences and School Edu-cation. Furthermore, the India Platform decided to expand its geographical focus to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Delhi and

other parts of North India. We also welcomed Hasselt University (the Transportation Research Institute), the University College Ghent (Faculty of Education, Health and Social Work), Futureproofed, The Academy for Creative Teaching and the University of Twente as new partners, and Shri Dharamasthala Manjunatheshwara Educational Society (SDM) will become a partner in 2014.

Ladies and Gentlemen, as I said earlier, bridges between two continents can-not be built by only one group of people, however large they maybe. So, let this be an invitation. Not only to read the annual report you are holding at this very moment, but also to join us on the promising journey of two nat-ural partners, who not so long ago, started to rediscover each other: India and Europe. Enjoy reading the report, or just glancing through it. In this chapter you will find a description of the strategy and plans in each of the focus domains, showing how we translate parts of the vision into projects. This is also an open invitation to you as a reader: if, while reading about the projects, you have ideas, proposals and challenges, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are always open to suggestions and discussions.

With best greetings,

Nele De Gersem India Platform Deputy Director

THEMATIC HIGHLIGHTS OF 2014: CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

Doing business in India offers great benefits. However, there are a number of key cultural challenges that can generate direct and indirect costs for the companies involved. A study by EIM Business and Policy Research, commissioned by the European Commission, demonstrates that one of the main bottlenecks for doing business in India is the cultural gap, not only for European SMEs that need to understand the Indian business culture, but also for Indians who do not always relate to the business style of European companies1.

When Europeans collaborate with Indians, certain kinds of misunderstandings arise on a regular basis. This is not only the case in new collaborations; it is also the case in long-lasting collaborations and even in friendships. These misunderstandings cause irritations, frustrations, lack of efficiency, and are often at the root of conflicts. Some particular examples are found when negotiating business deals or even in the everyday workplace. Why does one negotiating process take so much time while the other decision only takes a couple of minutes? Why is it so difficult to make an appointment and to create clear agendas? Why do Indians agree to everything I say without asking questions, while the results at the time of delivering are far from what I expected? Does this involve plain lying or is there something else to it? When I ask a question to my European colleagues, why don’t I get an answer to my question while they think they give an answer? How can I motivate my Indian collaborators and partners to meet deadlines?

Are we talking about ‘communication problems’ here? Is this a language problem? Would it help if we explained ourselves better? The answer of the India Platform here is a plain ‘no’. When doing business in-ternationally, it is not only borders that are crossed, but also cultures. A true understanding of the Indian culture on the one hand and the European culture on the other hand, leading to intelligent and appropriate action, is fundamental for conducting successful business in the long term. The cultural gap between Eu-ropean and Indian companies proves to be a non-tariff barrier hindering trade and impossible to penetrate through any Free Trade Agreement.

The India Platform recognises this need for training in coping with cultural differences when conducting business and is keen on further strengthening its insight into the relevant problems.

1 Study on the opportunities for the Internationalisation of SMEs, Background document 6: Country Studies of the Seven Key Target Markets

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Challenges OpportunitiesEurope& India

• Cultural problems cause business failures• Current knowledge about cultural problems does not offer

adequate solutions• Competences are considered ‘soft skills’: realisation of the

importance of training is growing rather slowly

• Increasing sense that cultural problems are deeper than ei-ther communication problems or irritations about practical differences

• Evolution of the research programme in the Comparative Science of Cultures: it is now possible to develop training modules to foster learning processes towards generating ap-propriate action in cultural problem situations

Proposed routes and future initiatives• Launching a research project in Culture and Management• Involvement of an Indian researcher with 10 years of experience as a manager in Europe• Involvement of Indian and European business people who recognise the above-mentioned issues and are interested in participating in the research

project• Interviews with employees and managers to identify problem situations including their context and the expressed needs• Production of at least one tailored training module for a group of employees and managers, both Indian and European

For more information about the focus group on Culture and Management, please contact Mrs. Nele De Gersem.

“The India Platform establishment, located in the historical city of Ghent, is one of the finest research centres in terms of cultural studies. Passion for knowledge, quality work and friendliness is why I chose to work with the India Platform. The India Platform encouraged me to think and dare in ways I never thought was possible, by making me see my own potential, and what is hampering it. My stint as a research intern at India Platform turned out to be a crucial opportunity to engage with issues at the forefront of cultural differences between India and Europe.”

Drishti Karkar, 4th Year Law Student at Jindal Global Law School

A general problem

In this focus group, the historical differences between the two continents concerning research and educa-tion come to the fore very sharply. In terms of systematic knowledge development and entrepreneurship, India and Europe have had very different traditions. Europe, to begin with, has a centuries-old tradition of (1) building research teams and research culture and (2) transferring results from academic research to the world of business and industry. This is what is called the ‘valorisation’ of research or ‘technology transfer’.

Because research in Europe is still often done at the universities, it is embedded in the context of higher education. On the one hand, the European link between scientific research and higher education allows students to benefit directly from new research results and insights. On the other hand, it stimulates re-searchers to remain involved in educational activities. The result is the strong and extremely important European tradition of research-based education that lives on today. This is very different from the US, where research is often done at research institutes, which are separated from higher education institutions. A major consequence of this connection between research and education in Europe is the emergence of a stable research culture. Typical of this research culture are its research groups or teams, where PhD, postdoctoral researchers and professors work closely together on related questions. Master’s students are taught by PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and professors. They are often introduced to research questions at this early stage. In this way, research groups are formed, where these different researchers and students work together to monitor the ongoing research.

Another typical aspect of a scientific research culture is the evidence-based approach to the valorisation of research results. Valorisation and innovation are embedded in the standards and processes of scientific research. Before results are transformed into products and thus reach the market and customers, they are tested and re-tested by different research teams. They have to live up to certain standards of evidence. This is the case in fields from bio-medical technology through the pharmaceutical sciences to civil engineer-ing. This is one of the dimensions that make Europe’s research culture unique. In other words, in Europe, technology transfer is an intrinsic part of a general research culture that feeds and shapes scientific research in all domains of study.

THEMATIC HIGHLIGHTS OF 2014: ENGINEERING

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In India, however, a scientific research culture in this sense is largely absent. There is hardly any link between research and higher education. The teaching faculty at the elite engineering colleges does not generally do research. Research groups of the kind described above are extremely rare. This is one of the reasons why fundamental scientific breakthroughs often still come from the West and not from India. As a consequence of the absence of research cul-ture, India also lacks a tradition of relating fundamental scientific research to industry and innovation. Valorisation of research results is not embedded in evidence-based approaches. This is not to deny that India has developed indigenous research traditions and excellent technological knowledge. However, currently, our understanding of the Indian research and knowledge traditions is extremely limited.

Current opportunities

Europe today is facing a huge problem: its population is greying and the number of students in engineering and natural sciences is diminishing significantly. The consequences are already visible on the job market: in Belgium for example, there is a structural shortage of at least 3.000 engineers. In Germany alone, there are 95.000 vacant positions for engineers. This lack of qualified engineers annually costs an estimated 7 billion Euros to Europe’s largest economy. Some of the European university laboratories cannot find the required researchers, irrespective of how good their facilities are, how willing their professors are to teach and guide researchers, and how strong the research tradition and results are.

In India, we see a vast number of bright students in applied sciences, bioscience engineering, electronic engineering etc. with an immense hunger for knowledge. The Indian government is also taking considerable policy measures to expand its higher education system. However, given its lack of research culture, it cannot provide the intellectual environment researchers are looking for. This is one of the main reasons why it loses many of its bright minds to foreign countries.

The absence of research culture in universities and the industry has another unhappy consequence. Where researchers and scientific personnel are being trained continuously in a research tradition and research skills, they often develop a personal commitment to the institutions where this happens. This institution has shaped them and keeps feeding them with new knowledge. Because this is not the case in India, we see that the highly skilled engineers and scientifically trained labour force in India tend to hop from job to job whenever this brings some financial or other benefit. If researchers are not part of a coherent team rooted in a research tradition, there is no incentive to stay at one place.

Challenges OpportunitiesEurope • Alarming shortages of engineering students

• Emptying of engineering labs in the universities• Research culture• Retired professors in engineering with willingness to guide

young researchers

India • Absence of a research culture• Monochromic education in engineering

• Developing interest in fundamental research and a research culture

• Willingness and funds to invest in new labs• Number of engineering students• Necessity of competition, because of which excellence is em-

phasised

For all the reasons mentioned above, cooperation between Europe and India in engineering should particularly pay attention to the building of a joint re-search culture that will provide a fertile soil for research and valorisation in India itself. In doing so, we should not seek just to imitate European institutional structures. We should establish research cultures connected to the Indian cultural context. For example, one of the characteristics of Indian culture in particular, and Asian culture in general, is the way of learning: it takes place through mimesis or imitative learning. Students emulate, imitate, and thus, learn. In western developmental psychology, imitative learning is looked down upon, seen as an inferior process of learning which is restricted either to primates or to the early stages of infant learning. However, this is a wrong view of the matter: if nothing else, the industrial developments in Japan, China and India put paid to this view. The so-called ‘reverse engineering’, which these countries are famous for, is an element of learning through imitation: imitative learning is dynamic, adaptive and flexible; it is creative too, every bit as creative as the western modes of thinking.

This is the way the India Platform is working in the focus domain of engineering. It is taking the first steps in taking cultural differences seriously when building a fertile soil for engineering research and education in India. Once this soil is well cultivated with our help, it will no doubt attract foreign research-ers to invest in the country and it will also convince Indian researchers abroad to return to their country. New students will be educated and trained by these researchers. Eventually, a research culture will crystallise without the Indian society having to rely only on luck or individual genius.

THEMATIC HIGHLIGHTS OF 2014: ENGINEERING

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Proposed routes and future initiativesIn 2014, five engineering colleges from the India Platform stakeholders in Karnataka came together and decided to focus on building their network and research expertise for some period, before applying for large-scale projects with European partners. The activities consist of:

• Three thematic working groups coming together regularly: ° Advanced Materials ° Wireless Sensor Networks ° Electronics for Healthcare Applications

• Training in academic activities such as workshops and conferences• Initiating joint project writing• Student and researcher training• Collaborations with European researchers.

With this plan of action, the capacities of the Indian partners will be strengthened further in 2014-2015. Each month, a coordinating meeting is held, guided by a chair appointed at the October 2014 meeting. In Autumn 2015, the state of affairs will be evaluated and the next step will be decided upon.

For details about the India Platform Consortium on engineering in Karnataka, see Appendix 3 and www.india-platform.org > projects and activities > meetings/roundtables.

In India, the following broad changes can be observed in the health-care ‘system’. Due to the lower stand-ards of living and highly skilled personnel, it makes good economic sense to seek sophisticated health care at costs much lower than those in either America or Europe. As a result, there is an increasing amount of ‘health tourism’ initiated by American private insurance companies. Amongst other things, this is result-ing in the creation of elite hospitals in India catering increasingly to native wealthy clients and American patients.

One hugely negative impact of this development is to be seen in India. Its growing middle class is squeezed between the increasingly unaffordable treatment in elite hospitals and the very low level of health care pro-vided by government hospitals. The growing small nursing clinics and hospitals are woefully inadequate to meet the demands of this huge middle class.

In contrast to America, there is the European model of universal health care which is under severe budg-etary pressure from the current economic and budgetary crisis. The financial need of Europe dictates a reduction in state subsidies for its health care system; the increasingly older population, by contrast, is exerting a greater pressure to increase the outlay on its health-care system.

The solution is obvious: we help introduce the European model of universal health care in India (beginning with one region, namely Karnataka), which also caters to the European citizens. Implementing this solution can only be the result of the collaborative effort of multiple actors and organisations: from governments through insurance companies to hospitals and medical colleges in both parts of the globe. However enor-mous this task might be, this enormity is the challenge that the India Platform wants to address itself to in the course of the next 3 years. It intends to meet this challenge by developing consortia of hospitals, medical colleges and insurance companies in both India and Belgium (to begin with).

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THEMATIC HIGHLIGHTS OF 2014: HEALTH CARE

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Challenges OpportunitiesEurope • Financial pressure on the European health care systems

• Increase in expensive treatments for patients• Limited investments in sophisticated equipment for clinical

interventions and research• Shortage of highly specialised doctors and nursing personnel • Medical technology: saturation of the market

• Increasing realisation of the drawbacks of medical tourism• Openness to explore solutions for the greying of the popu-

lation

India • Absence of universal health care system• Absence of research culture in the medical sciences• International experience is discounted

• Huge interest in developing a universal health care system• Excellence in some domains of medical expertise• Drive and agility to find affordable solutions• Critical mass of patients and pathologies

In the previous years, several collaborations have already been initiated between some of the Indian and the European stakeholder institutions of the India Platform. In 2013-2014 steps were taken to extend these collaborations. We did this in two ways: (1) the establishment of the Focus Group Health Care and (2) the preparation of a Health Care Ventures Visit to India. Even though these could be seen as two different activities, they cannot be separated, as each continuously reinforced the other.

In February 2014, the first Focus Group Session was organised. Here, we built further on the results of two Roundtables on the idea of global health care that had taken place in the previous years (for details about these activities, see www.india-platform.org > projects and activities > meetings/roundtables). During this session, it became clear that in order to develop fruitful collaborations and projects, we needed to start involving as many actors as possible within the health care sector. Here the idea arose of organising a matchmaking visit to India for different actors in the health care domain. A&B partners proposed to partake in the organisation of such a visit by bringing in companies.

Following the Focus Group Session, it was decided to organise a Health Care Ventures Visit to Delhi and Bengaluru from 13 to 21 December 2014 for health care professionals, researchers, representatives of universal health care systems and companies from different European countries. The preparation for this visit included a range of meetings with doctors and researchers of the different stakeholder institutions of the India Platform. Flemish, Dutch and French platforms in the domain of health care were also contacted through which companies could be identified. The reactions to the idea of the Ventures Visit were overall very positive. All the platforms agreed to address their members and inform them about the visit. A third group of people that was ap-proached were representatives of the different bodies within the universal health care system in Belgium: the Mutualities and the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (NIHDI). In order to establish a focus group that will jointly give shape to the idea of global health care, different actors in the health care domain were met: doctors, government bodies such as Flanders’s care, the Flemish platform of patient associations, doctor syndicates, politicians, and others. Through these meetings, two groups of people crystallised: (1) those who want to be actively involved in the Focus Group and work towards its longer term goal; (2) those who are interested in giving input and feedback and/or collaborate in smaller projects.

In September 2014, a second Focus Group Session was organised bringing together all those who had engaged themselves to work towards the shorter and longer term goals of the Focus Group. The group now consisted of representatives of the Christian Mutuality and the NIHDI; several doctors; a research group in social law, specialised in fraud; and a research group in medical ethics. The focus of this session was the application for a large research project. This project will take up some of the research questions related to the idea of global health care. During this session, it became clear that researchers from other domains would need to be involved, such as health economics and sociology. Following this Focus Group Session, researchers in these domains were contacted: a research group in health economics, a research group specialised in cross-cultural patient-doctor communication, and a research group spe-cialised in health care and nursing. All these groups expressed their interest in participating in research projects.

In October, an extra Focus Group Session was organised, in which all the involved research groups came together. Here, it was decided to jointly apply for a ‘Concerted Research Action’ project in 2015. Each research group committed itself to writing a one-page note on the part they would like to take up in the project. The India Platform team will then bring the different research questions together into a coherent framework and write a letter of intent.

In the coming year, the India Platform will continue to facilitate and coordinate the collaborations both in India and Europe.

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Proposed routes and future initiatives

• Health Care Ventures Visit in December 2014• Two Focus Sessions in the framework of the Health Care Ventures

Visit: one with Indian participants and one with Indian and Euro-pean participants

• Application of a joint ‘Concerted Research Action’ project funded by Ghent University

• A European workshop on the focus domain of Health Care in Spring 2015

• Preparation of a ‘strategic fundamental research’ project funded by the IWT, the Flemish Agency for Innovation by Science and Tech-nology, to be submitted in January 2016

For details about the activities of the Focus Group Health Care, see Appendix 3 and www.india-platform.org > projects and activities > meetings/round-tables.

In the 21st century, keeping our cities liveable will be a major challenge both for India and for Europe. The problems are wide-ranging, from pollution and congestion to stress and depression.

During the 20th century, Indian cities saw a phase of untrammelled and unplanned growth. Today, the average city’s quality of life is declining by the day. Millions of families are affected by pollution, conges-tion, urban poverty, and a shortage of housing, drinking water supply, sanitation, sewage treatment, and waste collection. Yet, in order to accommodate the current rate of urbanisation, the country needs to build the equivalent of at least one mega-city every year. Not surprisingly, it is investing billions of euros into creating clean cities and ‘smart cities’.

In Europe, the problems may be less visible but they are as challenging. Experts are competing with each other in a saturated market, while the space to experiment with new solutions has become limited. There is decreasing public capital to invest in urban development, even though the European economy is heavily dependent on its cities. At the societal level, cities show increasing difficulties in coping with their cultural diversity. Isolation and stress among the urban population also give rise to a major health threat: depres-sion and anxiety.

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“NP Bridging has been associated with India Platform since 2008 and became a stakeholder in 2012. We share a common mission to develop and implement a vision for collaborative learning between Europe and India. Our journey so far has been a learning process to understand how two different cultures and continents can come together, to learn and benefit from each other. The IP Focus Group Liveable Cities builds on the existing research on cities, culture and heritage to work towards organising innovative, creative and pragmatic initiatives for local communities. This has helped NP Bridging to look at the projects with a different lens and to incorporate an integrated approach. It has been an excellent learning adven-ture so far and an ongoing process to bridge the gap between the academics and the market in knowledge-based projects.”

Chris Poulissen – NP Bridging

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Challenges OpportunitiesEurope • Stiff competition amongst urban developers and architects

• Since 1993, the 20 largest metropolitan areas in Europe have achieved an annual income growth of 1.6%, a quarter of the 6.2% recorded by their counterparts in the emerging world (Brookings Global MetroMonitor)

• Each year, 25% of the EU population suffer from depression or anxiety (WHO); stress and burn-out is on the rise in urban regions

• Impressive expertise on urban planning, but saturated mar-ket and decreasing means

• Research culture

India • Terrible living conditions in the cities (e.g. in 2013, Mum-bai was ranked India’s most liveable city by the WHO, even though its inhabitants inhale the equivalent of 2.5 packets of cigarettes per day)

• Many more cities are needed: 150 new mid-sized cities or 18 Mumbais

• Urbanisation rate: every minute during the next 20 years, 30 Indians will leave a village to settle in a city; urban population of 590 million forecasted by 2030

• Billions of euros are being invested in urban development and clean, ‘smart’ cities

In March 2014, the Focus Group Liveable Cities was established in order to bring Europe and India together so that they can help each other in solving the problems of their cities. The Focus Group consists of researchers, experts and consultants from the academic world and the business community. Like all IP Focus Groups, it is driven by scientific research: it aims to develop fundamental research concerning the city in India and Europe, which will allow the designing and implementation of better models and solutions.

In Spring 2014, the first two focus sessions in Ghent were organised, involving experts from the UGent, Hasselt University, VITO, De Lijn, and the rail-ways and entrepreneurs from the companies Futureproofed, NP-Bridging, and A&B Partners. After an introduction of the current situation and some of the problems and opportunities offered by India’s cities, the participants explained their expertise, experience and interests. It was agreed that each research team should prepare the required material for project applications at the Flemish and EU levels, because there was no clarity on the kinds of projects the Focus Group could apply for. There was interest among the private companies to join hands with research teams to do feasibility studies for projects in specific cities in Karnataka.

The urban planning company NP-Bridging, already active in India, took the lead in preparing a feasibility study of the city of Mysore. It applied for a subsidy in Flanders, which required matching funding from the Government of Karnataka. In March and June 2014, two delegations met with administrators, politicians, and entrepreneurs in India. While the first visit generated a great deal of interest, it also became clear during and after the second visit, that it would be challenging to tackle bureaucratic hurdles in India and find financial support for such feasibility studies.

After these initial experiences, the IP team has now proposed some specific routes and initiatives for the future development of the Focus Group Liveable Cities. The first steps have already been taken to launch these different initiatives. In order to enable the European and Indian focus group members to take the next steps, the IP will continue to facilitate and coordinate the collaboration.

Proposed routes and future initiatives• Feasibility studies by research institutes and implementation by private companies: focus on Tier 3 cities in Karnataka and involve local politicians,

bureaucrats and companies.• Involve BA, MA and PhD students in studios and research work on specific sites and problems in these Tier 3 cities (cities with less than 500.000

inhabitants).• Organise a European workshop and constitute a European task force responsible for research projects and funding opportunities on the European

side, March 2015.• Building a research cluster on the scientific study of the city with a local IP coordinator based in Pune, India.• Select bridging persons and constitute Indian research teams for the cluster.• Bring European academics to India for workshops, master classes, and summer schools with the local research teams.• Work towards an international conference on the city, organised in India, December 2015, which will bring together all the research teams and

academics involved in the cluster.

For details about the Focus Group Liveable Cities, see Appendix 3 and www.india-platform.org > projects and activities > meetings/roundtables.

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High quality school education is of paramount importance to the future and development of any society. In 2002, the Government of India sanctioned the ‘Right to Education Act’ and the goal of basic education for all, but India faces some major challenges for reaching this goal: a lack of teachers; the position of a teacher is facing a rapid decline in status; teacher training is in dire need of reform. Methods currently used in most Indian schools are of poor quality, with little room for stimulating critical thinking. The introduction of novel pedagogic skills and new didactic materials from Europe is highly valued by Indian schoolteachers.

European education, on the other hand, faces its own different problems: lack of discipline and motivation on the student’s side, stress and demotivation among teachers, huge costs due to great numbers of drop outs, etc. Next to these problems, there is an urgent need to prepare children to approach the new global situation of the 21st century and the cultural differences between Europe and Asia. For example, unlike in Europe, teaching a second language in India is not restricted to merely teaching a second language, but teaching an entire curriculum in a second language. Teaching in a second language in India poses prob-lems comparable to the education of immigrants (mostly from Maghreb countries and Turkey) in Europe in languages other than their native language. In Europe too, this involves a cultural divide analogous to what India has been dealing with for a long time. The experience in tackling this problem in India could be of high value to European teachers. Close involvement with the social and family environments of Indian school children will enable the European partners to do research on, and develop methods to handle the growing cultural diversity in Europe and to generate the kind of social, personal and emotional flexibility among European children that Indians are recognised to possess.

The potential of both continents is clear: Europe has a century‐old indigenous education system, with a great tradition in developing methodology for critical and creative thinking. India has its even older indigenous gurukula system, in which the role of the teacher is extremely well developed but which is not integrated in the formal school system as it exists today.

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Challenges OpportunitiesEurope • Motivating and disciplining children and students

• Stress and demotivation among teachers• Language teaching to the increasing migrant population and

difficulties to realise their goals in the area of equal opportu-nities and integration of minorities

• Urgent need to prepare children to go about with the new global situation of the 21st century and the cultural differenc-es between Europe and Asia

• Considerable investment in research on innovating methods, e.g. in the areas of language acquisition, science education, teacher training, etc.

• Great awareness of the importance of ‘inclusive education’ and expertise in education for children with special needs

• Excellent performance of some European countries in inter-national comparative studies on school performance

• Embedding of teacher training in large institutions for higher education, where the staff combines teaching with research and service to society

India • Starting schools as a lucrative business, putting high risks on the quality of school education

• Immense need for qualified and well trained teachers• Teacher’s job conditions which are not attractive to ambitious

young people• Very high stress related problems for school children• Rather poor infrastructure and availability of TLM (Teach-

ing-Learning Materials) • Rapidly mushrooming English Medium Schools, but a short-

age of teachers with sufficient knowledge of the English lan-guage

• Education is very highly valued by parents and students• Extremely high motivation to perform well in school• Innovation in education in ICT and multimedia subjects,

supported by highly qualified computer engineers• Big investment in educational policy to realise high school

attendance and quality of teaching• Growing interest in Indian schools to teach other main Euro-

pean languages (German, French, Spanish)• Traditional learning & teaching methods still very much

alive in non-formal settings, giving rich opportunities for in-novative research

Over the past 3 years, the India Platform has supported internships of 18 students from teacher training colleges in Ghent. This activity, combined with a series of discussions, has taught us about the needs of schools in India and about possibilities for interaction. It is time now to upgrade our activities in the area of school education. A new Indian member of the India Platform has taken responsibility of the activities of the focus group in India. She will commu-nicate with educational experts in India and establish a core group, which will formulate proposals for cooperation. In Ghent, we organised a focus session on school education in February 2014, where interested people from teacher training colleges and Indians studying in Europe discussed differences in education between Europe and India. Topics that seemed to open fruitful perspectives for cooperation were: teaching English as a second language and learning about how to cope with cultural differences. It is becoming clear that learning about cultural differences as it is done in Europe, does not deliver the required results. It could be interesting to explore if more intensive collaboration with Indians could open up new ways of looking at this topic. Discussions in India have made clear that expertise on activity based teaching and on learning disabilities is an area where expertise from Europe would be very welcome.

As a result of our commitment to teacher training in Ghent, the India Platform will contribute to a course on cultural differences, taught in the teacher training college of Hogeschool Gent (first semester of 2014/15).

Two institutes in the field of education have recently shown interest in joining the India Platform. Both are private companies, with a specific expertise, a social outlook and an explicit commitment to intensify collaboration between Europe and India. In Europe collaboration is being explored with a company with expanding activities on talent development in India. This organisation has a branch in India and is in the process of expanding its activities in India, with the focus on talent development. In India, the company ‘Academy for Creative Teaching’ is now an associate member (http://actedu.in). This company specialises in giving educational support to private schools. They focus mainly on newly established schools in rural areas and also offer general courses for teachers who want to develop their skills. New routes for cooperation with the India Platform will be explored during the next year.

Two Indian stakeholder institutions that run a series of schools, have approached the India Platform for support: the SDM Educational Society (in Dhar-masthala and Ujire) and Alva’s Educational Foundation (in Moodabidri). A focussed visit to these schools has laid the groundwork for closer cooperation. Workshops on pre-primary education will be the first focus area. As far as government schools are concerned, the India Platform will continue to explore cooperation with the Sikshana Foundation (www.sikshana.org). Furthermore, contacts have been made with officials of the educational department of Karnataka and interested individuals in the field of education.

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Proposed routes and future initiatives

• Guiding interns from European teacher training colleges will con-tinue. In 2015, this activity will be expanded towards young volun-teers and experienced teachers who are keen to have an intercul-tural experience.

• A new Indian member of the India Platform with a PhD in the Comparative Science of Cultures will prepare initiatives to coop-erate with institutions and individuals from Europe; she will work with a core team of interested Indian educational experts who will meet at least twice in 2015 and specify proposals for cooperation in the field of school education;

• Short term project proposals will be formulated to increase mobil-ity of teachers to and from India: ° organise a summer school in the field of education, where Indi-

an partners can be invited; ° organise the participation of Indian teachers in international

programs of European teacher training institutions; ° organise workshops for Indian teachers, e.g. on preschool edu-

cation, on education for children with special needs, etc.• Long term proposals for joint research projects will be considered.

One project has already been identified: using traditional Indian techniques of memory training in an educational context. Other research topics will be explored: e.g. on how to share expertise on the teaching of second language, going about with children with special needs; the relation between student and teacher; using di-versity in society as a strength.

For details of the activities of the Focus Group on School Education, see Ap-pendix 3.

Today, there is increasing dissatisfaction with the progress of the social sciences and humanities across the globe. Even though many academics are at work in the relevant disciplines and more and more books and articles are published every year, we have seen no fundamental breakthroughs in our understanding of human beings, societies, and cultures during the past decades.

This is also evident in the study of India. Centuries-old accounts about ‘Hinduism’ and ‘the caste system’ continue to be told as though they are true descriptions of Indian culture and society. Yet, these accounts emerged from the attempt of Western intellectuals to make sense of their experience of India. Indian in-tellectuals have adopted these Western accounts. Generally, they engage in the reproduction of discourses from Europe and America, which do not make intuitive sense to them. As a consequence, debates in the social sciences are all too often hijacked by ideological fights between different political tendencies in society.

In the 21st century, however, India is beginning to generate new and exciting attempts to reconceptual-ise the social sciences and humanities. To make sense of their experience and their culture and society, some Indian intellectuals are not only challenging the dominant accounts but also developing alternative theories. This development holds the potential to initiate a paradigm change, which will offer radically different perspectives on India and the West.

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“As a master student, my research focus is the Hindutva movement in India. Given their work on and in India, the India Platform was a very exciting and engaging setting for a research traineeship. While interning at the IP I learned how to follow arguments as they progress, one step at a time. My ability to critically analyse and engage with academic texts was refined in important ways, and this will contribute greatly to my future research and in the short term, to my master’s thesis. Allied to the reading of texts and writing of abstracts were intense and sustained dis-cussions which systematically addressed doubts and disagreements, deepening my understanding of Prof. Balagangadhara’s articles and research framework. Working at the India Platform was a step towards a new understanding of India, Hinduism and scholarship on the same. At the India Platform I have experienced a very rich and stimulating intellectual environment, wherefrom I continue to learn.”

Garima Raghuvanshy, Research Master Religion and Culture, University of Groningen

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Challenges and opportunitiesEurope • No growing understanding of Indian culture and society in the academic study of India

• Presenting centuries-old Western accounts as valid descriptions of India• Increasing sense that social sciences are not progressing as they should• Times of crisis: reluctance to invest in the social sciences and humanities

India • Decline of social sciences and humanities: barren reproduction of ideas from the West• Conceptual framework distorts, trivialises and denies access to Indian cultural experience • Initiating a paradigm shift: radically new theories and perspectives are emerging• The rise of India and calls for a cultural renaissance raise a potential investment in social sciences and humanities

The Focus Group Social Sciences and Humanities is at the forefront of these new developments. It works with a new research programme for the study of culture and society called ‘Comparative Science of Cultures’, which was developed by the India Platform director Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara during the last four decades. Over the last ten years, this has gained foothold in India. In 2007, a new research centre – the Centre for the Study of Local Cultures – was established in Karnataka, with 3 professors and 6 doctoral students. Today, more than one-hundred researchers and volunteers are part of groups involved in the research programme in Karnataka alone. Under the guidance of Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara, they now play a dominant role in giving shape to intellectual debates in the media and academia across Karnataka.

Generally, in 2013-2014, the work of the last decade began to take a sustainable institutional form: new institutes, courses, and research groups are under con-struction in India and in Europe.

In Europe, the academic year started with the granting of a doctorate honoris causa to Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara by the University of Pardubice in the Czech Republic. There is a close collaboration with its Department of Religious Studies, which is the driving force behind the creation of a Czech India Platform. Several members of the IP team also gave lectures for a broad audience in different parts of Europe. At Ghent University, the team taught a course on the comparative study of religion and is now initiating the development of a new MA in India Studies.

In India, important steps were taken to develop a network of research groups and new institutes and educational modules in the social sciences and hu-manities. In Bengaluru, for instance, the Aarohi group has constituted a group of postdoctoral and doctoral scholars – faculty at different universities and colleges – who work in the framework of the research programme Comparative Science of Cultures. All together they organised more than 20 close reading sessions, workshops, and lecture courses.

Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara was asked to develop a roadmap for an institute at the newly established M.S.R University of Applied Sciences. Later in 2014, different colleges – BMS College of Engineering, Alva’s Education Trust, and the S.D.M Education Society – decided to commit a number of faculty positions so that Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara could develop new social sciences and humanities courses and research at their institutions: several full, associate and assistant professorships and PhD scholarships. In addition, a series of activities were organised during this year: the annual conference in Sirsi in Karnataka with academics and local intellectuals; workshops and lectures by the Karnataka and Ghent University teams.

In September 2014, there were major developments. Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara had a series of meetings with major politicians and leaders in Delhi and Bengaluru, who showed great interest in his proposals for rethinking the social sciences and humanities in India. In other meetings, the plan to launch a conference series Rethinking the Social Sciences crystallised. At the English & Foreign Languages University in Hyderabad, its Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Sunai-na Singh, agreed to take the initiative in developing a new curriculum in India Studies and involve the government in this endeavour. This will also include rejuvenating the Centre for Critical Indian Studies at the EFL University.

All things considered, the Focus Group entered a new and promising phase in the academic year 2013-2014, which should allow it to transform its work of the past years into the required long-term institutional structures in the next IP year.

Proposed routes and future initiatives• Organizing the conference series ‘Rethinking the Social Sciences’ in India, involving thinkers from India and Europe.• Developing a new MA programme of India Studies at Ghent University and a joint European MA in the Comparative Science of Cultures.• Selecting faculty members and developing the new educational modules and courses at different colleges in Karnataka.• Developing a curriculum in India Studies for universities in India, together with EFL University.• Setting up large-scale research projects for rethinking Comparative Law, Comparative Ethics, the Comparative Study of Religion, Comparative

Political Theory …

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India has one of the world’s largest agricultural economies. One of the biggest problems that Indian farm-ers face today is the gigantic need for, and the equally enormous shortage, of natural fertilisers. Even where such fertilisers are available (in quantities that are inadequate to their need), they are of poor quality because of adulteration. The Indian problem of shortage of natural fertilisers finds its solution in Europe: here the overproduction of manure is a major problem. Farmers and their organisations are not only fi-nancially penalised for generating too much natural fertiliser (relative to what Europe needs and because of environmental considerations), but are also burdened by having to find efficient ways of disposing of it. Bringing these two problems together, export of natural fertilisers from Europe to India in suitable forms could benefit farmers and their organisations both in India and in Europe.

Further, the enormous problem of waste management in cities is often tackled by burning waste openly on the streets. In addition to the resulting environmental disaster, this also emits poisonous gases that affect the health of citizens living close by. This problem is compounded by the extraordinary wastage of food in marriages, festival halls and temples (not to speak of hotels and restaurants), a wastage whose dimensions are astonishing from a European point of view. Seeking solutions to these problems would generate a ma-jor value proposition. Collaborating with Indian partners to deal with the urban waste and food wastage would not only benefit Indian city dwellers but would also tackle the significant problem of wastage of food and agricultural products in Europe. Further, it would also help in developing new ways of waste disposal and research into new forms of green technology, which are of value to all people.

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Challenges OpportunitiesEurope • Flanders has excess manure produced in intensive livestock

rearing• High costs of waste processing

• Experience and expertise concerning waste management, water management and manure management

• Available technologies• Research culture

India • Poor cold chain• Many challenges in food processing• Wastage of tons and tons of food and rice• Poor sorting and recycling systems• Ecological consequences• Visual impact• Shortage of high-quality organic manure• Outdated techniques used to process organic manure

• Recent actions of the Indian Prime Minster generate a focus on ‘clean cities’ and waste management

• Recent actions of the Indian Prime Minster awake concerns about sorting and recycling

• Governmental willingness, also at state level, to search for appropriate solutions

During the last year, discussions with researchers and policy makers in Belgium and India pointed out that there are potentially interesting routes for col-laboration between India and Belgium in the domains of waste management and agriculture. At the moment, the two most interesting strands that came to the fore are: (1) Waste management and water management in the context of ‘liveable cities’ and (2) manure management.

What has been done and what is yet to be done?

The focus group on waste and manure management tackles the question of combining the above challenges and opportunities. In the past year, this focus group has:

• had discussions with researchers at universities and institutions and policy makers in Belgium and Europe about this domain.• had meetings in Karnataka with the minister and officials of the Ministry of Agriculture.• organised an India Platform Focus Session on Waste Management – 3rd of April 2014, UGent.

Taking its first steps in this focus group, the India Platform is now gathering more information. Many questions need to be tackled and therefore, a feasibil-ity study seems necessary. Questions like: what is the wholesale price or the trade price of organic manure in India? What is the recommended price per ton (barrel) of the product? There are also questions related to the composition of the manure. How important is the source (poultry/chicken, cattle, pig, horse, sheep, etc.) of the manure and how important is the purity of the manure? How large is the need for organic manure in India? Who or which authorities decide on the manure issue? What policies exist? Are these at the national or state level? Which stakeholders in India could be interested in the waste man-agement and in the manure projects? Which stakeholders in Belgium and Europe could be interested in the waste management and in the manure projects? Who would be interested in joining a working group to look into these and related questions?

The next steps will involve bringing all interested and interesting stakeholders in different sectors of society (academics and researchers, politicians, com-panies involved in waste management, water management and/or manure management, institutions, etc.) in India and in Europe together and organising a working visit in order to assess the situation and get a better view on the problems and possibilities.

Proposed routes and future initiatives• Prepare the ground in India (Karnataka) for a possible small-scale experts working visit in Spring 2015• Symposium (with Flanders Investment and Trade) on “Liveable Cities in India” in the course of 2015• European Workshop on Waste Management and Agriculture together with one of the European stakeholder universities in Spring 2015• First small-scale expert working visit (identify the ‘right people’ and the ‘right questions’) in Autumn 2015

For details of the activities of the Focus Group on Waste and Manure Management, see Appendix 3.

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ACTIVITIES BY THE INDIA PLATFORM

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Types of activities

The India Platform brings together different institutions, companies and individuals with varied interests and foci. The activities are either planned by the India Platform itself, guided by its vision, or facilitated according to available opportunities (see above under “Facts and figures”). They take the form of

• Academic sessions• Conferences / Congresses / Symposia• Facilitation, mediation and matchmaking• Focused study visits to Europe• Focused study visits to India• Lectures / Presentations / Debates• Meetings / Roundtables• Networking• Outreach activities• Projects• Publications of articles• Research• Disseminating information and giving visibility to relevant announcements• Trainings / Internships / Mobility of staff or students • Writing of policy notes and proposals

These activities take place in different thematic domains.

In terms of location, the activities are focused in the regions of the India Platform partners, with additional locations where and when opportunities for activities occur.

An exhaustive list of activities in 2013-2014 is given in Appendix 3. More information about the activities is available at www.india-platform.org > projects and activities.

Some activities highlighted

European tour by Indian engineering faculty

Participants:

• Dr. Gummadi Narendra Sekhar, Vice-Principal, HOD Mathematics, BMS College of Engineering• Dr. M. Ramachandra, Prof. Mechanical Engineering, BMS College of Engineering• Sri. Eshwar Narayana Rao Maanay, Prof. Computer Sciences, BNM Institute of Technology• Dr. M.S. Suresh, Principal, BNM Institute of Technology• Dr. S.B. Bhanu Prashanth, HOD Electronics & Communication, BNM Institute of Technology• Dr. G.N. Krishnamurthy, HOD Information Science, BNM Institute of Technology• Dr. Vaishnavee Eishwar Maanay, Ass. Prof. Management Studies, BNM Institute of Technology• Dr. Ramesh B.K., Trustee, Jyothy Group• Dr. S.Y. Kulkarni, Principal, MSR Institute of Technology• Sri. S.M. Acharya, Chief Executive, MSR Institute of Technology• Dr. N. Sriraam, HOD Medical Electronics, MSR Institute of Technology

A delegation of 10 Indian researchers in engineering and in medical sciences visited four of the European India Platform stakeholders in three countries in October 2013. The objectives of the visit were to learn about the European way of organising curricula and research at the European universities. A thorough rethinking of the local engineering curricula and research routines was the result of this visit. This was initiated through (1) domain-related negotiations with European professors about potential research and education collaborations, (2) guidance in curriculum development based on theories in pedagogy and curriculum development and (3) an introduction to the domain of social sciences and comparative sci-ence of cultures.

ACTIVITIES BY THE INDIA PLATFORM

Place: Groningen (NL), Antwerp (BE), Ghent (BE), Aveiro (PT)Date: 2-12 October 2013Url: www.india-platform.org/events/ details/430/type:7/section:3

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These results of the visit are creating a wave of innovation in the region of Karnataka. They bring together scholars who have never collaborated before and give rise to discussions about topics that have not been discussed before (methodology, pedagogical methods, curriculum development, teacher training, students’ interaction, the merit of social sciences in engineering education, etc.). An India Platform Coordinating Com-mittee was formed to manage the developments, and a Focus Group on Engineering was set up (see above under ‘Thematic highlights’).

India Platform welcome event

Participants: About 60 Belgian and Indian students, researchers, government representatives and business people

This activity has become an annual tradition of the India Platform. However, this year the scope of the activity was broadened. With this informal meeting, the India Platform welcomes new Indian students and research-ers at Ghent University and brings old and new students together so that they can share experiences. But this year we went one step further: we also invited Indian students at other Belgian universities, international students, professors, businessmen, policy makers, funding agencies, Belgians with a warm heart for India, and anybody who is interested in collaborations between Belgium and India. In addition, some of the key players in UGent’s India related activities have been invited: colleagues of the external relations office, the India Plat-form and the promoters of the Indian students. These annual welcome evenings contribute to the building of a community at Ghent University, interested in projects and activities concerning India.

Young students and researchers are often the most creative and engaged in changing something in the world. By bringing them together with those who are able to realise the changes we hope to come up with new ways of collaboration. To this end the event included a session where people could sit together in small groups and share ideas and dreams about one of the five focus areas of the India Platform or about any possible focus area. The event provided a unique opportunity to discuss dreams and visions with relevant people who can help to make them real.

Place: GhentDate: 7 November 2013Url: www.india-platform.org/events/ details/432/type:7/section:3

Belgian Economic Mission to India – 23-29 November 2013

Participants: More than 350 representatives of SME’s and governments

The India Platform was present during the Belgian Economic Mission to India in November 2013. The mission was presided over by HRH Princess Astrid and in the presence of HE Didier Reynders (Fed-eral Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and European Affairs), HE Kris Peeters (Minister-President of the Government of Flanders, Flemish Minister for Economy, Foreign Policy, Agriculture and Rural Policy), and HE Jean-Claude Marcourt (Vice-President and Minister of Economy, SMEs, Foreign Trade and New Technologies of the Walloon Government and Minister of High-er Education of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation). The India Platform Deputy Director, Mrs. Nele De Gersem, was present during the mission. The mission was an opportunity to establish contacts with busi-ness, academic and political players of Belgium. The network of contacts will be built in a systematic way:

• A roundtable and a symposium were organised before and after the economic mission. The focus of these two events was to reflect about an India strategy for Belgium, Flanders and Wallonia towards closer and increased collaboration in science and innovation. The India Platform invited representatives from four different communities: research, higher education, federal and regional policy or funding institutions, and business for these events (for a report of the roundtable, see www.india-platform.org > projects and activities > meetings/roundtables and for details on the symposium, see below).

• A Flemish, Walloon and Belgian India Platform network has started to develop since then.

Place: Delhi – Mumbai – ChennaiDate: 23-29 November 2013Url: www.india-platform.org/events/ details/448/type:29/section:3

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Delegation visit University of Groningen to M.S. Ramaiah

A large delegation of the University of Groningen, consisting of the President, Prof. Sibrandes Poppema, the Coordiator Internationalisation, Mrs. Anita Veltmaat, Policy Advisor International relations, Dr. Tamalika Banerjee, the Counsellor for Science and Technology at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Delhi, Mr. Jelle Nijdam, the Netherland Education Support Officer, Mr. Peter de Bruign, and many professors, visited the M.S. Ramaiah campus in the framework of the India Platform stakeholder partnership. From the side of M.S. Ramaiah (the Gokula Education Foundation), Chairman Dr. Jayaram, CEO Dr. D.V. Guruprasad, the Presi-dent of ME, the President of MSRALC, the President of MSRSASA, the Director of MSR INS, the Principal of MSRMC, the Registrar (A) of MSRMC and many doctors and professors received the delegation. An MoU for further collaboration was signed.

Courses and Close Reading Modules in Comparative Science of Cultures

Participants: Students and other interested people - In the example: 24 participants, all of whom take part in different kinds of public debates, specifically in social media groups in Karnataka

For a list of Aarohi courses and close reading modules, see Appendix 3 (Activities). One of the examples is a close reading workshop the Aarohi research group and the Viveka Jagruti forum jointly organised. It was aimed at familiarising graduate-level science students and social activists who intend to participate in public discourses with reading and making sense of texts related to Indian social sciences issues. The workshop started with a keynote address introducing the idea of the workshop after which participants were divided into five groups and were asked to comment on a specific picture or image. This is a method which proved its effectiveness in earlier courses: discussing the perceptions and interpretations of the image shows how our cognitive makeup generates a particular understanding, even when the images do not have any inherent purpose or meaning. Other methods in the workshop focused on selected Kannada texts, showing how the usage of certain categories that are not part of our experiential world can produce negative consequences. The workshop resulted in a common understanding of how our experiences are not accessible to us when we seek to understand phenomena around us in a language that is alien to our culture.

Place: BengaluruDate: 23-29 November 2013Url: www.india-platform.org/events/ details/531/type:7/section:3

Place: BengaluruDate: Continuous

ACTIVITIES BY THE INDIA PLATFORM

An India Platform Symposium – “A possible India strategy for Belgium, Flanders and Wallonia to-wards closer and increased collaboration in science and innovation”

Participants: About 45 individuals, Belgians and Indians, participated in this event. Among the par-ticipants were representatives from: the Indian Embassy in Brussels; the Federal Public Service, Foreign Affairs; the Flemish Government, Foreign Policy; Belgian Science Policy (Belspo); Wallonie-Bruxelles International; the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO) and its French speaking counterpart, the FNRS; the Belgo-Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BICC&I). Several businessmen from different companies with ties to India were also present. Other participants were professors or personnel of the international re-lations offices of different Belgian universities: Ghent University, University of Antwerp, KULeuven, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Université de Liège, Group T, VITO, Université Catholique de Louvain.

Speakers:

• Mr. Jan Van Dessel, Director General for Bilateral Affairs, FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation

• Dr. Jan Declercq, Chief Technology Officer, CG Power Systems Belgium NV• Mr. Philippe Suinen, CEO Wallonia Trade Agency (AWEX)• Mr. Chris Poulissen, Managing Director, NP-Bridging• Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara, India Platform Director

The India Platform organised a symposium about a possible India strategy for Belgium, Flanders and Wallonia towards closer and increased collaboration in science and innovation. This symposium was a continuation of the Roundtable the India Platform organised on the same theme on the 31st of October (see above). This time, we wanted to go further and take the first step towards developing 21st century policies in the domain of science and innovation based on input from the discussions.

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Place: BrusselsDate: 19 December 2013Url: www.india-platform.org/events/ details/451/type:2/section:3

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In order to allow for a discussion that could help us reach this goal, we had identified some of the problems and listed a series of guiding questions that we consider important to address. Both functioned as the frame-work for the symposium and were distributed in advance to the participants.

Visit to Karnataka in the framework of the India Platform Focus Group Liveable Cities

Participants: Chris Poulissen (CEO, NP-Bridging), Jakob De Roover (India Platform), Sandeep Kumar Shetty (India Platform) and the relevant officials, politicians and business people of the Mysore-Bengaluru region and the Government of Karnataka.

Generally, during all these meetings, the India Platform Focus Group Liveable Cities was presented to bureaucrats, politicians and business people of Mysore, Bengaluru, and the State of Karnataka. The IP stakeholder, NP-Bridging, also presented its on-going urban planning and infrastructure projects in India. During these meetings, several of the bureaucrats and politicians confirmed that they would give active support to these projects in the framework of the urban de-velopment plans for the state of Karnataka. The objective of these meetings was to find general support for the liveable cities projects and activities initiated and coordinated by the India Platform focus group. A follow-up visit to Karnataka took place in June 2014.

Place: Mysore and BengaluruDate: 22-26 March 2014Url: www.india-platform.org/events/ details/534/type:29/section:3

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Incubation project for a Flemish India Platform (Vlaams India Platform, VIP)

In March 2014, the Minister-President of the Flemish Government, Kris Peeters, approved a project called “Incubation Phase for a Flemish India Platform”. It involves the expansion of the India Platform network in Flanders to all potentially interested companies, educational institutions and government structures. The In-dia Platform committed itself to creating conditions for win-win collaborations between Flemish and Indian partners. The two objectives we are working towards are: (1) to create an accessible network and database for every player involved and (2) to create a policy framework for collaboration with 21st century India. The focus themes of the project are:

Horizontally:• Innovation• Greying of the Flemish population

Vertically:• Bioscience engineering• Urban development, architecture, infrastructure• Social sciences• School education• Medicine and health sciences

Place: FlandersDate: 1 May 2014 - 30 April 2016Url: www.india-platform.org/events/ details/535/type:9/section:3

Meeting of Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara, India Platform Director, with HE Smriti Irani, the Minis-ter of Human Resource Development and Higher Education of the Republic of India at the Ministry in Delhi, India

In this meeting Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara talked about the future of higher education in India and collaboration with Europe.

The following topics were discussed:

1. Importance of higher education reforms 2. Revitalisation of social sciences 3. Importance of creating a research culture 4. Importance of collaboration with Europe 5. Role of India Platform and its contribution towards achieving these goals 6. An India Platform initiative to invite HE Smriti Irani to Belgium to discuss the above

The response of the minister was very encouraging:

1. The minister is interested in establishing multiple research centers in social sciences and is keen on receiving Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara’s input. 2. The minister is very enthused about the idea of bringing retired European professors who are still fully able to teach and guide research, to India. 3. The minister accepted the IP invitation to visit Belgium in early 2015.

4. The minister agreed to meet again in November to discuss the documents sent by professor Balu and to finalise the Belgium visit.

ACTIVITIES BY THE INDIA PLATFORM

Place: New DelhiDate: 25 September 2014Url: www.india-platform.org/events/ details/536/type:7/section:3

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Inaugural Talk at the Distinguished Lectures Series of the English and Foreign Languages University

The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, invited Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara to give the inaugural talk at the Distinguished Lecture Series. The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Sunaina Singh, pointed out in her inaugural note that the objective of the Distinguished Lecture Series is to bring scholars of the highest caliber from the world of academia, business and arts to the university. The Lecture Series should offer these speakers a platform to share their expertise with research scholars and faculty and inspire the students and scholars with new avenues of thinking, creating steps for new ideas and establishing bench marks for research in general. Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara’s talk was aimed at creating a space for discussion. After the talk, a group of research scholars engaged Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara in an informal discussion on the campus lawns. The discussion went on for about two hours. This free-wheeling discussion brought back the inescapable caste question. The other questions that cropped up in the discussion ranged from comparative studies of culture,

use of Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara’s framework in the study of the north-east (of India), Dalit issues, and India studies.

Building an open database of contacts

In 2014, the India Platform started to build a user-friendly database, mak-ing contact details of all stakeholders, partners and potential partners of the India Platform accessible to all partner and stakeholder staff. It aims to cre-ate direct links between partners, avoiding bottleneck problems at the India Platform secretariats. A test phase is currently taking place at the adminis-trator level. We are preparing for a test phase among the stakeholder contact persons in the beginning of 2015.

Place: HyderabadDate: 26 September 2014Url: www.india-platform.org/events/ details/538/type:6/section:3

Svāgata.eu, An Erasmus Mundus Exchange Programme

Svāgata.eu is a higher education cooperation and mobility scheme funded by the European Commission as a part of the Erasmus Mundus Programme, Action 2 (EMA 2). Its objective is to achieve better understanding and mutual enrichment in the field of higher education through promoting the exchange of people, knowledge and skills at the level of bachelors, masters, PhD, postdoc and staff.

ACTIVITIES BY THE INDIA PLATFORM

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Bachelor

Master

PhD

Post-Doc

Staff

13

33

3420

16

INDIA EUROPE

57

% female applicants % selected female applicants

The Svāgata.eu project tried to realise a gender balance. Where there were candidates with comparable competence profile, preference was given to the female applicant.

“I received an Erasmus Mundus Postdoctoral Scholarship to carry out research in the field of Organic Chemistry at Ghent University. … This experience has made a profound impact on me. The overwhelming sense of accomplishment, self-belief and zest to conquer the challenges the future may hold is simply in-describable. … I have realised that in order to confirm and challenge the existing notions about a country and its culture, it’s very necessary to personally interact with its people and listen to their point of view rather than simply relying on the media and internet. … I believe that my experience during the Erasmus Mundus Svāgata.eu Postdoctoral Programme would help me in fulfilling my goals and give a fillip to my career advancement as a scientist. … I am sure that whenever I will think about the time I spent here it will bring a smile to my face.”

Divya Mathur, Indian PostDoc scholar for Svagata.eu

NOTES, PUBLICATIONS AND PRESS ARTICLES

The India Platform grew from the Research Centre Comparative Science of Cultures. Its first and its most frequent publications are in the domain of Social Sciences and Comparative Science of Cultures. Publications in other domains are now being written as well by members of partner institutions. An India Platform journal will be started in 2015, which will provide space for scientific articles on the various focus domains of the IP.

Notes are another tool to communicate thoughts and ideas. In 2013-2014 notes were written and used in the framework of the European Higher Education Fair, the EU Strategic Forum for International Cooperation, the Czech delegation visit to India, roundtables on the role of the universities, consultation rounds on a country strategy for India in Flanders, the India Platform focus groups and a roundtable and a symposium on an India strategy for Belgium.

Complete texts of the press articles can be found www.india-platform.org > press. Most of the notes can be found on www.india-platform.org > policy and vision. Academic publications from the research center ‘Comparative Science of Cultures’ can be found on www.cultuurwetenschap.be > publications. A list of all publications, notes and radio interviews can be found in Appendix 4.

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FUTURE PLANS

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Strategic visits from India

A few strategic visits from India to Europe are currently being initiated with high level Indian Government officials. If official support is given, the India Platform will facilitate the visits and assist in organising meetings between the Indian officials and the relevant politicians in Europe and India Platform stakeholder institutions.

Growing in India

Currently, the India Platform is aiming at starting large-scale research projects in the social sciences and humanities at the Indian national level. A series of supporters are working in order to find the right kind of support for these projects. The India Platform network in India will be strengthened considerably because of this shared goal.

European country networks

In Europe, the India Platform is slowly taking the form of geographic centers in different countries. It is one of the objectives for 2014-2015 to create and strengthen the national dynamics of the India Platform. In Belgium, this will take the form of a Flemish India Platform and a Belgian India Platform. In the Czech Republic, the launch of an India Platform at the University of Pardubice with the support of the current Indian Ambassador in Prague may be the start of a national India Platform network in the Czech Republic. In the Netherlands, two more universities showed interest in joining the India Platform. Depending on their activities in 2014-2015 the India Platform intends to begin working towards a Dutch India Platform.

India Platform Ambassadors

Many formal and informal activities have created an experienced and loyal group of supporting individuals for the India Platform. Some of them started their commitment at the annual Indian welcome evening at Ghent University. Since 2013, the evening includes discussion sessions about potential projects in the different focus domains of the India Platform. These evenings create an extraordinary connection between individuals who know how it is to live, work and study in an unknown environment.

In the coming year, an extra effort will be made to build a sustainable relationship with these and other India Platform Ambassadors. All Indian and Eu-ropean India Platform alumni, project collaborators and participants in India Platform activities will be invited to let us know whether and what kind of commitment they would like to take up. It is our conviction that these ambassadors will play a crucial role in the future of the India Platform: they will be the glue between different partners, in a practical as well as in a cultural sense.

The future

These future plans are just some of the most prominent plans for the near future. All our plans are discussed with the stakeholders and their members. Accordingly, in the course of the year, we will organise events and activities and look forward to welcoming you in one of them!

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The India Platform team

The India Platform is a joint endeavour of a core team at Ghent University and a number of other teams and individuals in Europe and India, many of whom are volunteers. They can be contacted through the contact details on our website: www.india-platform.org

In addition to this report there are four appendices available either in hard copy on request or in digital form on www.india-platform.org > click on ‘policy & vision’:

• Vision note (Appendix 1)• List of people we met (Appendix 2)• Activities (Appendix 3)• Notes and Publications (Appendix 4)

India PlatformAppendices to the

Annual Report2013-2014

Appendix 1 to the India Platform Annual Report 2013 - 2014

India Platform

A Vision Document

S.N. Balagangadhara

Universiteit GentBelgium

E-mail: Balu@UGent.beTel.: 092649371Fax: 092649483

Introduction

As the title makes it clear, this is a vision document. Intended as a first step in developing a workable policy, this note is long on perspectives but short on concrete strategies and steps that both India and Europe have to follow. This is deliberate because the goal of this document is to generate a discussion among the partner institutions about (a) the need for a vision; (b) the different strategies that we could fruitfully pursue; (c) the short and long-term benefits that could accrue to all involved in this endeavor. Once a vision is underwritten, we can subsequently work on implementing concrete strategies and tactics as it suits the strengths of the individual partners.

There are four major sections in this document. The first outlines the reasons why Europe has to develop an India policy; the second shows why India needs a policy towards Europe. What emerges by combining both policies together is a vision, which undergirds India Platform, as one group and one institution sees it today, which constitutes the third part. The fourth part is a ‘vision behind the India Platform vision’, added here in order to answer some concerns. It is my hope to see this vision undergo modification, improvement and elaboration as Indians and Europeans begin their work together.

1. Why Europe Needs India

Setting the Context

When we talk of India (or China) today, or about their role in the world of tomorrow, we must never forget where they are com-ing from: during the 1960s and 70s, both belonged to the poorest nations on earth with more than half their population living below the absolute poverty line as defined by the United Nations and with little or no middle-class to speak of. In India, at that stage, less than 1% of the population owned more than 80% of the disposable income. During the last two decades (three decades for China), they have set upon a road of rapid industrialization. Thus, India suffers not only from the ills of the past (massive poverty, illiteracy, etc. induced by centuries of colonization) but also from the diseases of the present (massive social disruption arising from rapid industrialization). When we look at India today, then, we must look at her neither as a European Nation nor as an industrialized ‘modern’ country but as one that is doing the best she can to cope with problems that are every bit as gigantic as the country itself. We have to look at her with compassionate and understanding eyes and not with eyes either tinged green with jealousy or made yellow by prejudice. The economic and social inequity in India is not a proof of the failure of her economic and social policies any more than her IT and engineering industry is a proof of her strength. India is an emerging world power in the complex combination that she is now, because of which, she will pursue a road of her own for tomorrow. In other words, we need an ‘India policy’ (and a ‘China policy’) today. We cannot develop such a policy by merely ‘applying’ or modifying an existing policy for dealing with an advanced industrial country (say, the US or Japan) or for a developing country (say, Malawi or Bangladesh).

Universities and Societies

European universities are the results of organic processes in the European culture. Not only do these institutions have their own history but they are also (and above all) embedded in the history and developments of the western culture. Even where people make fun of the Humboldtian notion of ‘higher education’, there these notions continue to have a common, European currency. Such ideas belong to the heritage of the communities of which the universities are a part. When, therefore, European universities enter into collaboration with each other today, they are merely extending the multiple forms of interactions that have prevailed for centuries among the European nations. Almost all the researchers and intellectuals of the European universities have emerged from the native populations and that too in an organic fashion. To this day, Europe has hardly had the need to recruit intellectuals and researchers from elsewhere in order to develop its universities.

In stark contrast to this stand the universities in the US. Almost from their beginnings, its university structures have survived through a recruitment of intellectuals from elsewhere: first mainly from Europe and now, since the Second World War, in-creasingly from Asia and Latin America. Intellectual immigrants have driven the universities in the US. A continuous inflow of immigrants masks the lack of an organic connection between the universities in the US and their own society. In many of the do-mainsI know, most intellectual breakthroughs have come from first or second generation émigrés. Without a continuous influx of

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immigrants, the universities in the US would perhaps become second-rate institutions at best. This has to do with the social and cultural history of the US itself, and the relationship between the universities and the American society at large.

Consequently, these two nations (the US and the European) have hitherto understood the university in entirely different ways. In Europe, the university is not seen as an institution external to society; universities are how the society maintains continuities between generations and solves the problem of transmission of culture (some sets of knowledge and skills). This is illustrated by how the universities are seen to relate to society. In the US, one speaks of “outreach programmes” when one talks about the relationship between the University and the broader society. In Europe, by contrast, both the mission of the university and the duties of the individual professors include the rendering of services to the society. With respect to the teachers in the univer-sities too, the problem formulation is different between the US and Europe. In the US, one is perturbed by the role of ‘public’ intellectuals (the university professors) in social life; in Europe, by contrast, almost all intellectuals were (and still are, to a great extent) professors at the universities. What is nonsense in Europe makes sense in the US: in Europe, it is nonsensical to identify University professors as ‘private’ intellectuals, whereas in the US, one has deontological problems when such professors become ‘public’ intellectuals.

These differences in the relationship between universities and societies are of great importance for their future need for intel-lectuals and researchers and the fulfilment of the same. Let me focus only on Europe in this note to explore the options it has.

For various reasons that include the changing demographic pattern of the European societies, Europe is facing a partially para-doxical situation. While, on the one hand, there is a growth of structural unemployment that includes a growth in youth unem-ployment, on the other hand, the countries of Europe are also facing an increasing shortage in schooled and skilled professionals. If Europe has to sustain its level of welfare, it needs a dramatic increase in its skilled ‘workforce’. But its indigenous pool for recruitment has shrunk enormously in the course of the last decades. Given, furthermore, the huge budgetary cuts in the public expenditure that the European governments are blindly pursuing, the chances of increasing this pool is very unlikely for the next few decades. However, the need will also be very high precisely during this period. Therefore, one of its other options is to look elsewhere to meet this need, which will become acute in the course of the next decade and more.

Here, India is an obvious choice for many reasons. However, to be successful in this venture means that Europe has to build a relationship with India – a relationship that is different from what existed previously or even what exists now. It must build a new relationship between itself and the Indian universities that are beneficial to both concerned parties. Before I spell out what should be ‘new’ in this relationship, let me look at the current model of its relationship and explore its drawbacks.

The Current ‘Business Model’

The current model (namely, establishing institution to institution contacts) works best when either European universities are at issue or when the US universities are involved. It works in the first case because of the common heritage and history that the European institutions share. It works too when we talk about establishing contacts between the US and Europe because an in-stitution to institution contact is the only way to relate to the US universities, given their external nature to society. It will fail in all other cases. Why?

Both India and China have reached the place where they are today through a combination of two processes. There is, first, their own history: (a) both countries have an internal reservoir of indigenous intellectuals; they also have a native cultural history of research and education that is every bit as rich as Europe’s own cultural history. Further, they have also created indigenous in-stitutions of learning. The second process is the result of their recent history: (b) they have the western educational system too, which has mainly accrued to them through colonization (in the case of China, we need to qualify this point more carefully.) Their institutions reflect the combination of these two processes in a lopsided way: the way, that is, how and why some universities have reached the ‘top’ when the majority are languishing behind. However, unlike in the US, these top universities are fed by the general indigenous population and not by immigration. Here, they are very much like the European universities. Furthermore,in contradistinction to the US and Europe, India and China have begun to expand their universities system. They possess a very great reservoir to draw intellectuals from. As such, the number of their ‘top’ universities can only increase. More important for our present purposes is the following trend: many of the ‘top’ universities of today will very soon lose their pre-eminent position.

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Why? In India, the reason is not far to seek. The so-called top institutions of today were the only institutions available yesterday. The Indian Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institutes of Management, the Indian Institute of Science, etc. were mostly set up as elite institutions many decades ago. They were the only institutions available to those who wanted to do research. Therefore, those who were bright and rich went to these institutions and many of them emigrated to the UK and the US later. Today, there is an explosion of colleges and universities; both the rich and the bright, and the poor and the bright, have more choices than even three decades ago. As a consequence, some of these so-called ‘top’ universities have already started sliding downwards: the JNU, set up as an elite institution in Delhi, is one such. Today, it has already become a second-rate university. Thus, what we see today is a snapshot of the situation that prevailed decades ago; it is not a current photo.

This is evidenced in the prominence that some geographical regions in India enjoy today. Bangalore, the so-called silicon valley of India and the capital of the State of Karnataka, housed just one ordinary university and two engineering colleges less than three decades ago. Yet, this city created the ICT revolution in India two decades ago. It was not the so-called ‘top’ university in Chennai, or Hyderabad that led the technological revolution in India. Neither Delhi nor Calcutta, which housed the top universities, nor the top technological institutes delivered the economic or research impetus in India. All they did was develop westernized elite that left the shores of India as soon as it could. The Indian growth is fuelled by the indigenous intellectuals, the way it happened in Europe.

Consequently, when people establish links with such ‘top’ universities using the current model, they have to deal with a west-ernized elite that has been doing ‘business’ with Europe for decades on end. These Indians are receiving homages from a queue comprising of multiple donors all eager to do them a favour. Why should they get excited about another second-rate university from Europe, when the ivy-league universities in the US are clamouring for their attention? However, this is not the only prob-lem. Because one seeks merely an institution-to-institution contact, the only available ‘business model’ we have is the kind of contact that one industry establishes with another. What has a small to medium-sized university from Europe to offer that makes it ‘irreplaceable’? Not very much. Of course, being good businessmen, the Indians are not averse to entering into contracts with other universities. After all, these institutions too feel proud that they have many ‘international’ agreements. Besides, their faculty would not mind a trip to Europe, all expenses paid and they would not mind hosting foreigners in India either. But it is of no great consequence to these ‘top’ universities, whether these contracts are sustained or not.

In this model, building ‘institutional contact’ takes the form of ‘networking’ that business people engage in: to collect as many visiting cards from as many important and highly-placed people as is possible. This ‘LinkedIn’ network model is inadequate for an institution of ‘higher learning’ that should put the pursuit of truth and knowledge above any such networking. While it might be useful and impressive to mention the number of international contracts signed in the yearly report of a university, it is not (in and of itself) of any great significance to the institution. Furthermore, such a model ignores the fact that the European universities are embedded in the common history of peoples and do not just possess an institutional history.

The only route to success (measured in medium and long-term perspective) for European universities, if they intend to be suc-cessful, is to establish a people-to-people relationship between India and Europe. We have to keep in mind that we are relating to Indian institutions that not only have their own history but are also embedded in a people with a different cultural history. That is, initiating a fruitful institutional contact requires relating one people to another. In that case, creation of institutional contacts occurs through the establishment of links between people. Because the latter takes place in multiple ways and at different levels, the India Platform cannot see itself as an attempt by one European university merely to establish contact with other Indian uni-versities. India Platform must become both European and multi-dimensional from the very outset, if it has to succeed.

However, this does not imply that we should forget what the universities need (and, by extension, what Europe needs) for their continued successful existence. One such is an unrestrained access to natural resources. In the case of universities, it is easy to specify what that is: the European universities need direct access to the top researchers of tomorrow; this is the ‘natural’ resource of a University. In other words, we need to have a direct access to that reservoir which will feed the top universities with researchers in the India of tomorrow. We should make these future Indian researchers want to relate to us, make them want to do research for us and with us. And this relationship can only be built over a period of time and in multiple ways. How is this to be achieved?

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Rethinking the Strategy

In the course of what follows, I will identify the three dimensions that any such successful strategy has to follow. These three alone are not enough, but they are necessary. They merely outline the nature of the strategy we have to follow, while adding other dimensions or parameters as we go along.

1. India is a huge country not only in terms of population but also in terms of size. It is as varied as Europe in terms of its languages and cultures. Therefore, we need to identify a region in India and focus on that area first. Once we have done that, what should our next step be? Let me use a military metaphor here: we need to lockdown that area or region. (The ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of this step will become clearer later on.)

Locking down a region implies at least three things: (a) we must become the ‘preferred’ partner, if not the dominant force there; (b) because we function as ‘partners’ we must not only have native counterparts but also those who help us in this venture; (c) for this to occur, we must have something to offer. Let me look at each of these separately but briefly.

Regarding the condition (a): On its own, no single medium-sized European university is big enough to become a preferred partner in a region. The needs in any region in India far outstrip the capacities of any single university. The same consid-eration applies to the needs of the universities in that particular region. Consequently, we need to create a European con-sortium of universities to begin with. While creating such a consortium we have to carefully choose our partners: we need dynamic middle-sized universities which are ambitious. Mostly, we will find them not among established universities who think they have a reputation to protect but among those young universities who want to build themselves a reputation. Therefore, here is where we have to look. Regarding the condition (b): Because we are entering India as a consortium, our indigenous counterpart should also be a consortium of universities. It does not make sense for us to focus on any one university because there are multiple univer-sities operating in any one region in India. Besides, one cannot become a preferred partner in a region by simply working with a single university. However, when we talk about the consortium of universities in a region, we have to work at two levels. One that involves relating to the universities in the region; the second that involves working with multiple science and engineering colleges, medical and nursing colleges, Dental and Agricultural colleges, Law and management colleges, research institutes and so on. Here, some choice becomes necessary and that should be defined in terms of the capacities of the European consortium.

Regarding the condition (c): We must offer something that demonstrates our good faith and our intrinsic commitment to their welfare. In one sense, for the next decade at least, European universities have much to offer in terms of knowledge, expertise and skill. Here, we have to keep in mind that we are following a long-term strategy. That is, we should remember that we are not aiming only at short-term benefits for us in the first instance. So, we need to work with a forked strategy here: One branch of the fork should keep its options open regarding collaborations and seek opportunities to enter into contracts with premier research facilities, where and when possible. The second branch of the fork should explicitly seek to offer what these universities badly need today: capacity building. This need refers to something that European universities have very great expertise in, namely, in doing research. Most universities in India need help in building research teams, in learning how to do research and in building capacity groups within their universities. The India Platform offers this help that demonstrates its good faith: we help these universities in building research centres and research groups in multiple domains.

2. Having used a military metaphor, let me use an economic one now. We create a market for ourselves, a market that does not exist today. This implies that we do not seek a ‘niche’ for specialized products or sell ‘niche products’, which works well in a well-developed market but not so well in a developing market. The thought behind it is this: as India and her markets grow, so should we. (This is the business strategy used by companies that have been successful in India so far.) Our welfare must be seen to depend on the welfare of the Indian clients. However, creation of a market requires that we actively seek an area that is not yet taken over both in terms of products and in terms of ‘competitors’. This consideration applies (a) geographically; (b) in terms of the ‘potentiality’ of that geographical area to function as a market; (c) in terms of the goods we intend selling and (d) in terms of the ‘natural resources’ available in that area. I shall look at these condi-tions separately but briefly.

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Regarding the condition (a): Because of the size of the regions and their populations, we need to identify a focus for a re-gion. Most big cities in India have populations that outstrip the size of Belgium as a nation. (Bangalore, one of the smaller but major capital cities, has nearly 10 million people and has hundreds of colleges and hundreds of thousands of students.) Given the size and capacity of the European consortium, we need to expend our limited resources carefully. Here, in some senses, the decision is easy: all the well-known institutions in the major capital cities are already taken. Most European nations and the US (and their universities) have already established bases here and, as such, there is no possibility for India Platform to directly lock down any cosmopolitan centre. This means, we have to shift our focus to rural and semi-urban areas to begin with.

Regarding the condition (b): Even where we turn to semi-urban and rural areas, we must still be able to tap into interest-ing hubs in the Indian social life. Such hubs must possess active researchers and industries in the ICT, biotechnology and bio-engineering, and house multiple research institutes. There cannot be only one hub; nor can it be a hub which is spe-cialized in only one small segment. We need to have a potential access to multiple hubs. Only if these rural and semi-urban areas have organic links with such hubs would they function as a potentially interesting market.

Regarding the condition (c): There must be some awareness (‘felt need’) for the goods that we are able to offer immediately. As I said before, we should not try to sell one product (a ‘niche’ product) in a pre-existing market; we must create a market for ourselves where none exists today. In other words, we have to sell multiple products, the ‘necessities of life’ so to speak, all of which are needed (and felt needed by the people) in these regions. That is, we must grow (as an institution) as our partner institutions grow: we grow as India grows.

Regarding the condition (d): Such must be our strategy that, by implementing it, we get direct access to the ‘natural resourc-es’ we need, namely the bright and young researchers. Such an access should enable us to plan and execute joint research ventures that yield fruits in the middle and long-term.

3. If we need direct access to young researchers, we will have to relate directly to the current educational system, which we can because the consortium consists of educational institutions. However, we can do this only if we have something to offer in this regard. That is, we need to introduce novelty into the Indian education system itself. This requires that (a) these ‘novelties’ are known to us at least partially; (b) they must be genuinely new in the Indian context; (c) there should not be any resistance to such an introduction. Moreover, such an introduction demonstrates our good faith to them in the sense that no immediate and tangible benefits accrue to us as a result. It is only thus that we win their trust and loyal-ty. Because all these are self-evident conditions, I shall not elaborate them separately here.

Summarizing, we need to use these three parameters simultaneously. Let me now formulate the India platform strategy in one single sentence: We lock down a region in such a way that we can create a market by introducing novelty into the education and social system. This approach must also enable us to create the people-to-people contact. These thoughts contain the rudiments of an ‘India policy’, which we need to pursue. Thus, we see how different this is from the typical approaches to ‘internationalization’.

Outline of an Educational Proposal

With these constraints in mind, here is my proposal: build the India Platform in the Ghent University with the help of a consor-tium of some European universities. Let us choose young and dynamic universities that want to expand and grow. In choosing such universities, we can use two criteria: (a) in Western Europe, we should not focus on ‘prestigious’ universities from Germa-ny, France, UK, etc. In fact, it might even be advisable not to explore the possibilities in these countries. (b) It would be more interesting to focus also on the dynamic regions: East and Central Europe. For historical reasons, they have been isolated from developments in Western Europe and the US for a long period of time. Consequently, their universities are more likely to be open to bigger visions and newer vistas than the institutions in Western Europe.

Let this European consortium enter into an agreement with a consortium of universities and colleges in Karnataka. Bangalore, its capital city, is one of the biggest and the most important technological hubs in India. Karnataka also contains multiple hubs: Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli and Dharwad and so on. Let us focus primarily on rural and semi-urban colleges and universities with whom most other European institutions would never enter into an agreement.

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What can we offer them immediately? There are two things: (a) As I said before, we can offer them help in capacity building. Helping them build research potential through the process of setting up research centres, training the young faculty in doing re-search, etc. are crucial in this regard. (b) We also need to introduce ‘novelties’ into their educational system. Here too, we can offer them something that is not novel here in Europe, but very new in Karnataka. Let me elaborate very briefly on these two points.

One of the characteristics of the European education system is the close organic connection it has established between research and education. Equally characteristic of the Indian education system is the quasi-total absence of precisely this link in most universities and colleges. If the Indian education system is to have a future, it must establish a link which is quasi non-existent between these two aspects. European universities can be of immense help in this regard by introducing a research culture within the institutions we collaborate with. Mutual exchange of faculty and research students, isolation of domains where it is possible to build such a research culture without massive investments in infrastructure, the scalability (and hence the effectiveness) of research training, etc. would be the initial parameters in the development of such a research culture. This capacity building is piv-otal to the future of our collaboration. This is the first novelty that we are going to introduce in the education system in Karnataka.

Further, one of the banes of the current Indian educational system, which every Indian educationalist also constantly complains about, is (a) its monochromatic syllabus; (ii) rote learning; (iii) lack of connection between research and teaching. The science and Engineering students, for instance, are not exposed to any domain of knowledge except those that are only narrowly rele-vant to their future profession. One of the interesting aspects of European education is its broader orientation to education and forming. Regarding the second, we need to note that Europeans have been experimenting for decades with problem-oriented approaches to education. We can offer and transmit our experiences in this regard by helping them to restructure their educa-tional content. The third is that it is almost unknown in most colleges and universities (outside of premier institutions) that the teaching faculty also engages in research. The European university culture cannot (almost) think of such a radical dissociation between education and research. Through the setting up of teacher-training modules, we can help bridge the huge gap that exists today in these universities. Finally, we can also introduce social science and humanities modules in the engineering and science curricula and train their faculties. That is, we can develop a ‘faculty training programme’ in the course of the next 4 to 5 years. This too can be done in a novel fashion: there is no need to give ‘A Short Introduction to Sociology’, ‘A Primer in Political Science’ and such like. There is no interest for such courses. We can introduce them to a problem-oriented approach in the social sciences and humanities as well. This approach should allow us to address the problems that the Indian society is facing today, such as the unbalanced economic growth, the fast changes at the societal level, the increasing violence between groups, etc. As it is, a number of Karnataka universities are greatly interested in introducing ‘comparative science of cultures’, developed in the Ghent University. We can introduce such programmes in these universities and help train the faculty to teach this programme as well.

Simultaneously, we begin a test-phase of training the faculty from engineering and science colleges to teach modules in human-ities and social sciences in their colleges and universities. This initiative has already found seed-money from both the State gov-ernment and the Engineering University that groups all the engineering colleges from Karnataka. We can leverage this support to elicit more internal funding but also, more importantly, to involve the dominant industries (including INFOSYS founders) in this initiative. All these groups can become our partners and stakeholders in our attempts to introduce the much needed change and novelty in the Karnataka educational landscape.

Even though no immediate (tangible) benefits might accrue to us (apart, perhaps, from some institutional contracts), such an initiative will provide immense rewards in the middle and long-term. Through the faculty-training programme, we will have di-rect access to all the colleges and universities. Through the introduction of teaching modules, we will have immediate and lasting impact on the faculties. We obtain direct access to the best of the bright and promising students and it will be up to us to attract them to our universities or to Europe. Then it is up to us to decide how many researchers we want to train, how we train them, and in which areas; these are all decisions that will be taken within the framework of trust and loyalty that our first few years will have earned us. We will have the good will and active support of the government, the private sector, and it will be up to us, again, to make of it what we will. Above all, we will have established a profile for ourselves in the entire region in about 5 years. Thus, we will not only lock down the area but do so on our terms. All the conditions outlined above are satisfied in this proposal.

However, that is not all. The situation that I outline for Karnataka is more or less fully applicable for the rest of India as well. If we manage to pull-off this task in Karnataka, then this experiment is repeatable in the rest of India. Because most of our work will be carried out by generating internal resources and because, in a few years’ time, we will also have trained enough personnel, any requests for extending this ‘model’ to the neighbouring states (in South India, like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, two grow-ing engineering giants in India) can be easily honoured. I foresee many more states appealing to our expertise in creating such a programme in their regions. If this happens, our range and impact would be limited purely by our abilities and willingness. This is one of the additional reasons for choosing Karnataka, where the needs are currently the most acute.

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Because I have been working with some such goal for the last 10 years, most of the preliminary work in Karnataka is already carried out. We have the support of the government, of the Inter-University board in Karnataka, the foundations of a consortium and so on.

Such a long-term strategy does not prevent us from seizing initiatives and being pragmatic: sign contracts where and when op-portunity visits us; seek contacts with industries; look for R&D partnerships; promote educational exchanges; and so on. In fact, one of the earliest realizations of the India platform would be to create such a dual-track policy: one track that consistently works on creating organizational structures that would enable us to build for a middle and long-term; the other track which opens up new windows for capitalizing on available opportunities. It is a matter of 5 or 10 more years to achieve the major goals that I outline.

2. Why India Needs Europe

Setting the Context

Today, in the 21st century world, the relationship between India and Europe is more complicated than their mutually intertwined history would indicate. Despite the fact of colonization by European powers, India is oriented more towards the US than it is towards Europe. This does not have so much to do with a resentment bred by colonization as much as it has to do with the history of India under colonization and the perception of Europe by others (including Indians). Let me briefly sketch both, beginning with a thumbnail description of India as it evolved through the process of colonization.

Unlike the earlier generations of Indian intellectuals, the present-day Indians are not confronted by what they had to cope with viz., a dynamic western society. We know only too well today, what choices the earlier generations had and what they made of those yesterday: either they retreated into obscurantist revivalism touting the indigenous culture as the only or the best form of life, or took to an aggressive hawking in the street bazaars of India those goods and products bought at bargain-basement prices from giant warehouses elsewhere. The first group went into bankruptcy in its country of origin while some entrepreneurial el-ements amongst them shifted their shops from the banks of the Ganges and the Kaveri to that of a Thames and a Hudson. The second has made fortunes by selling remainders at retail prices. Either way, the Indian culture stagnated: the Indian intellectuals had lost a world they never had and grew up in one they never knew. And their heirs and legatees have to struggle to make an alien world their own whilst their world becomes alien to them. All of this was yesterday.

Today? Today, according to perceptions in India and the US, Europe has turned in on itself. Her culture has developed agora-phobia. Her leaders are parochial and provincial, her intellectuals amnesic, her body-politic anaemic and her citizenry cynical. Europe is a world grown old beyond its age, her vision myopic and bi-dimensional, and her perspective short and shallow. This enables one to relate to Europe without being overawed by its dynamism; the static nature of the European society today throws its limitations up in sharp relief.

This, however, is only one perception of the European world. Of course, it is also the most popular description available in the market place. For our purposes, and in truth, this description does not suffice: we need to realize that no culture or society is ever ‘static’, no matter what Indians or Americans think; no matter what the American pundits say, Europe is not the tired ‘old world’ they claim it has become. In fact, it continues to be the rich storehouse that it once was and that is why Indians should relate to this part of the world with a greater urgency than ever before. That, at least, is the message in this part of the note.

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Why Europe?

The answer to this question is really very simple: Europe is both a reality and a dream.

Europe as a reality: What were European intellectuals engaged in during the last two thousand years? It is almost impossible to answer this question without relating the history of Europe; still, we can say that they produced theologies, philosophies, fine arts, and natural and social sciences. The list is so varied, so diverse and so long, that one does not know where to begin or how to end. Perhaps the most interesting theories about human beings, their cultures and societies, which we use today, are products of European intellectuals. So, too, are the institutions and practices that we find desirable: democratic institutions and courts of law, for instance. Though it colonized the globe, Europe also industrialized the colonies, established courts of law, laid railroads, and introduced scientific education, modern medicine and parliamentary democracy. The sheer scope, variety, and quality of European contribution to humanity are overwhelming. When Indians debate about secularism and religious fundamentalism, when they deliberate and introduce legislations about abortion or educational institutions, when they do scientific research and publish papers in learned journals, they are walking in the footprints of Europe of both yesterday and today. Europe is present as a reality, something we can neither forget nor ignore.

Europe as a dream: Europe is indeed a dream, both for Europeans and for Indians, but in two entirely different senses. Europe is a dream for Europeans because of what they are attempting to achieve today. When the European constitution was drafted, they took the first step (even though that was not crowned with success) never seen hitherto in the history of humankind: a partial transfer of national sovereignty by more than 25 nation-states achieved only and solely through a process of peaceful negotiation. Until then, we knew of only one way of surrendering national sovereignty: through war and conquest. The dream of European integration has shown that war is superfluous for this purpose. This is why Europe is a dream for Europeans; if they succeed, then it will also become a dream for the rest of us to pursue.

However, today, Europe is a dream for Indians for an entirely different reason. Let me raise a question by way of an explication: What has India to learn from Europe? Here are the familiar answers: science and technology; democracy and the rule of law; re-spect for human rights and ecological awareness; becoming modern and cosmopolitan. When such answers are given, it does not mean that we have to learn from Europe this or that scientific theory; or, a solution to this or that mathematical problem. What is meant is something like this: Indians have to learn from European culture a particular way of going about in the world. That, one believes, is the unique contribution of European culture, something that is absent elsewhere. And what is this ‘particular’ way? Here too, a simple answer should suffice: it is the scientific way. Europe is a dream for Indians in this sense.

The Scientific Way

To understand what precisely I am talking about, we need to look at the Asian continent as a whole because India is a relative latecomer as a major player here. Even though many countries in Asia were poor and underdeveloped for quite some time, the picture has changed radically and drastically in the last three or so decades. Today, Asia is spending massive amounts of money in building up scientific and educational institutions, in training its research personnel, in entering into collaborations with insti-tutions from outside the continent. Yet, one development is striking: relative to Europe (or even America), their contributions to the field of fundamental scientific research and technology is extremely minimal. Even where we boast of some individual Nobel Prize winners (Sir C.V. Raman, for instance), there, these individuals hardly developed any native research culture. That is to say, there is a conspicuous absence of scientific research culture in Indian institutions. This, then, is what one has to learn from Europe: to develop an indigenous research culture among the intellectuals from both natural and social sciences. If that does not happen, India will rapidly become obsolete in the world of tomorrow.

To appreciate the previous sentence adequately, let us notice the status of Indian Engineering and Medial colleges and their ‘prod-ucts’ very briefly. The staff in these colleges hardly do any scientific research but spend their time in teaching courses they learnt when they were themselves students. As a result, most students who emerge out of these colleges are not kept abreast of the latest developments in science and technology. Perhaps, what is even worse is that they are not capable of assimilating these advances on their own either. Consequently, as recent studies have shown, more than a third of these graduates are not only unemployed but are also unemployable today. If we look at the so-called IT prowess of India, the picture is even more disheartening. Most of the much renowned IT companies (Infosys, Wipro, TCS, etc) rely on back-office revenues for their growth and hardly spend any money on research and development. The R&D budget of one company, say Micorsoft, outstrips by ten times or more the whole of the research and training budget of all these companies put together. With the shift to cloud computing, for

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instance, the face of IT is going to change radically in the course of the next decade or so. When it does, the revenues that these IT companies count upon are going to be reduced drastically because the nature of outsourcing that is occurring now will change dramatically in the future. How is India prepared to face these developments? The answer is painfully simple: it is not. What will then happen to the engineering colleges and their students, if things do not begin to change here and now? Here too, the answer is simple: they will go the way the dinosaurs went.

The only way Indians can face up to tomorrow is by transforming their educational and scientific institutions in a radical way by introducing the culture of scientific research. Currently, they do not have the human resources required for this job: the exper-tise, the skill and the experience to build the research culture needed to survive the tomorrow is absent. Consequently, despite the huge amounts of money the government of India is spending on research, the results are dismal: the research efforts either produce trivia (in social sciences) or tertiary research in science and technology. It tells us much when the premier institution of research, the Indian Institute of Science, does not even make it to the top 100 institutions in the Shanghai ranking. Surely, that is not because India lacks intelligence or money to achieve this banal goal. They do not have the most vital ingredient needed to flourish, namely, the culture of doing scientific research.

At the level of social upheavals, Asia has experienced everything the West has without having had an intellectual upheaval, which even remotely resembles those that have occurred in the West. They have had revolutions, palace coups, dictatorships, capitalisms, democracies and what-have-you. They have even had colonisations and independence movements. But where are the renaissances or the enlightenments? Where are the Galileos, Newtons, Einsteins, Bohrs and Hawkings of India? Why not a Vienna Circle or, at least, a Frankfurt School? Surely, the Indian culture has had its share of brilliant men and women. Where, then, are their Marxes, Webers or Freuds? They can at least produce a John Maynard Keynes or an Emilé Durkheim. They can afford a Popper, surely, if not a Russell or a Wittgenstein. Where are they?

That is why India needs Europe today.

Why Not America?

This question is important today because, increasingly, in the course of the last two decades at least, Indians have been looking towards America. By the end of last decade, Indians had become the third biggest immigrant group in the USA, displacing the Chinese. The more than two million Indian immigrants to America represent the biggest peaceful migration (in the shortest time) the world has ever known. The Indian government (especially the Ministry of Human Resource and Development) appears to take policy decisions while eagerly awaiting approving nods from Washington or New York. Given this, the obvious question is: why Europe and not America?

In a way, I have already answered this question at the beginning of this note, when I spoke about the relationship between uni-versities and society. Perhaps, a repetition will do no harm here. As I have noted, the universities in the US are heavily dependent on immigrants to keep American educational and research institutions at the top. These institutions are artificial islands in the US society and they have no experience in relating to the population in any organic fashion. The research culture in the US is sustained mostly by a continuous influx from all parts of the world and is not a part of the American intellectual culture. The dominance of the US in many areas of research (especially in the social sciences) is a result of the massive funding occasioned mostly by the cold-war ideology. As this ideology begins to die, so does the research funding: increasingly, there is a growing pressure to downsize research funding for all fundamental research, especially in the social sciences.

What India needs for its future is not a series of intellectual and institutional collaborations between the so-called ‘elite’ institu-tions in India and the US. Where such collaborations occur, there they will be completely determined by what has defined the US ever since the World War, whether it is at the level of foreign relations or at the level of academic collaborations: its national interests. In some senses, a kind of rabid nationalism is the defining characteristic of all American institutions, whether industrial or commercial firms, or the military or the administration, or educational institutions. In this sense, American institutions will work with India only in so far as such a collaboration serves their interests, however that gets defined. Each educational institution (say a Harvard or a Yale) thinks only in terms of its individual interest, if and when it undertakes collaborations. Furthermore, such institutions have neither the conception nor the experience of developing a scientific research culture in a people or a nation. This is evidenced by the fact that such institutions continue to remain ‘foreign’ in their own country and culture.

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In stark contrast to this kind of nationalism and isolationism stands the European culture. Forced from the very beginning to think in terms of the “interests of the Empire”, the European colonial powers could not project their ‘national interests’ as over-riding priorities. Because of the organic relationship between its culture and its intellectuals, the universities in Europe faced the need to educate and form the population at large. The meeting of these needs have expressed themselves as the renaissances, enlightenments and scientific revolutions. What India needs is not so much academic agreements between some institutions as much as it needs the growth of a scientific research culture among its intelligentsia. Here, only Europe has the wherewithal to be of help and not the USA. Hence Europe.

However, this is not meant to imply that America is ‘selfish’ or that it has not been ‘generous’ enough for those hundreds of thousands of Indian students, whose education it has financed. My point is narrower: I am talking about the interests that guide the US institutions when they enter into collaborations with partners elsewhere. Even here, I am speaking about the dominant tendency and not making a law-like generalization. I merely want to suggest that international collaboration should enable India to tap into its own potential.

3. Problems and Solutions

In one sense, we could say that there are no constraints but only opportunities. Better said, perhaps: what are constraints in the eyes of one are merely opportunities in the eyes of the other. That is how I shall look at the relationship between Europe and India in what follows. Let me begin by outlining what is described as a ‘constraint’ to the future of Europe.

Globalization

In the early phase of selling globalization to the European public, the following story was popularized in the media by both politicians and policy makers. Because the Asian society contains relatively cheap skilled labour and given the lower costs of production of goods and commodities in that region, it is profitable for the western industries to shift their loci of production to Asia. It also makes macroeconomic sense to do this, despite the resultant loss of jobs in Europe and America, because the cheaply produced goods allow the western consumers to benefit. The Asian societies and economies will also benefit from this relocation because of its obvious impact on their local economies.

This story has changed in the course of the last three or so years, beginning with the financial mortgage crisis that America un-leashed upon the world. It now transpires that the western nations (both the consumers and the States) were living above their means and that their massive consumption of the cheap goods produced in Asia and elsewhere has substantially contributed to this crisis. Consequently, the story is now one of huge austerity measures and the slashing of budgetary deficits across all sectors.

If we put the two stories together, it appears as though ‘globalization’ is the root cause of economic crisis and that austerity is the only answer that our national economies can afford. Even though much more can be said about this issue, I have said enough to summarize the slogan of today: European consumers should become poorer if the Asians have to prosper. I do not believe that this story is true, despite its popularity. The capitalist economies generate new wealth and do not merely reproduce and divide a fixed amount of wealth; the prosperity of one section of a people does not require the impoverishment of another section.

Further, compounding this problem as it were, a phenomenal development is going to take place in Europe: a massive retirement of baby-boomers (that is, people born during the 1950’s, after the war) from active profession in the course of the next 5 years or so. Known also as ‘the problem of ageing population’, this phenomenon confronts Europe with many issues: (a) at the level of institutions of Higher Education, European universities and colleges will confront a sudden shortage of qualified teachers and researchers; (b) at the level of social policy, the welfare state will confront a huge surge in demands for pension; (c) at the level of health policies, there will be an uninterruptedly increasing demand on health care for old-age diseases; (d) at the level of econ-omy, there arises the skew in the ratio between the active segments of people and those who are inactive. These four issues are enough (even though more problems will emerge due to the changing demography in Europe) to suggest that this huge number of retirees are going to become ‘the’ problem for Europe in the course of this decade and it is likely to remain that for many more decades to come.

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Of course, the European policy makers have been aware of this problem for a decade or more. Many countries are trying to address this issue, even though the discussion has been mainly at the level of economics: how is Europe going to sustain its pen-sion-scheme? How is it going to generate enough finances to take care of its ageing population? While each political party has its own solution, ranging from privatizing pensions to immigration of skilled labour from elsewhere, none appears to appreciate the huge social and cultural problem that is going to explode during this decade: how is Europe going to ‘deal with’ its preponderantly aged population?

To understand the magnitude and the socio-cultural nature of this problem, we need to realize that (nearly) the majority of the population will consist of retirees. Hitherto, Europe had developed many institutional forms to deal with its aged: travel to exotic destinations, rest houses, civil and cultural associations, and so on. However, these are meant to deal with a minority, where the majority is active in some profession or another. It is this situation that is going to change radically: now it will be the majority that requires social outlets and ways of utilizing ‘free-time’. Put in a simple way and in the starkest of terms: Europe is going to confront a massive social problem of boredom and meaninglessness experienced by a majority of its population. It cannot simply extend its currently existing facilities to keep the aged ‘occupied’ because the budgetary demands of any such scheme cannot be met by any national economy. Europe is simply not equipped to deal with this huge problem also because it foresees no mean-ingful institutional role for its aged and retirees. It cannot remain indifferent and hope that individuals will ‘somehow’ solve their problems because it is not going to be limited to some individuals but will, instead, manifest itself as a huge social phenomenon. This problem will be more acute than maintaining pension-schemes and financing them. Because, if left unaddressed, it is going to create a massive social and cultural dislocation in the fabric of European society. Yet, strangely enough, there is hardly any discussion about this aspect of ‘the problem of the ageing population’, one of the biggest constraints on European growth and its future prosperity.

Globalization and Education

Reconsider the requirements of the Indian society and its institutions of higher learning: (a) there is a need for the infusion of scientific research culture among their intelligentsia; (b) given the size and the nature of the task, this need cannot be met by signing some MoU’s between a few institutions; (c) it requires a sustained and massive training stretching over a decade or more; (d) it can only be provided by those who have the time, patience and experience to do this.

Consider now what Europe will be producing in the course of this decade itself: (a) a huge number of retirees, who will be leaving institutions of higher learning; (b) a gigantic group of people with tremendous experience in both doing research and teaching it; (c) an inexhaustible pool of experience, skill and time; (d) a population that can be meaningfully ‘employed’ in society without being ‘professionally active’.

The answer begins to stare in our face now: if we look at ‘the problem’ of Europe in global terms, it becomes ‘the solution’ for India (and, indeed, for the whole of Asia). When looked at in isolation, each country confronts an unsolvable problem; however, when brought together, each is a solution for the other. Is not this what ‘globalization’ is about?

This solution, where we involve the retired academics and researchers to help the Indian intelligentsia, will also automatically address the problem of sustainability of the existing structure of pensions. For instance, these academics could be paid their pen-sion-benefits (stretching from 1 month to six months) by the host country or the host institution, during which time the Euro-pean economy is relieved of paying these benefits to these people. In that case, its social budget will be reduced by a considerable amount, which might enable the pension-scheme to survive without draconian austerity measures. Because it will not be limited to few individuals from some or another institution, the talk of ‘people-to-people contact’ begins to make sense. In short: it is a pure win-win situation for both Europe and India.

Needless to say, this solution is capable of a straight-forward extension. Aiming at retirees during the first decade of their retire-ment, when they are still fit and active, this proposal can draw teachers from primary and secondary education into its net. The impact of the transfer of this vast experience cannot but enrich education in India: a massive training of Indian primary and sec-ondary school teachers, undertaken by European teachers with decades of experience, can only make the Indian teachers better. The fruits of this labour will be plucked by India two or three decades later. In fact, one can extend the idea even further: one can look at other professionals possessing a variety of skills which can be productively made use of. How far one could extend this depends only on the willingness of Europe and the needs of India.

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On the Right Strategy

This consideration suggests that this strategy will work only in the middle and long term. One should not aim for immediate benefits accruing from signing institutional agreements right away. Educational institutions and policy makers should aim at long-term benefits and not blindly look for short-term gains alone. Of course, as must be obvious, a successful implementation of such a policy requires multiple actors: from educational institutions to policy makers and politicians. While working towards reaching that goal, we need not be disheartened by the limited nature of our individual impact. On the contrary, we should look at this as a pilot project.

Towards this end, the suggestion is this: while signing institutional arrangements today, we already begin exploring the retiree pool of the university academics. The alumni of the universities would be as important partners in this venture as would be the current teachers and researchers. We enter into a contract with the present in order to tap their past so that we may have a future. This is the only right strategy to pursue. Here, as elsewhere, experience will guide us in developing the right ways of pursuing common goals.

Universal Health Care or Health Tourism?

In India, the following broad changes can be observed in its health-care ‘system’. Due to its lower standards of living and its highly skilled personnel, it makes good economic sense to seek sophisticated health care there at costs that are much lower than what they are in either America or Europe. As a result, there is an increasing amount of ‘health tourism’ that the American private insurance companies have initiated. Amongst other things, this is resulting in the creation of elite hospitals in India which cater increasingly to native wealthy clients and the American patients.

One hugely negative impact of this development is to be seen in India. Its growing middle class is squeezed between the increas-ingly unaffordable treatment in the elite hospitals and the very low level of health care that the government hospitals provide. The growing small nursing clinics and hospitals are woefully inadequate to meet the demands of this huge middle class.

In contrast to America, there is the European model of universal health care which is under severe budgetary pressure from the current economic and budgetary crisis. The financial need of Europe dictates a reduction in the state subsidies for its health care system; the increasingly older population, by contrast, is exerting a greater pressure to increase the outlay on its health-care system.

The solution is obvious: we help introduce the European model of universal health care system in India (beginning with one region, namely Karnataka), which also caters to the European citizens. Implementing this solution can only be the result of the collab-orative effort of multiple actors and organizations: from governments through insurance companies to hospitals and medical colleges in both parts of the globe. However enormous this task might be, this enormity is the challenge that India Platform wants to address itself to in the course of the next 5 years or so. It intends to meet this challenge by developing consortia of hospitals, medical colleges and insurance companies in both India and Belgium (to begin with).

University and private hospitals will also play a pivotal role in the development of both short and long term policies, which ben-efit all the concerned parties.

In the short term, such hospitals can enter into active collaborations with the existing hospitals, clinics and nursing homes in the region of Karnataka. This would enable a time-bound exchange of staff (surgeons, doctors, interns, etc.) with its Indian coun-terparts. The clinical experience accruing from treating many diseases (which most in Europe encounter only in text-books or rarely come across) will be of incalculable value in adding to the expertise of the hospital. In the same move, they can also enter into agreements with many new medical colleges in the region and influence their further growth.

In the long term, it allows them to play a pioneering role in helping Belgium (and Europe) to rethink and reorient the federal health policies. Instead of standing on the side-lines and impoverish our much-envied health-care system or by blindly repro-ducing mindless slogans borrowed from America, we save our health-care system by generalizing it: we can promote the idea of a “global health care” by outlining policies and projects for collaboration with India that are beneficial both to Belgium (and Europe)

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and to India. This vision note is not the place to outline all the mutual benefits that accrue to both due to such a collaboration. However, it requires trust and collaboration at all levels: between health-care professionals, health insurance companies, govern-ments and, of course, the patients. The long-term policy would pursue this route through pilot projects, social experimentations within the existing legal and medical frameworks by setting up bridges between India and Belgium.

How do we address the problem of ‘motivating’ European patients to go elsewhere in this proposal? The answer is obvious: the pensioned population that helps India build its academia is also likely to become the early beneficiary of the proposed universal health-care system. They will not require an additional motivation in this case.

Conclusion

By now, the basic conclusion must be clear: we, the people, can make globalization work for us. There is no need to meekly accept the stories spewed out by the popular press and the pundits that globalization implies competition, which merely helps low-wage countries and the ‘rich’ consumers. Globalization, in essence, brings people together; each becomes a solution for the problems of the other. If translated in a socially responsible way, globalization brings about a greater collaboration between people, drawing them together in a web of mutually beneficial dependencies. We can make globalization work for us, if only we have the will to do so. The only question that we need to ask in the 21st century, our time, is this: do we have that will?

4. Why Europe and India Need Each Other

The vision note raises three concerns: (a) Is not the envisaged people-to-people contact purely instrumental? (b) Is not there a continued asymmetry in the relation between Europe and India? (c) Is not this a form of ‘neo-colonialism’?

Europe Reconsidered

Today, we are all familiar with what Europe has visited on the humankind during the course of the twentieth century and before: brought slavery to Africa and colonialism to most parts of the globe; inflicted the two world wars, the horrors of fascism, Nazism and concentration camps, etc. Mankind, it seems, has paid a very high price for the ‘development’ of Europe as a culture, as a civilization and as a continent.

All of this is undoubtedly true. But, we must take note of the fact that Europe has also paid a very, very high price for these devel-opments. The world wars decimated her population; the concentration camps opened up a wound in the innards of this culture that is not yet healed; the post-world-war developments, which includes the cold war, ripped her nations and cultures apart. In fact, such is this rupture which the twentieth century has inflicted on the unity of this culture and continent that it can only be described this way: the price that Europe has paid lies in its inability to experience itself as a culture, all current attempts notwith-standing. Europe, in very simple terms, is suffering from massive amnesia, which is both cultural and social in nature. Europe and thus the Europeans of today by extension do not know anymore who they were, where they are coming from, where they should be heading. Europe does not anymore know who or what she is. This is witnessed at different levels: from functioning as an Amer-ican lapdog to the lack of an effective presence on an international diplomatic and political level. Therefore, the question that faces Europe today can be formulated as the most urgent of her tasks: to recover her memory. So far, it has been unable to do this.

India Revisited

While it is true to say that colonialism in India ‘modernized’ the country in multiple ways, the very process inflicted massive damages on her culture. Apart from tearing the daily lives of Indians apart, it also inflicted other ills: inducing colonial conscious-ness, which expresses itself in the lack of creativity in thinking about society, culture and experience; the passive reproduction of European stories about India as truths about her culture; the assumption that the West is culturally superior; the resultant tacit acceptance that the future of India is to become ‘western’; and so on. The massive migration to the US has not improved this state

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of affairs. In conformity with its culture of ‘ethnicizing’ peoples (Chinese-American, Vietnamese-American, Mexican-American, etc.), the Indians lead ‘ghettoized’ lives there, even where their ghettoes are more affluent than, say, that of the Black-Americans. In this sense, ‘globalization’ has not led to an intimate contact between Indians and the western culture. Instead, it has given birth to a view from shopping malls and television channels.

If we realize that we have to go back many centuries to discover the creativity of Indian culture by looking at its intellectual and material products, it is clear that colonialism destroyed some kinds of dynamism in Indian culture. Though India is by no means static, her future lies in recovering the dynamism that it lost due to colonial conquest and rule. This dynamism will not come back until it loses its colonial consciousness, which was imposed by colonialism and is currently sustained by the kind of modernizing path India is pursuing. Further, it is not only education and research that need to come together (at the level of institutions of higher learning) but also thinking and experience (at the level of daily life of people). Therefore, it is also clear what the challenge of Indian culture is: to rediscover its intrinsic dynamism. Let us note here too that India has so far failed in this attempt to rejuve-nate its own culture.

India and Europe Reconnected

Now, one can also see the outlines of ‘a vision behind the vision’: by reconnecting these two peoples, we shall enable both to complete their urgent tasks.

Amnesia, whether cultural, social or individual, can be lifted if the entity in question repeats some old tasks in the environment where such tasks are embedded in. Through colonialisms, Europe created an asymmetry for which it paid the price of losing its memory. Today, we partially recreate this asymmetry but in a non-colonial way, where Europe ‘teaches’ and India ‘learns’. Thus Europe reproduces some of its old tasks in such a way that it can recollect and remember what it was before. Here, India volun-tarily gives Europe the ‘resource’ it needs. At the same time, India will also provide Europe with the resources that she needs to ask and satisfactorily answer a very old question: what has Europe to learn from India?

The same powers which imposed the colonial consciousness on a people is also capable of removing it. Through daily contacts with thousands of Europeans (in a single region and in a concentrated manner) Indians will, once again, confront the challenge of relating to another culture, the European culture, but this time without problems or complexes. Discovering that Europe is another culture, whose way of being lends legitimacy to her own way of living without discrediting it, India will rediscover her lost dynamism by losing colonial consciousness. Here, Europe lends its ‘services’ to the Indian people in their attempts at self-dis-covery.

Colonialism, which was a direct rule of one power on another and an indirect rule of one people over another, is neatly reversed: it is now two peoples who get into a daily and direct contact with each other and enter into a people-to-people relationship. The way of living of one people will have to adapt itself to the daily lives of another people. The myriad of contact points and interfaces that emerge as a result is the only kind of people-to-people contact that can heal both.

Meeting the Concerns

Thus, if we imagine the kind of contact that India Platform envisages, under the assumption that it proves possible to bring this about, we can see how the concerns are answered.

The intrinsic worth of this renewed cultural contact can be put in a very simple form: While India gifts Europe with her memory, Europe gifts India the autonomy and dynamism she needs. Europe gives back to India the unity of her culture; India gives back to Europe its identity. As a result, both not only heal but also become whole. What more intrinsic worth can there be than this gift and act of friendship?

A new asymmetry is created but in such a way that it sets the old asymmetry right: the only way to level an asymmetrical situation is to bend it back, which, seen on its own, is also an asymmetrical act. We have to keep the mutual history of the relation between Europe and India in mind in order to appreciate that this asymmetry restores balance between two peoples.

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In doing so, this process neatly reverses the old process of colonization. This too, perceived on its own and with common sense prejudice, appears a form neo-colonialism. However, it is not: it brings peoples into contact with each other directly and as equals something which colonialism simply cannot. Further, through this people-to-people contact, it will be left to the Indian culture and to the people of India how they make use of (and, indeed, what use they make of) the unity of their daily lives. Consequently, the suggestion is not that India becomes ‘western’: it will, for the first time, enable India to draw from the West what it needs and make use of it the way it suits her own culture.

Generalizing the Issue

In the way the issue has been formulated, it is obvious that it can be generalized to include (minimally) the whole of Asia and Africa into its scope. This should be the case as well: we are talking about ‘globalization’ and this phenomenon is not limited to India. However, elaborating on this aspect is left for other people and places. For now, all we need to note is that we are in a position to face the challenges that the twenty-first century has thrown up, if only we are willing to think the way the world is compelling us to think today, namely, globally and creatively.

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Appendix 2 to the India Platform Annual Report 2013 - 2014

Whom we met and had one or more conversations with

• Abaya Simha, Kannada film director and screenwriter• Agnel Worth, Education Marketing Manager, TIBC• Ajith Kumar Hegde, Commissioner, Mangalore City Corporation, Mangalore• Akanksha Sharma, Dutch embassy, Delhi• Alok Nandi, Founder Architempo, Architect and Designer• Andrea Kucerova, Deputy Head of Mission / Political Affairs, Embassy of the Czech Republic in New Delhi• An Huts, Head, Internation Cooperation and Programmes Unit, KU Leuven• Anil Kumar TK, Secretary to the Urban Development Department, Government of Karnataka• Anil Patni, DAI• Annelies Maricou, First Secretary, Embassy of Belgium in India• Antoine Delcourt, Counsellor Economic Affairs, Embassy of Belgium in India• Archana Kallahalla, Researcher in educational sciences• Arnoud Lust, Business Development Manager, VITO• Arun Shahapur, Member of Legislative Council, Karnataka• Ashwini B. Desai• B. S. Sathyanarayana, Mayor, Bengaluru• Balasubramanian (Snake Shyam), Mysore City Corporation• Bart Naeyaert, President, VCM Flemish Coordination Centre for Manure Processing• Benoit Demeester, UPV, VUB• Bruno Marchal, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp• Carine Boonen, Senior Policy Advisor and Quality Coordinator, Flemish Care Inspectorate• Caroline Hoedemakers, Director, Care and Culture, Social mutuality, Bond Moyson• Chantal Pattyn, netmanager, KLARA• Charles-Antoine Janssen, Managing partner, Kois Invest• Chris Roth, French Observatory of Sciences and Technologies (OST)• Chris Segaerts, Department of medical care, NIHDI (RIZIV)• Chrissy Hosea, Dutch Lector, JNU• Christian Dooms, South Asia desk, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation• D. Sathyamurthy, Additional Chief Secretary to the Government, Urban Development, Government of Karnataka• D.V. Sadanada Gowda, ex-chief minister of Karnataka• Darpan Jain, Managing director of KUIDFC, the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation• Davy Janssens, Professor and Programme leader Transportation, IMOB, Universiteit Hasselt• Dayananda, IGP Bengaluru Traffic• Denis Dambois, First Counsellor, Head of Research & Innovation, Delegation of the European Union to India• Dominique Aymer de la Chevalerie, Director of CNRS - D.E.R.C.I Europe of Research and International Cooperation Of-

fice, French Embassy, Service for Science and Technology• Dr. Ashwath Narayan, Member of Legislative Assembly, Karnataka• Dr. Baby Krishnamurthy, Radio journalist• Dr. Bruno Marchal, Institute for Tropical Medicine, Antwerp• Dr. C.N. Ashwathnarayan, Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Karnataka for Malleshwaram, Bengaluru• Dr. Chaitra M.S. Director, AROHI• Dr. Gaddagimath Rudrayya Basayya, University Librarian, Gulbarga University• Dr. Gauri Agarwal, Gynaecologist• Dr. Indrani Karunasagar, Fisheries College, Mangalore• Dr. Jan Declercq, Chief Technology Officer, CG Power Systems Belgium NV• Dr. Johan De Graeve, CEO, Group T Engineering Colleges• Dr. K.S. Nagesh, Public Health RGU of Health Sciences• Dr. Luc Vanacker, retired Chairman of VLACO (Flemish organisation for Composting), Public Waste Agency of Flanders

(OVAM)• Dr. Nagaraj, Vice Chancellor of National Law School University• Dr. P.V. Krishna Bhat, Member of Legislative Council, Karnataka• Dr. Prathab, Nitte University

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• Dr. Prutvish, Community Medicine, MSR Medical College• Dr. Ruediger Krech, Director of the Department of Ethics and Social Determinants of Health (WHO)• Dr. Shivakumaraiah Principal, Siddaganga Institute of Technology, Tumkur• Dr. Suresh, Principal, BNM Institute of Technology, Bengaluru• Dr. Tiptur S. Somashekhar, Associate Professor of Economics, National Law School of India University, Bengaluru• Dr. Veerendra Heggade, Chairman, SDME society, Dharmasthala• Dr. Vivek Dham, Advisor - Research & Innovation, Delegation of the European Union to India• Dr. Yashovarma, Secretary, SDME society, Dharmasthala• Dr. Yathiraj, Dean, KVAFSU Bengaluru• Eleni Psychari, French Observatory of Sciences and Technologies (OST)• Etienne Vervaeke, General Director, Eurasanté• Fanny Péant, International Business Developer - China &India Area Manager, CCI international Lille• Francois Jegou, Director, Strategic Design Scenarios• Frederik Meulewater, Spokesman, Flanders’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Voka)• Ganapathy P.A., Secretary, Coastal Development Authority, Karnataka Govt• Geert Basyn, Coordinator European health insurance, Christian Mutualities Mid-Flanders• Greet Van Thienen, radio journalist, Radio 1• Guido Doucet, consultant in view of identifying potential companies for the Health Care Ventures Visit• Guillaume Von Roten, External Affairs Representative, University of Lausanne• Gurumurthy Hegde, Under Secretary, Irrigation Department• Gururaj Karjagi, Chairman, Academy for Creative Teaching, Bengaluru• H.E. Mr. Jan Luykx, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to India• H.E. Jean-Claude Marcourt, Vice-President and Minister of Economy, SMEs, Foreign Trade and New Technologies of the

Walloon Government and Minister of Higher Education of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation• H.E. Kris Peeters, Minister-President of the Government of Flanders, Flemish Minister for Economy, Foreign Policy, Agri-

culture and Rural Policy• H.E. Mr. Krishna Bayre Gowda, Minister of Agriculture for State, Government of Karnataka and Member of Legislative

Assembly of the Byatarayanapura Constituency• H.E. Mr. Pierre Vaesen, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to India• H.E. Mr. Rajesh Nandan Prasad, Ambassador of India to the Netherlands• H.E. Mr. V. Ashok, Ambassador of India to the Czech Republic• H.E. Mrs. Smriti Irani, Minister of Human Resource Development and Higher Education, Republic of India• Hans Borchgrevink, Special Adviser, The Research Council Norway (RCN) and SFIC member• Hans Van Hoof, Traffic Expert, De Lijn• Harish Kumar, Personal Secretary to the Urban Development Minister, Government of Karnataka• Henk Joos, Managing director FlandersBio• Ilse Weegmans, Director, Flemish Patient Platform• Isabelle Pollet, Project Manager Asia-Pacific, Walloon Export and Foreign Investment Agency (AWEX)• Jaana Roos, Senior Science Adviser, Programme Unit, Academy of Finland and SFIC member• Jan Van Dessel, Director General for Bilateral Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Coop-

eration• Jan Verlaak, Project Officer, DSP Valley• Jayant Nadiger, Flemish economic representative for the South of India, Flanders Investment and Trade• Jayaprakash P., Secretary to Ex-Chief Minister of Karnataka• Jayaram, Deputy Conservator of Forestry (DCF), Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA)• Jean Blondeel, Director, A&B partners• Jelle Nijdam, Counsellor for Science and Technology, Embassy of the Netherlands, Delhi• Johan Quartier, Vice President, Belgo Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry• Johan Verstraeten, Honorary Chairman, International Social Security Association (ISSA)• Joke Knockaert, University College Arteveldehogeschool• Jos De Clercq, Flemish Economic Representative for the North of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lan-

ka, Flanders Investment & Trade• Justin Quemener, Project Officer, French Ministry of Higher Education and Research• Katrien Kimpe, Coordinator, Flanders’ Care• Kenneth Groosman, Business Director, VK Group• Kiran Kumar, Assistant to Agriculture Minister, Karnataka Government

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• Kristiaan De Vlamynck, Learning Consultant, NMBS-Holding• Leena Pishe, Director, EBTC Bengaluru• Ludo Diels, The Flemish Institute for Scientific Research (VITO)• M.K. Somashekar, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Krishnarajapuram constituency, Mysore• M.R. Jayaram, Chairman, GEF (M)• Mahesh Kallare, Director, Sealink Vision• Maitree Dasgupta, Academic Relations and Projects, Swissnex India• Maka De Lameillieure, Managing Director, Flanders in Shape• Makharand Salunke, Project Manager, NP-Bridging• Malini Sen, Editor, Times Higher Education• Manohar, President of Rotary Mysore• Marc Kalf, Manager Health Care Innovation, Health Valley Nijmegen• Marco Corsi, DAI• Marjolein Ools, Kwadreat• Maya Menon, Director, Teachers Foundation, Bengaluru• Michel Dewanckele, Chief Business Development Officer, VK Group• Michel Sabatier, Secretary General, Euro-India Centre• Michel Sabatier, Secretary-General, Euro-India Centre• Michele Genovese, Principal Administrator (retired), DG Research, European Commission and EAB member• Mohammed Nazeer, commissioner MUDA Mangalore• Mohan Alva, University College Arteveldehogeschool• Monica Corrado, Scientific advisor for research cooperation with Asia, International Relations Division, Swiss State Secre-

tariat for Education, Research and Innovation• Nalin Kumar Katee, Member of Parlaiment, Mangalore• Padma S. Coordinator- School Relationship Management, Teachers Foundation, Bengaluru• Palaiah, Commissioner MUDA Mysore• Palayya, commissioner of Mysore Urban Development Authority• Pankaj, Belgian Beer Federation• Pat Donnez, radio journalist, KLARA• Patricia Hellriegel, Internationalization - Marketing, IMOB, Universiteit Hasselt• Peter de Bruijn, Director, Nuffic Neso Office• Philippe Adriaenssens, Advisor, Eurochambers• Philippe de Taxis du Poët, International Affairs & Missions for Growth, Enterprise and Industry DG, European Commission• Philippe Freyssinet, Deputy Director, French National Agency of Research (ANR) and EAB member• Philippe Suinen, CEO, Wallonia Trade Agency (AWEX)• Pooja Kapur, Counsellor (European Union) at the Indian Embassy in Brussels• Prof. Abishek Dutta, representative India, Group T• Prof. Alain De Wulf• Prof. Birendra Nath Mallick, Dean, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University• Prof. Brieuc Van Damme, Advisor Health and Social Affairs for HE Alexander de Croo, Deputy Prime Minister for Devel-

opment Cooperation, Digital Agenda, Telecom and Postal Services• Prof. Daya Kishan Thussu, Professor of International Communication and Co-Director of India Media Centre, University

of Westminster• Prof. Dinesh Singh, Vice-Chancellor, University of Delhi• Prof. Dirk De Wachter, psychiatrist-psychotherapist, Head system- and familytherapy UPC, KULeuven• Prof. Eralagere Thimmanaik Puttaiah, Vice Chancellor, Gulbarga University• Prof. Francis Colardyn, Member of the Board of Governors, ZorgSaam Zeeuws-Vlaanderen• Prof. Inge Bertels, VUB• Prof. Ingrid Ilsbroux, General Manager, Group T• Prof. K. Prashant Sharma, Department of Biomechanical Engineering, University Medical Center Groningen• Prof. Kumar Pinjala, responsible for collaboration with India, Group T• Prof. Muniswamapa Muniyamma, former Vice Chancellor, Gulbarga University• Prof. Olivier Arifon, ULB• Prof. Philippe Schietse, Orthopaedic surgeon, Sint-Lucas Hospital Ghent• Prof. Rajaram Hegde, Chairman, Centre for the Study of Local Cultures, Kuvempu University• Prof. Ramakrishna Ramaswamy, Vice-Chancellor, University of Hyderabad

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• Prof. Rik Torfs, Vice-Chancellor, Louvain University• Prof. S. K. Sopory, Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)• Prof. Siegfried Jacques, Industrial Research fund of the University of Leuven• Prof. Srikantha Murthy Pandramajalu Seetharam, University Of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru• Prof. Sudhir K. Sopory, Vice-Chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru University• Prof. Sunaina Singh, Vice Chancellor, English and Foreign Languages University• Prof. Supriya Chakraborty, Professor, Molecular Virology Laboratory, Jawaharlal Nehru University• Prof. Vivek Dhareshwar, Scholar-in-Residence at the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, Bengaluru• Puneeth, Researcher in AROHI• Raja V., Karanataka State Police• Rajeshwari, Mayor of Mysore• Ramesh, Commissioner, MCC Mysore• Richard Masterman, Director of Research and Innovation Services, University of Nottingham• Roger Lemmens, Director, iMinds Health• S. Palaiha, commissioner of Mysore Urban Development Authority, MUDA• Sadananda Gowda, Ex-Chief Minister of Karnataka• Sandrine De Becker, Adviser on Asia, International Cooperation and Programmes Unit, KU Leuven• Sanjeev Roy, DAI• Sara Lanzilotta, advisor International Affairs, Eurochambers• Sarah Melsens, PhD researcher VUB and lecturer in architecture, BRICK School of Architecture, Pune• Sarah Willockx, Provincial Secretary, Social mutuality, Bond Moyson• Sarojini Kaul, EU Delegation Delhi• Sathish Kumar, Chamber of Commerce, Mysore• Sathish Sandesh Swamy, Corporator and former Mayor of Mysore and Shiva Kumar, President of the Bharatiya Janata Party

(BJP) for Mysore• Sathyamurthy Additional Secretary to Government of Karnataka, Urban Development Department• Serge de Gheldere, CEO & founder, Futureproofed• Sheel K A, Asst. Director, Teachers Foundation, Bengaluru• Shivanna B, Lawyer, High court of Karnataka• Shyam Bhat, Chairman and Commissioner of the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA)• Smita Singh, Project Manager, Delegation of the European Union to India• Sohail Ahmad, Developer, Bengaluru• Sophie Laurie, Head of International, Strategy Unit, Research Councils UK• Steven Vromman, Low-impact man• Sudeep Shetty, HOD, Community Medicine, Nitte University• Swate B. Kirtane, Manager European Network, Euro-India Centre• Thomas Rousseau, Department of Medical Care, NIHDI (RIZIV)• TK Anil Kumar, Secretary to Government of Karnataka, Urban Development Department• Uday Arora, Artesim N.V.• Veena Shetty, IRO, Nitte Univeristy• Veerle De Colvernaer, Project manager Healthcare Biotechnology FlandersBio• Veronique Briquette-Laugier, Counsellor for Science and Technology, Scientific Department, French Embassy, Delhi• Victor Haze, Manager Health Care Innovation, Health Valley Nijmegen• Vinaya Kumar Sorake, Minister for Urban Development, Government of Karnataka• Vivek Alva, Trustee, Alva’s Education Foundation, Mudabidare• Willem Derde, Director, Ename Center for Public Archaeology and Heritage Presentation• Wouter Deprez, Flemish comedian and cabaretier• Yolande Avontroodt, Chairwoman, NIHDI (RIZIV)• Yves Persoons, Communication Manager, Group T

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Appendix 3 to the India Platform Annual Report 2013 - 2014

List of activities

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team11 December 2013 Discussion about possible collaboration opportunities and funding with Abhayasimha,

Cinema DirectorIN Arts Organiser

3 January 2014 Discussion about the Indian notion of aesthetics between Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara and Dr. Chaithra, Ashwini and Abhayasimha

IN Arts Organiser

16 October 2013 Presentation at the 3rd International conference on engineering, agriculture, waste man-agement and green industry innovation - Synergy 2013, Godollo, Hungary

HU Bioscience engineering Facilitator

December 2013 Interactive meeting with Dr. Kartik Baruah (scientific staff at the Ghent University Lab of Aquaculture & Artemia Reference Center) for joint research and student/research exchange program at the Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE), Mumbai, India

IN Bioscience engineering Debate participant

23 February 2014 Visiting Scholar Programme International Master of Science in Rural Development (IMRD) BE Bioscience engineering Spreading of information24 April 2014 India & Green Technology - How to bring Belgian clean tech to India? BE Bioscience engineering ParticipantContinuous Establishing a collaboration between the Ghent University Lab of Aquaculture & Artemia

Reference Center (BE) and the Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai (IN) for the purpose of 1) Joint research 2) Exchange of academic staff and research assistants for the purpose of teaching and research. 3) Exchange of MSc/PhD students for study and research. 4) Double or Joint (PhD) degree

BE/IN Bioscience engineering Spreading of information

4 October 2013 Official opening Europalia India arts festival BE Collaboration possibilities Participant23-29 November 2013 Belgian Economic Mission to India IN Collaboration possibilities Participant14 December 2013 Meeting with Maatha Amrithanadamayi, Amritapuri Campus on collaborations IN Collaboration possibilities Organiser27 January 2014 Official reception given by H.E. Mr. V. Ashok, Ambassador of India to the Czech Republic,

on the occasion of the Republic DayCZ Collaboration possibilities Participant

28 January 2014 Belgo-Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry New Year’s reception BE Collaboration possibilities Participant8 July 2014 Discussion with Mr. Darshan Mundada to explore opportunities IN Collaboration possibilities Discussant4 August 2014 Visit to Wageningen University & Research Centre NL Collaboration possibilities Discussant27-28 August 2014 Visit to University of Twente NL Collaboration possibilities Discussant17-18 September 2014 Visit to the University of Aveiro PT Collaboration possibilities Discussant

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Note: This list of activities is not exhaustive. The India Platform is working on the creation of database facilities which will allow (1) for faculty at stakeholder institutions to enter information in the system in an interactive way and (2) for the India Platform secretariats to present the information in a quick and correct way. Until the facilities are worked out, each activity is entered gradually and manually, both in this report and on the website: www.india-platform.org > projects and activities.

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team1 October 2013 Seminar by the IP Ghent team for doctoral students of the Department for the study of

Religions, Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, PardubiceCZ Comparative Science

of Cultures• Organiser• Keynote lecturer

6 October 2013 Podcasts on the comparative science of cultures shaped by Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara and on the research activities of the international team given by Martin Farek: the Living laboratory programme, Czech Radio Pardubice

CZ Comparative Science of Cultures

• Organiser• Interviewee

6 October 2013 Talk given at “Journalist and columnist meet” held at B. R. Hills, Karnataka, ‘Rethinking Development: Tradition as the driver of development’

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

15 October 2013 Radio interview with Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara on Klara in the framework of the Eu-ropalia India arts festival

BE Comparative Science of Cultures

Interviewee

15 October 2013 Meeting with Greet Van Tienen, radio journalist BE Comparative Science of Cultures

Discussant

20 October 2013 Podcasts on the comparative science of cultures shaped by Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara and on the research activities of the international team given by Dunkin Jalki and Tess Joss: the Living laboratory programme, Czech Radio Pardubice

CZ Comparative Science of Cultures

• Organiser• Interviewee

24 October 2013 Talk given at Government Arts College, Bengaluru, on the eve of UN day celebrations. ‘United Nations, third world politics and challenges faced by contemporary India’

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

October 2013 Expert advice to the lawyers of Giel Foubert, a 15-year old boy who went to India for train-ing as a Buddhist monk

BE Comparative Science of Cultures

Advisor

14 November 2013 Reading workshop by the Aarohi research group IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser

20 November 2013 Workshop for PhD students by the Aarohi research group IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser

23 December 2013 Presentation on the “Ethical Dimension of Corruption in India” in UGC Sponsored Na-tional Seminar on “Contemporary Issues, Concerns and Challenges” at MGM College

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

27-28 December 2013 International Seminar on Gandhi - Tagore debate organised by ICPR, Srishti School of De-sign and Columbia University. Participation by the Aarohi research group

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Debate participant

28 December 2013 Interview with Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara by Dr. Babu Krishnamurthy and group IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Interviewee

28 December 2013 Talk held at Bagalkot, Karnataka, and organised by Swami Vivekananda 150th birth cele-bration Committee. ‘How do we reconceptualise education for our contemporary world?’ by the Aarohi research group

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser

2

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team29 December 2013 Talk held at Bijapur, Karnataka, organised by Swami Vivekananda 150th birth celebration

Committee, ‘Rethinking development in the background of Indian traditions’. Participation by the Aarohi research group

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Debate participant

December 2013 - January 2014

Matukate 2.1: course in Philosophy of Science, by the Aarohi research group IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser

3 January 2014 Discussion about a research proposal between Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara and Dr. Gu-rumurthy

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser

11-12 January 2014 Cultural seminar: Samvada Lahari III – Nyaya: East-West (Thinking about alternatives) IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser

22 January 2014 Pecha kucha presentation in Brussels about cultural differences BE Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

29 January - 7 February 2014

Project training for India Platform team members from the University of Pardubice at the India platform office in Ghent

BE Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser

30 January 2014 Special lecture on “Gandhi and Sarvodaya”, at Holehonnuru (Shimoga district) IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

January 2014 Discussion with a group of intellectuals in Karnataka (in Sirsi), comprising of Dr. Vivek Dhareshwar, Ashok Dhareshwar, Prof. G. Sivaramakrishnan, Dr. Ashwin Kumar, Dr. Gun-dur, Dr. Mallikarjun, Dr. Chaithra Mathighatta, Ashwini, Dr. Archana Bhat, Ramananda Ainkai and others

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser

6 February 2014 Special Lecture on “Role and importance of Social Service” in Ayanur, Shimoga IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser

8 February 2014 Special lecture on “Gandhi and Ambedkar”, at Kadur (Chakkamagalore district) IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser

9 February 2014 Special lecture on “Secularism” at Kadur (Chikkamagalore district) IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser

14 February 2014 Key note Address on “Impact of Globalisation in Indian Politics”, in UGC Sponsored Na-tional seminar

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

15 February 2014 Presentation on “Changing Concepts of Representation in Indian Politics”, in UGC Spon-sored National Seminar on “Globalisation and Emerging Trends in Indian Politics”

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

23 February 2014 Professor Balu as a guest in the ‘Mind the book’ festival: a conversation about the stress of choice and happiness

BE Comparative Science of Cultures

Debate participant

25 February 2014 Lecture about cultural differences between India and Belgium for the VOKA Chamber of Commerce Mechelen-Leuven

BE Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

3

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team27 February 2014 Reading module preparation workshop, by the Aarohi research group IN Comparative Science

of CulturesOrganiser

April - May 2014 Matukate 2.2: course in Philosophy of Science IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser

1 April 2014 Lecture: The Politics of Contemporary India for “Uitstraling Permanente Vorming” (UPV) at the Free University of Brussels (VUB)

BE Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

5 April 2014 Caste: Critiquing colonial and contemporary constructions UK Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

11 April 2014 Lecture “The Images of India in Contemporary Europe”, Burschenschaft Arminia zu Löwen BE Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

22 April 2014 Discussion seminar on Europe and India: how to overcome problems with cultural differ-ences?

CZ Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser

16 May 2014 Lecture on the General Elections in India of 2014 for the Jong Socialisten (“Young Social-ists”)

BE Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

24 May 2014 Discussion about the development of the research group aarohi with Chaitra Mattighatta IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Discussant

1 June 2014 Seminar on “Pachayat Raj in Karnataka” IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser

3-5 June 2014 Presentation at the Jagellonian University IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

7-8 June 2014 Research Training Workshop for PhD students: Introduction of Orientalism, introduction to the research programme Comparative Science of Cultures and discussions on the theory of religion

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser

15 June 2014 Special lecture on “Balagangadhara Tilak’s conception of Swaraj” IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

22 June 2014 Special lecture on “Smruti-vismruti…” (Heathen…) and “Secularism”, at Bhadravati (Shi-moga District)

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser

3 July 2014 European Hindu Forum: Lecture on “The anti-caste discrimination legislation in the UK and its implications for Europe” by Marianne Keppens of the India Platform.

IT Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

21 July 2014 Talk held at the Aarohi School, Bengaluru, ‘Acting to Know and knowing to act: Rethinking practices in the context of Science and Society’

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser

25 July 2014 Discussion on the paper, “Truth or Fact? Reframing the Gandhi-Tagore Debate” IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser

4

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team3 August 2014 Workshop for 50 undergraduate students of Shimoga District Colleges, organised by the

“Odugara Chavadi” readers clubIN Comparative Science

of CulturesOrganiser

10 August 2014 Lecture on Rituals IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

25 August 2014 Two lectures delivered on “Understanding Human Rights in Indian Context” at the UGC Refresher course for college and University Teachers.

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

15-30 September 2014 Kaliyona Bara Kaliyona (Come, let us learn) Workshops on speaking skills, observation, listening, performing, communication, perception, concentration, imagination, respond-ing to opportunity, facing risks and challenges, writing and presentation.. Guidance by Mr. Ramanand Ainakai, Mrs. Usha Ainakai, Mr. Ananth Bhat, Mr. Nagaraja Joshi, Mr. Bhaskara Hegde, Mr. V.M.Bhat, Mr. M.M.Bhat, and local college teachers.

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser

20 September 2014 Special lecture on “Bias in Indian History writing”, at Shirasi (Uttara kannada District), a district level History conference.

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

26 September 2014 Inaugural talk at the Distinguished Lectures Series of the English and Foreign Languages University

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

28 September 2014 Discussion of the novel YaNa IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Discussant

29 September 2014 Valedictory Address at the Seminar on “Political Empowerment of Backward Classes in India”

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

30 September 2014 Key Note Address on “Corruption at High Places”, in the UGC sponsored National Seminar. IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Keynote lecturer

Continuous Reading and discussion sessions with the group of students at Kuvempu University: 1. Discussion of the book ‘The Heathen…’. Guidance: Prof. Rajaram Hegde and Dr. Santhosh Kumar P. K. 2. Close reading of the text ‘Hudukatavannu nillisadirona’ (‘We shall not cease from exploration…’). Guidance: Prof. J. S Sadananda 3. Close reading of important articles on post-colonialism, orientalism, post-mod- ernism, subaltern studies. Guidance: Dr. Praveena T. L and Dr. Kavitha P. N. 4. Discussion of the Vachana controversy. Guidance: Prof. Rajaram Hegde and Dr. A. Shanmukha 5. Discussion on Research Methodology. Guidance: Prof. Rajaram Hegde, Prof. J. S. Sadananda, Dr. A. Shanmukha, Dr. Praveen T. L. and Dr. Santhosh Kumar. 6. Discussion on Dalit issues such as ‘untouchability’, and discussion of the field work results by Dr. A. Shanmukha, Mr. Shiva Kumara, Mr. Raghu, Mr. Santhosh E. and Ms. Veena, Mr. Chaithra.

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser - Discussant

5

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-teamContinuous Training of Masters students and PG students:

1. Project work by more than 30 students for their masters’ degree in the background of Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara’s theory. Guidance by Prof. J.S. Sadananda, Prof. Rajaram Hegde, Dr. A. Shanmukha and Dr. Praveena T. L. 2. Presentation and discussion of research synopsis by Mr. Shiva Kumar, Ms. Veena, Mr. Chaithra, Mr. Santhosh E. and Mr. Raghu at the Kuvempu University Depart- ment of P.G. Studies and Research, Political Science. The discussion has given input for the project work of the masters students.

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser - Discussant

Continuous Odugara Chavadi in Shimoga. Guidance: Dr. Santhosh Kumar P. K.: This is a readers club with around 25 participants from different backgrounds. Twice in a month a text is read and discussed in different places in Shimoga. Topics discussed until now are saffronisa-tion, problems of women, and problems of reservation. Texts discussed until now are: 1. Namage Naave Parakiyaru, written by Ramananda Ainakai 2. Vachana Bharatha, written by A R Krishna Shastri 3. Jagathina Mahan Ithihasakararu (Great historians of the world), written by Arun Shouri.

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser - Discussant

Continuous Odugara Chavadi in Thirthahalli. This is a readers group coming together twice a month in Thirthahalli. Topics and books similar to the Shimoga group are discussed and read.

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser - Discussant

Continuous Discussions amongst the blog writers: Important Kannada blog writers such as Rakesh shetty, Satvik, Prasanna, Gurumurthy, Baskar Mysore, Vijay Pai, Sharath, Raghavendra Subramanya, Naveen Naik and many others come together in different places in Karnataka (Bengaluru, Shimoga, Mangalore) to discuss socio-political issues and social sciences re-search against the background of Prof. Dr. S.N. Balagangadhara’s theory.

IN Comparative Science of Cultures

Organiser - Discussant

12 November 2013 Catching the Indian tiger – BICC&I seminar BE Culture & Management Participant9-10 January 2014 Convergence 2014 - Ethical Leadership: the Indian Way IN Culture & Management Spreading of information23 May 2014 Discussion about a joint research programme and organising a conference with Dr. Murthy

IFIMIN Culture & Management Facilitator

4 October 2013 Exposure visit of B.M.S. College of Engineering, B.N.M. Institute of Technology, Jyothy Institute of Technology and M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology to the University of Ant-werp and to VITO - Vision on Technology (Mol)

BE Engineering Organiser

7 October 2013 Exposure visit of B.M.S. College of Engineering, B.N.M. Institute of Technology, Jyothy Institute of Technology and M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology to the University of Ant-werp

BE Engineering Organiser

6

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team8-9 October 2013 Exposure visit of B.M.S. College of Engineering, B.N.M. Institute of Technology, Jyothy

Institute of Technology and M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology to Ghent University and Ghent University College

BE Engineering Organiser

10-11 October 2013 Exposure visit of B.M.S. College of Engineering, B.N.M. Institute of Technology, Jyothy In-stitute of Technology and M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology to the University of Aveiro

PT Engineering Organiser

4 December 2013 Roundtable on the possibility of establishing a European Commission India Science and Innovation House (India SI House) in Paris

FR Engineering Discussant

10 December 2013 Feedback session with Mahendra K.V., Principal Jyothi Institute of Technology IN Engineering Organiser17 January 2014 Discussion about the future of the engineering group with the principals of the partner

engineering institutionsIN Engineering Organiser

21 January 2014 Training seminars in curriculum development in engineering by Prof. Martin Valcke (Gh-ent University) at M.S Ramaiah

IN Engineering Organiser

22 January 2014 Workshop by Dr. Martin Valcke for member institutes of India Platform at BNMIT IN Engineering Organiser23 May 2014 Discussion about the future of the engineering group and the formation of an India Plat-

form Coordinating Committee (IPCC) with the principals and representatives of the part-ner engineering institutions

IN Engineering Organiser

23 June 2014 Discussion about the formation of subgroups at the IPCC Meeting IN Engineering Organiser30 June 2014 IPCC subcommittee meeting on Medical Electronics in Health Management IN Engineering Organiser1 July 2014 IPCC Subcommittee meeting on VLS IN Engineering Organiser2 July 2014 IPCC Subcommittee meeting on materials IN Engineering Organiser15 July 2014 IPCC Meeting IN Engineering Organiser23 July 2014 IPCC Meeting about the progress and addition of the major focus area of research IN Engineering Organiser3-7 March 2014 7th International Conference on the Physics of Dusty Plasmas IN Exact Sciences Spreading of information2-3 October 2013 Exposure visit of B.M.S. College of Engineering, B.N.M. Institute of Technology, Jyothy

Institute of Technology and M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology to the University of Gro-ningen (Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences) and the University Medical Centre Groningen (UCMG)

NL Health care Organiser

10-20 October 2013 Visit Dr. Prutvish, M.S. Ramaiah Medical College, to Ghent University Hospital and Ghent University College

BE Health care Facilitator

17 October 2013 Meeting with Dr. Nanda Kumar, Head, Division of Research and Patents, Gokula Education Foundation, on the idea of Universal Health Care in Karnataka

IN Health care Organiser - Discussant

18 October 2013 Discussion with Prof. Eric Mortier, CEO of Ghent University Hospital BE Health care Organiser

7

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team24 October 2013 Discussion with the representatives of the Kaivaara Tatayya Temple trust about the idea of

Universal Health CareIN Health care Facilitator

25 October 2013 CIPLA BE Health care Discussant30 October 2013 Discussion on the health care initiatives within the India Platform with Dr. Prutvish, Com-

munity Medicine, MSR Medical College (Gokula Education Foundation)IN Health care Facilitator

4-5 November 2013 Discussion on the idea of a Universal Health Care system with representatives of Amrita University, Kochi campus

IN Health care Facilitator

6 November 2013 Discussion on the idea of a Universal Health Care system in the coastal region of the state of Karnataka

IN Health care Facilitator

7 November 2013 Discussion on the idea of a Universal Health Care system with the Head of Department, Community Medicine, at Nitte University

IN Health care Facilitator

21 November 2013 Exposure visit of Dr. Claudia Claes (Ghent University College) to M.S. Ramaiah Medical College and other partners of the India Platform

IN Health care Facilitator

21 November 2013 Discussion on the idea of a Universal Health Care system with Dr. Prathab, Nitte University IN Health care Facilitator21 November 2013 Discussion on the idea of a Universal Health Care system with Dr. Ruediger Krech, Direc-

tor of the Department of Ethics and Social Determinants of Health (WHO)IN Health care Facilitator

21 November 2013 Discussion on the idea of a Universal Health Care system with Dr. K.S. Nagesh, Public Health, Rajeev Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS)

IN Health care Facilitator

22-23 November 2013 Lecture at the M.S. Ramaiah Hospital by Professor Surbhi Malhotra-Kumar, University of Antwerp

IN Health care Facilitator

23 November 2013 Discussion about the idea of a Universal Health Care system with Dr. Bruno Marchal, Insti-tute for Tropical Medicine, Antwerp

IN Health care Facilitator

28 November 2013 Delegation visit from the University of Groningen to M.S. Ramaiah IN Health care Facilitator30 November 2013 Discussion about a list of private hospitals in Karnataka with Dr. B.S. Nanda Kumar, Head,

Division of Research and Patents, Gokula Education FoundationIN Health care Facilitator

2 December 2013 Discussion with M.R. Jayaram, Chairman of GEF (M) IN Health care Facilitator5 December 2013 Meeting with Dr. Prutvish, MSR Medical college IN Health care Organiser7 December 2013 Meeting with Dr. Nagesh, Institute of Public Health, Bengaluru IN Health care Organiser10 December 2013 Meeting with Dr. A. S. Hegde, Director, Institute of Neurology. M.S. Ramaiah, Bengaluru IN Health care Organiser11 December 2013 Meeting with Dr. Pandurangi and Dr. Pruthvish, M.S. Ramaiah IN Health care Organiser15 December 2013 Discussion about health care associations with Jay Misra & Prem Nair, Amritapuri campus IN Health care Organiser

8

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team16 December 2013 Discussion about the health scheme of SDM temple with Dr. Yashovarma, Secretary, SDME

society, Dharmasthala, and Dr. Veerendra Heggade, Chairman, SDME society, Dharmast-hala

IN Health care Participant

12-13 February 2014 Workshop on Biomaterials and Biomechanics at the M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology IN Health care Organiser17 February 2014 Meeting with Mr. Geert Basyn, Christian Mutualities, in preparation of the first Focus

Group Session on Health CareBE Health care Organiser

20 February 2014 Focus session on Health Care BE Health care Organiser25-27 March 2014 Workshop on the validation of research tools and scale by Prof. Dr. Wim Peersman to M.S.

RamaiahIN Health care Keynote lecturer

12-13 April 2014 MSR Institute of Neurosciences: hands-on-workshop neuroendoscopy by Prof Dr. D. Van Roost & Dr. Edward Baert

IN Health care Facilitator

15-18 April 2014 Visit of Dr. Prem Nair to the Ghent University Hospital, meetings with • Prof. Roberto Troisi, Head of department General and Hepatobiliary Surgery, • Prof. Jan Philippé, Department of Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology and Im- munology and Head of the internationalisation for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences • Prof. Paul Boon, Head of Department Neurology • Prof. Michel De Pauw, Head of Department Cardiology • Prof. Hans Van Vlierberghe, Head of Hepatology Research Unit • Prof. Martine De Vos, Head of Department Gastroenterology and Hepatology • Prof. Eric Mortier, CEO Ghent University Hospital • Prof. Tom Van Hoof, Department of Basic Medical Sciences

BE Health care Organiser

May 2014 Visit of Prof. Veena Nambiar to Ghent Univeristy BE Health care Facilitator19 May 2014 Meeting with Mr. Geert Basyn, Christian Mutualities, about the idea of Universal Health

care between Europe and IndiaBE Health Care Organiser

27 May 2014 Meeting with Mr. Jean Blondeel, A&B partners about the organisation of the Health Care Ventures Visit

BE Health Care Organiser

12 June 2014 Meeting with Mr. Geert Basyn, Christian Mutualities, about the idea of Universal Health care between Europe and India

BE Health Care Organiser

19 June 2014 Intake meeting for the Health Care Ventures Visit with Prof. Jan Phillipé Department of Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Ghent University Hospital

BE Health Care Organiser

23 June 2014 Intake meeting for the Health Care Ventures Visit with Dr. Kristof De Mey, Business devel-oper Victoris, Ghent University

BE Health Care Organiser

9

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team23 June 2014 Intake meeting for the Health Care Ventures Visit with Prof. Jo De Vleesschouwer, Chief

Physiotherapist, Ghent University HospitalBE Health Care Organiser

24 June 2014 Intake meeting for the Health Care Ventures Visit with Prof. Peter Dubruel, Head of Poly-mer Chemistry & Biomaterials Group, Ghent University

BE Health Care Organiser

24 June 2014 Intake meeting for the Health Care Ventures Visit with Dr. Mamoni Dash, Researcher Pol-ymer Chemistry & Biomaterials Group, Ghent University

BE Health Care Organiser

25 June 2014 Intake meeting for the Health Care Ventures Visit with Prof. Hilde Van Waelvelde, Profes-sor Pediatric Physical Therapy, Ghent University Hospital

BE Health Care Organiser

26 June 2014 Intake meeting for the Health Care Ventures Visit with Prof. Ignaas Devisch, Professor Eth-ics, Philosophy and Medical Philosophy, Ghent University

BE Health Care Organiser

30 June 2014 Meeting with Mr. Jan Verlaak of DSP Valley in view of identifying potential companies for the Health Care Ventures Visit

BE Health Care Organiser

7 July 2014 Intake meeting for the Health Care Ventures Visit with Prof. Rik Achten, Head of Depart-ment Radiology, Ghent University Hospital

BE Health Care Organiser

9 July 2014 Intake meeting for the Health Care Ventures Visit with Dr. Els Leye, Researcher Interna-tional Centre for Reproductive Health, Ghent University

BE Health Care Organiser

9 July 2014 Meeting with Mrs. Fanny Péant, International Business Developer - China & India Area Manager, CCI international Lille in view of identifying potential companies for the Health Care Ventures Visit

FR Health Care Organiser

10 July 2014 Meeting with Mr. Etienne Vervaeke, Eurasanté in view of identifying potential companies for the Health Care Ventures Visit

FR Health Care Organiser

10 July 2014 Discussion about the Health care ventures visit with Dr. Prutvish and Dr. A.S. Hegde IN Health care Organiser16 July 2014 Meeting with Annelies Maricou and Antoine Delcourt Belgian Embassy IN Health Care Discussant18 July 2014 Discussion about the health care ventures visit with Dr. Gauri Agarwal and team IN Health care Discussant28 July 2014 Meeting with Prof. Yves Jorens, Social Security Law and European Social Law, Ghent Uni-

versity, about the idea of Universal Health CareBE Health care Organiser

29 July 2014 Discussion about the health care ventures visit with Dr. M.R. Jayaram. Chanceller, MSR University of Advanced Studies and Dr. D.V Guruprasad CE, Gokula Education Founda-tion

IN Health care Discussant

30 July 2014 Intake meeting for the Health Care Ventures Visit with Prof. René Verdonk, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Physical Medicine, University Hospital Ghent

BE Health care Discussant

1 August 2014 Meeting with Mrs. Yolande Avontroodt, Chairwoman of the NIHDI (RIZIV) managing committee about the idea of Universal Health Care

BE Health Care Organiser

10

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team7 August 2014 Meeting with Prof. Tom Van Hoof, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Ghent Universi-

ty Hospital about the idea of Universal Health CareBE Health Care Organiser

11 August 2014 Meeting with Mr. Geert Basyn, Christian Mutualities, about the idea of Universal Health care between Europe and India

BE Health Care Organiser

12 August 2014 Meeting with Mr. Stan Snowball, Business Development KIC Healthy Aging, Tech trans-fer, Ghent University about the idea of Universal Health Care, the India Platform and the Health Care Ventures Visit

BE Health Care Organiser

14 August 2014 Intake meeting for the Health Care Ventures Visit with Prof. Martine De Vos, Head of De-partment Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Ghent University Hospital

BE Health Care Organiser

14 August 2014 Intake meeting for the Health Care Ventures Visit with Prof. Philippe Schietse, Orthopaedic surgeon, Sint Lucas Hospital Ghent

BE Health Care Organiser

19 August 2014 Meeting with Mrs. Katrien Kimpe, Coordinator Flanders’ Care about the idea of Universal Health Care, the India Platform and the Health Care Ventures Visit

BE Health Care Organiser

20 August 2014 Intake meeting for the Health Care Ventures Visit with Prof. Hans Van Vlierberghe, Head of Hepatology Research Unit, Ghent University Hospital

BE Health Care Organiser

20 August 2014 Meeting with Mr. Henk Joos, Managing director FlandersBio in view of identifying poten-tial companies for the Health Care Ventures Visit

BE Health Care Organiser

20 August 2014 Meeting with Mrs. Veerle De Colvernaer, Project manager Healthcare Biotechnology Flan-dersBio in view of identifying potential companies for the Health Care Ventures Visit

BE Health Care Organiser

20 August 2014 Intake meeting for the Health Care Ventures Visit with Dr. Kristof De Mey, Business devel-oper Victoris, Ghent University

BE Health Care Organiser

20 August 2014 Meeting with Prof. Hilde Van Waelvelde, Professor Pediatric Physical Therapy, Ghent Uni-versity Hospital about the idea of Universal Health Care

BE Health Care Organiser

25 August 2014 Meeting Mr. Roger Lemmens, Director of iMinds Health in view of identifying potential companies for the Health Care Ventures Visit

BE Health Care Organiser

26 August 2014 Intake meeting for the Health Care Ventures Visit with Mr. Kenneth Groosman, Business director VK Group

BE Health Care Organiser

26 August 2014 Intake meeting for the Health Care Ventures Visit with Mr. Michel Dewanckele, Chief Busi-ness Development Officer for VK Group

BE Health Care Organiser

26 August 2014 Meeting with Mr. Guido Doucet, consultant in view of identifying potential companies for the Health Care Ventures Visit

BE Health Care Organiser

27 August 2014 Meeting with Prof. Renaat Peleman, Chief Medical Officer, Ghent University Hospital about the idea of Universal Health Care

BE Health Care Organiser

11

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team29 August 2014 Meeting with Mrs. Maka De Lameillieure, Managing director, Flanders in Shape, in view of

identifying potential companies for the Health Care Ventures VisitBE Health Care Facilitator

1 September 2014 Meeting with Mr. Marc Kalf, Manager Health Care Innovation, Health Valley in view of identifying potential companies for the Health Care Ventures Visit

NL Health Care Organiser

1 September 2014 Meeting with Mr. Victor Haze, Manager Health Care Innovation, Health Valley in view of identifying potential companies for the Health Care Ventures Visit

NL Health Care Organiser

2 September 2014 Meeting with Prof. Petra De Sutter, Department of Uro-gynaecology, Ghent University Hospital about the idea of Universal Health Care

BE Health Care Organiser

2 September 2014 Meeting with Dr. Kelly Tilleman, Quality Coordinator Department of Reproductive Medi-cine, Ghent University Hospital about the idea of Universal Health Care

BE Health Care Organiser

4 September 2014 Meeting with Mr. Frederik Meulewater, Spokesman for Flanders’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Voka) about the idea of Universal Health Care

BE Health Care Organiser

5 September 2014 Meeting with Prof. Francis Colardyn, member of the Board of Governors, ZorgSaam Zeeu-ws-Vlaanderen about the idea of Universal Health Care

BE Health Care Organiser

9 September 2014 Meeting with Mrs. Isabelle Pollet, Project Manager Asia-Pacific, Walloon Export and For-eign Investment Agency (AWEX) in view of identifying potential companies for the Health Care Ventures Visit

BE Health Care Organiser

10 September 2014 Meeting with Mr. Charles-Antoine Janssen, Managing Partner of Kois Invest about the idea of Universal Health Care, the India Platform and the Health Care Ventures Visit

BE Health Care Organiser

10 September 2014 Intake meeting for the Health Care Ventures Visit with Prof. K. Prashant Sharma, Depart-ment of Biomechanical Engineering, University Medical Center Groningen

BE Health Care Organiser

11 September 2014 Meeting with Mrs. Carine Boonen, senior policy advisor-quality coordinator, Flemish Care Inspectorate about the idea of Universal Health Care

BE Health Care Organiser

12 September 2014 Meeting with Mrs. Ilse Weegmans, Director of the Flemish Patient Platform about the idea of Universal Health Care

BE Health Care Organiser

12 September 2014 Meeting with Prof. Siegfried Jacques, Industrial Research fund of the University of Leuven in view of identifying potential companies for the Health Care Ventures Visit

BE Health Care Organiser

22 September 2014 Meeting with Mr. Chris Segaerts, Department of medical care, NIHDI (RIZIV) about the idea of Universal Health Care

BE Health Care Organiser

22 September 2014 Meeting with Mr. Thomas Rousseau, Department of medical care, NIHDI (RIZIV) about the idea of Universal Health Care

BE Health Care Organiser

22 September 2014 Meeting with Mr. Philippe de Taxis du Poët, International Affairs & Missions for Growth, Enterprise and Industry DG, European Commission

BE Health Care Organiser

12

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team23 September 2014 Meeting Prof. Brieuc Van Damme, Health economist and advisor Health and Social Affairs

for Minister Alexander de Croo about the idea of Universal Health CareBE Health Care Organiser

23 September 2014 Meeting with Mr. Uday Arora and Dr. Van den Abbeele in view of identifying potential doctors, hospitals and companies for the Health Care Ventures Visit

BE Health Care Organiser

23 September 2014 Meeting with Prof. Ignaas Devisch, Professor Ethics, Philosophy and Medical Philosophy, Ghent University in the framework of the Second Focus Group Session

BE Health Care Organiser

24 September 2014 Meeting with Mrs. Caroline Hoedemakers, Director Care and Culture, Social mutuality, Bond Moyson about the idea of Universal Health Care

BE Health Care Organiser

24 September 2014 Meeting with Mrs. Sarah Willockx, Provincial Secretary of Social mutuality, Bond Moyson about the idea of Universal Health Care

BE Health Care Organiser

24 September 2014 Presentation of the India Platform for the EWI (Economy, Science and Innovation Plat-form, Flemish Government)

BE Health Care Organiser

25 September 2014 Intake meeting for the Health Care Ventures Visit with Dr. Toon De Bock, Head of Depart-ment Nursing, Ghent University College

BE Health Care Organiser

25 September 2014 Meeting with Mr. Johan Verstraeten, Honorary Chairman of the International Social Secu-rity Association (ISSA) about the idea of Universal Health Care

BE Health Care Organiser

25 September 2014 Second Focus Group Session on Health Care BE Health Care Organiser29 September 2014 Meeting with Mrs. Yolande Avontroodt, Chairwoman of the NIHDI (RIZIV) managing

committee about the idea of Universal Health CareBE Health Care Organiser

5 December 2013 Meeting with Agnel Worth, Education Marketing Manager, TIBC IN Higher education Organiser8 December 2013 Discussion on research in law and society with Dr. Nagaraj, Vice Chancellor of National

Law School University, CuttukIN Higher education Organiser

13 March 2014 Meeting on Svaagata with Dr. Yathiraj, Dean, KVAFSU Bengaluru IN Higher education Organiser13 May 2014 International Seminar 2014 – 2020: a New Challenge for Coordinators of the European

ProjectsCZ Higher education Participant

15 July 2014 Discussion about EHEF with Marco Corsi, Anil Patni and Sanjeev Roy (DAI) IN Higher education Discussant16 July 2014 Discussion about EHEF with Sarojini Kaul - EU Delegation Delhi IN Higher education Discussant18 July 2014 Meeting with Mrs. Andrea Kucerova, Deputy Head of Mission / Political Affairs, Embassy

of the Czech Republic in New Delhi, about the planned visit of the Czech delegation on higher education

IN Higher education Discussant

18 July 2014 Meeting with Mrs. Malini Sen, Editor Times Higher Education IN Higher education Organiser18 July 2014 Meeting with Mr. Denis Dambois, First Counsellor, Head of Research & Innovation, Dele-

gation of the European Union to IndiaIN Higher education Organiser

13

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team18 March 2014 Discussion about Dutch language training in India with Dr. Chrissy Hosea, Dutch Lector

for the Dutch Language Union, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)IN Humanities Discussant

12 November 2013 Discussion about a Model City Project with Mr. Arun Shahapur, Member of the Legislative Council of Karnataka

IN Liveable cities Facilitator

13 November 2013 Discussion about a Model City Project with Mr. Jayaprakash P., Secretary to the ex-Chief Minister of Karnataka

IN Liveable cities Facilitator

19 November 2013 Discussion about a Model City Project with Mr. Vinaya Kumar Sorake, Minister for Urban Development, Karnataka Government

IN Liveable cities Facilitator

19 November 2013 Discussion about a Model City Project with Mr. Shyam Bhat, Commissioner, Bengaluru Development Authority

IN Liveable cities Facilitator

21 November 2013 Discussion about a Model City Project with Mr. Vinaya Kumar Sorake, Minister for Urban Development, Karnataka Government

IN Liveable cities Facilitator

21 November 2013 Discussion about a Model City Project with B.S. Sathyanarayana, Mayor, Bengaluru IN Liveable cities Facilitator22 November 2013 Discussion about a Model City Project with Dayananda IGP, Bengaluru Traffic IN Liveable cities Facilitator27 November 2013 Discussion about a Model City Project with Mr. Palayya, Commissioner, Mysore Urban

Development AuthorityIN Liveable cities Facilitator

28 November 2013 Discussion about a Model City Project with Mr. Ramesh, Commissioner, MCC Mysore IN Liveable cities Facilitator5 December 2013 Discussion about the Model City Project with Mohammed Nazeer, commissioner MUDA

MangaloreIN Liveable cities Organiser

5 December 2013 Discussion about the Model City Project with Ajith Kumar Hegde, commissioner, Manga-lore City Corporation, Mangalore

IN Liveable cities Organiser

6 December 2013 Discussion about the Model City Project with Ganapathy P.A., Secretary, Coastal Develop-ment Authority. Karnataka Govt

IN Liveable cities Organiser

11 December 2013 Meeting with Mr. Jayaram, Commissioner, Area Development Board, Karnataka IN Liveable cities Organiser11 December 2013 Discussion about future partnership with Chris Poulissen, CEO of NP-Bridging, an urban

planning and architecture companyBE Liveable cities Organiser

15 December 2013 Discussion about the Model City Project with Sohail Ahmad, Developer, Bengaluru IN Liveable cities Organiser16 December 2013 Discussion about future partnership with Steven Van Praet and Serge de Gheldere, Future-

proofedBE Liveable cities Organiser

17 December 2013 Discussion about possibilities for collaboration with a team from GroupT University Col-lege

BE Liveable cities Organiser

16 January 2014 Discussion about Mysore Model City with Palayya, commissioner of Mysore Urban Devel-opment Authority

IN Liveable cities Organiser

14

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team8 February 2014 Discussion about Mysore Model City with Mr. Rajeshwari, Mayor of Mysore IN Liveable cities Organiser17 February 2014 Discussion about a possible project in the Liveable Cities focus domain with Prof. Philippe

De Maeyer, Ghent UniversityBE Liveable cities Organiser

6 March 2014 Focus Session on Urban Planning / Liveable Cities BE Liveable cities Organiser10 March 2014 Discussion on the Mysore model city project with Vinaya Kumar Sorake, Minister for Ur-

ban Development, Karnataka Government and Harish Kumar, Secretary to Urban Devel-opment Minister

IN Liveable cities Organiser

11 March 2014 Discussion about micro level possibilities with Krishnappa IN Liveable cities Organiser14 March 2014 Discussion about the Mysore Model City with Ramesh, commissioner MCC, Sathish Ku-

mar, Chamber of Commerce, Mysore, Mr. Balasubramanian (snake shyam) Mysore City Corporation , Rajeshwari, Mayor of Mysore, and Palaiah, Commissioner MUDA Mysore

IN Liveable cities Organiser

17 March 2014 Discussion on the Mysore model city project with Harish Kumar, Urban Development De-partment, TK Anil Kumar Secretary to Government of Karnataka, Urban Development Department, Sathyamurthy Additional Secretary to Government of Karnataka, Urban De-velopment Department, and Gurumurthy Hegde Under Secretary irrigation Department

IN Liveable cities Organiser

22 March 2014 Discussion about a Model City Project with Mr. S. Palaiah, Commissioner, Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA), and his team

IN Liveable cities Discussant

22 March 2014 Discussion about a Model City Project with Mr. M.K. Somashekar, Member of the Legisla-tive Assembly, Krishnarajapuram constituency, Mysore

IN Liveable cities Discussant

23 March 2014 Discussion about a Model City Project with Mr. Snake Shyam, Environmentalist and Cor-porator of Mysore

IN Liveable cities Discussant

23 March 2014 Discussion about a Model City Project with Mr. Sathish Sandesh Swamy, Corporator and former Mayor, Mysore, and with Mr. Shiva Kumar, President, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mysore

IN Liveable cities Discussant

23 March 2014 Presentation and discussion about a Model City Project with industrialists and traders of Mysore, organised by the Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI)

IN Liveable cities Keynote lecturer

24 March 2014 Discussion about a Model City Project with Mr. Shyam Bhat, Chairman and Commission-er, Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA)

IN Liveable cities Discussant

24-25 March 2014 Two discussions about a Model City Project with Dr. C.N. Ashwath Narayan, Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Karnataka for Malleshwaram, Bengaluru

IN Liveable cities Discussant

24 March 2014 Discussion about a Model City Project with Mr. Anil Kumar T.K.,  Secretary  to  the  Ur-ban Development Department, Government of Karnataka

IN Liveable cities Discussant

15

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team24 March 2014 Discussion about a Model City Project with Mr. Harish Kumar, Personal Secretary to the

Urban Development Minister, Government of KarnatakaIN Liveable cities Discussant

24 March 2014 Discussion with Mr. Jayaram, Deputy Conservator of Forestry (DCF), Bengaluru Develop-ment Authority (BDA)

IN Liveable cities Discussant

25 March 2014 Discussion about a Model City Project with Mr. Jayant Nadiger, Flemish economic repre-sentative for the South of India, Flanders Investment and Trade

IN Liveable cities Discussant

25 March 2014 Discussion about a Model City Project with Mr. D. Sathyamurthy, Additional Chief Secre-tary to the Government, Department of Urban Development, Government of Karnataka

IN Liveable cities Discussant

25 March 2014 Presentations and interactive session about a Model City Project with faculty members of the Engineering Colleges that are stakeholders of the India Platform

IN Liveable cities Discussant

3 April 2014 Discussion about the Malleshwaram Pilot Project with Dr. Ashwath Narayan, Member of Legislative Assembly, Karnataka

IN Liveable cities Discussant

3 April 2014 Discussion about the Mysore Model City with Sadananda Gowda, Ex-Chief Minister of Karnataka

IN Liveable cities Discussant

6 April 2014 Discussion about the Shimoga plan with Manjunath Bhandary IN Liveable cities Discussant15 May 2014 Meeting with Prof. Dr. Alain De Wulf, Ghent University BE Liveable cities Organiser19 May 2014 Meetings with the director of the European Business and Technology Centre (EBTC) BE Liveable cities Organiser21 May 2014 Meeting with Mr. Petr Vrsansky (University of Pardubice) and Prof. Dr. Dirk Lauwers (Gh-

ent University)BE Liveable cities Facilitator

22 May 2014 Discussion about the Mysore model city project with Vinaya Kumar Sorake, Minister for Urban Development, Karnataka Government

IN Liveable cities Organiser

27 May 2014 Two meetings with Ms. Sarah Melsens, Architect-Urbanist, Free University of Brussels (VUB), University of Pune (India) and BRICK School of Architecture (Pune, India)

BE Liveable cities Organiser

3 June 2014 Two meetings with Ms. Sarah Melsens, Architect-Urbanist, Free University of Brussels (VUB), University of Pune (India) and BRICK School of Architecture (Pune, India)

BE Liveable cities Organiser

6, 9 and 10 June 2014 Meetings with: • Mr. Anil Kumar, Secretary for Urban Development, Government of Karnataka • Mr. Vinay Kumar Sorake, Minister for Urban Development, Government of Karnataka • D. Sathyamurthy, Additional Chief Secretary to the Government, Urban Development, Government of Karnataka • Darpan Jain, Managing director of KUIDFC, the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation.

IN Liveable cities Discussant

16

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team6, 9 and 10 June 2014 Meetings with Dr. C. Ashwath Narayan, Member of the Legislative Assembly, Government

of KarnatakaIN Liveable cities Discussant

10 June 2014 Discussion about the Mysore model city project with Vinaya Kumar Sorake, Minister for Urban Development, Karnataka Government

IN Liveable cities Discussant

11-12 June 2014 Visit to Pune IN Liveable cities Discussant16 June 2014 Discussion about the Mangalore Udupi Dharamasthala Triangle with Nalin Kumar Kateel,

Member of Parlaiment, MangaloreIN Liveable cities Discussant

24 June 2014 Second Focus Session of the Focus Group Urban Planning, India Platform BE Liveable cities Organiser11 August 2014 Meeting with Inge Bertels and Sarah Melsens at the Free University Brussels (VUB) to dis-

cuss about projects on urban planning, liveable cities, waste management and setting up the research cluster in India

BE Liveable cities Facilitator

21 July 2014 Discussion about the Health Care Ventures Visit and the model city plans with Mr. Jayant Nadiger, Flanders Investment and Trade Commisioner

IN Liveable cities, Health care Discussant

7 November 2013 India Platform welcome evening BE Outreach Organiser11 November 2013 Traditional St. Martin’s Goose festive lunch for the Indian researchers and their family

members at the University of Pardubice.CZ Outreach Organiser

22 November 2013 Student information session, Ghent University Hospital BE Outreach3 October 2013 MoU signing ceremony in the presence of the Indian President and his delegation, the Bel-

gian Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Flemish Minister of Education, the French Community Chief Minister, and several other dignitaries.

BE Policy Facilitator

10-11 October 2013 The 4th EU-India Science, Technology & Innovation Cooperation Days FR Policy Debate participant16 October 2013 Discussion with Prof. Johan Meeusen, Rector of the University of Antwerp, and Mr. Piet

Van Hove, Head Internationalisation of the University of Antwerp, about the possibilities of starting a Flemish India Platform

BE Policy Organiser

22 October 2013 Discussion with a delegation of the University of Gulbarga: Prof. Eralagere Thimmanaik Puttaiah, Vice Chancellor, Dr. Gaddagimath Rudrayya Basayya, University Librarian, and Prof. Muniswamapa Muniyamma, former Vice Chancellor

BE Policy Discussant

29 October 2013 Meeting with Dr. Sander Lotze, University of Twente, about partnership in the India Plat-form

BE Policy Facilitator

30 October 2013 Meeting with the rector of the KULeuven (University of Louvain), Prof. Rik Torfs BE Policy Discussant31 October 2013 An India Platform Roundtable: “Towards Closer and Increased Collaboration in Science

and Innovation. An India Strategy for Belgian Industry, Higher Education and Federal and Regional Policy Making”

BE Policy Organiser

17

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team6-7 November 2013 Visit of Mr. Jelle Nijdam (Dutch Embassy, Delhi) to University of Groningen NL Policy Organiser9 November 2013 Discussion with Mr. Guruprasad D.V., CEO of Gokula Education Foundation, about the

exchanges in the framework of the India PlatformIN Policy Facilitator

18 December 2013 An India Platform Symposium – “A possible India strategy for Belgium, Flanders and Wal-lonia towards closer and increased collaboration in science and innovation”

BE Policy Organiser

22 January 2014 Meeting about possible collaboration with the International Office of the KU Leuven BE Policy Participant28-29 January 2014 Visit of H.E. Mr. Rajesh Nandan Prasad, Ambassador of India to the Netherlands, to the

University of GroningenNL Policy Organiser

18 March 2014 Discussion on the European Higher Education Fair (EHEF) and the Corporate Social Re-sponsibility (CSR) Evening organised by Flanders Investment and Trade (FIT) in Delhi at the Embassy of Belgium in Delhi

IN Policy Discussant

19 March 2014 Discussion about collaborations on a European level with Mrs. Smita Singh, representative of the Delegation of the European Union in Delhi

IN Policy Discussant

27 March 2014 Discussion about possible collaborations with Mrs. Maitree Dasgupta, Academic Relations and Projects, Swissnex India, and Mr. Guillaume Von Roten, External Affairs Representa-tive, University of Lausanne

IN Policy Discussant

28 March 2014 Discussion about possible collaborations with Mrs. Leena Pishe, Director, European Busi-ness and Technology Centre (EBTC), Bengaluru

IN Policy Discussant

24 April 2014 Kick-off meeting for the Flemish India Platform BE Policy Organiser28 April 2014 Meeting with Mr. Michel Sabatier, Secretary General Euro-India Centre BE Policy Organiser29 April 2014 European Stakeholders Meeting of the India Platform BE Policy Organiser20 May 2014 Visit of Mr. Jelle Nijdam (Dutch Embassy, Delhi) to University of Groningen NL Policy Spreading of information27 June 2014 Second Meeting Vlaams India Platform BE Policy Organiser2 September 2014 Visit of Ms. Akanksha Sharma (Dutch Embassy, Delhi) to the University of Groningen NL Policy Spreading of information25 September 2014 Meeting with the Minister of Human Resource Development and Higher Education Mrs.

Smriti Irani of the Republic of India at the Ministry in Delhi, India.IN Policy, Higher education Discussant

7 August 2014 EU-Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Platform meeting IN Research and Innovation Participant15 September 2014 EU-Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Platform meeting IN Research and Innovation Participant23 September 2014 Meeting with Dr. Vivek Dham, Advisor - Research & Innovation, Delegation of the Euro-

pean Union to IndiaIN Research and Innovation Discussant

18

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team23 September 2014 Meeting with Mr. Dominique Aymer de la Chevalerie, Director of CNRS - D.E.R.C.I Eu-

rope of Research and International Cooperation Office, French Embassy, Service for Sci-ence and Technology

IN Research and Innovation Discussant

17-18 October 2013 Preparatory meetings for internships at the Academy for Creative Teaching (ACT), Ben-galuru, with Dr. Gururaj Karajagi and Mr. Vivekanada

IN School Education Organiser

22 October 2013 Discussion with Mr. Mahesh Kallare, Director of Sealink Vision, about the teaching of sci-ence through visual aids

IN School Education Discussant

20 November 2013 Preparatory meetings for internships at the Academy for Creative Teaching (ACT), Ben-galuru, with the people in charge of the internships

IN School Education Facilitator

6 February 2014 Focus session on School Education BE School Education Organiser15 February 2014 “Innovation and skills” at the Google Educators Group INK Salon IN School Education Participant11 August 2014 Visit to the Shree Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwar (SDM) Educational Institution, Ujire,

concerning Focus Group School Education activities. Discussion with Mr. Yashovarma, Secretary of SDM.

IN School Education Discussant

1 September 2014 Visit to the Teachers Foundation, Bengaluru IN School Education Discussant2 September 2014 Visit to the Academy for Creative Teaching (ACT), Bengaluru NL School Education Organiser29 October 2013 Discussion with Ghent University alumnus Mr. Raghuram Kadambi, about the possibilities

of the India PlatformIN Social Sciences Discussant

21 October 2013 Talk by Prof. Rajaram Hegde about the attitude towards higher education and research in Karnataka

IN Social Sciences Keynote lecturer

11 November 2013 Discussion about the recent developments in higher education and research in Karnataka with Dr. P.V. Krishna Bhat, Member of the Legislative Council of Karnataka

IN Social Sciences Discussant

13 November 2013 Discussion about higher education and research in Karnataka with Mr. D.V. Sadananda Gowda, ex-Chief Minister of Karnataka

IN Social Sciences Facilitator

21 November 2013 Meeting about cooperation in a socioeconomic study on individuals accused of rape, with Mr. Raja V., Karnataka State Police

IN Social Sciences Facilitator

8 December 2013 Discussion about the idea of happiness with Pat Donnez (journalist) and Dirk De Wachter (psychiatrist)

BE Social Sciences Organiser

1 January 2014 Discussion about the building of a School of Social Sciences between Prof. Dr. S.N. Bala-gangadhara and Archana Kallahalla

IN Social Sciences Organiser

16 January 2014 Discussion about the building of a School of Social Sciences between Prof. Dr. S.N. Bala-gangadhara and Dr. Jayaram and Guruprasad. D.V., GEF (Medical)

IN Social Sciences Discussant

20 January 2014 Co-creation Camp: Hybrid Innovations and Civil Societies, participation by Dr. Jakob De Roover on the issue of urban planning

BE Social Sciences Debate participant

19

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team19 March 2014 Discussion about the establishment of the institute of social sciences with Dr. Yashovarma,

Secretary, SDME society, DharmasthalaIN Social Sciences Organiser

21 March 2014 Discussion about the establishment of a school of social science with Dr. M. R. Jayaram and Dr. D. V. Guruprasad

IN Social Sciences Discussant

26 March 2014 Presentation on “Problems of Conceptualising Human Rights in India”. At the state level seminar on “Human Rights and Social Justice”.

IN Social Sciences Keynote lecturer

27 March 2014 Discussion about the establishment of a school of social sciences with Archana Bhat IN Social Sciences Organiser14 April 2014 Lecture on Ambedkar’s thoughts IN Social Sciences Facilitator20 May 2014 Discussion about the establishment of an Institute of Social Sciences with Dr. Yashovarma,

Secretary, SDME society, DharmasthalaIN Social Sciences Discussant

28 May 2014 Discussion about the establishment of a school of Social Sciences with Dr. M. R. Jayaram. Chanceller, MSR University of Advanced Studies

IN Social Sciences Discussant

2 September 2014 Presentation on “Civil Society Initiatives in Electoral Reforms”. In UGC Sponsored Seminar on “Electoral Reformation in India”

IN Social Sciences Keynote lecturer

20-23 September 2014 Dr. Tiptur S. Somashekhar, Associate Professor of Economics, National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, attended the Meet the University of Groningen 2014 special pro-gramme for selected (overseas) guests

NL Social Sciences Spreading of information

12 December 2013 Discussion about possibilities and prospects of waste management with Krishna Baire Gowda, Minister for Agriculture, Karnataka

IN Waste management Organiser

17 January 2014 Discussion about organic manure, possibility and challenges with Krishna Baire Gowda Minister for Agriculture, Karnataka

IN Waste management Organiser

5 March 2014 Workshop on waste management at IBTC IN Waste management Participant11 March 2014 Progress assessment meeting about the progress in the project on organic manure with

Kiran Kumar, Assistant to Agriculture Minister, Karnataka GovernmentIN Waste management Organiser

3 April 2014 Focus session on Waste Management and Agriculture BE Waste management Organiser10 July 2014 First Working Group on environmental issues with a focus on water, solid waste manage-

ment and green buildingsIN Waste management Spreading of information

22 August 2014 Meeting with the VCM Flemish Coordination Centre for Manure Processing and its pres-ident Bart Naeyaert

BE Waste management Organiser

5 September 2014 Meeting with Dr. Luc Vanacker, retired Chairman of VLACO (Flemish organisation for Composting), Public Waste Agency of Flanders (OVAM).

BE Waste management Discussant

5 September 2014 Meeting with Prof. Dr. Jeroen Buysse, Ghent University BE Waste management Discussant8 September 2014 IMETE Summer School 2014: Resource Recovery from Wastewater BE Waste management Spreading of information

20

Date Activity Country Topic Role of the IP-team14 September 2014 Meeting with Prof. Dr. Erik Meers, Ghent University BE Waste management Discussant

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Appendix 4 to the India Platform Annual Report 2013 - 2014

Note: This list of publications is not exhaustive. The India Platform is working on the creation of database facilities which will allow (1) for faculty at stakeholder institutions to enter information in the system in an interactive way and (2) for the India Platform secretariats to present the information in a quick and correct way. Until the facilities are worked out, each publication is entered gradually and manually, both in this report and on the website.

Press about the India Platform

(for the complete press articles: see www.india-platform.org > press)

1. Parameswaran, Anand. “Ghent University. A knowledge hub with an [sic] illustrious alumni.” In: The New Jeweller, Vol. 8, Issue 4 (Antwerp Special – at the occasion of the Belgian Economic Mission to India). November 2013, pp. 42-44.

2. “India Platform UGent op bezoek.” (Visit by India Platform UGent). On: www.groept.be/www/aca/activiteiten/india/indiaplatform. 18 December 2013.

3. Vasuki, H.A.. “Sanaatana samskrutiyannu taatvikavaagi indinavrige prastuta padisabekaagide” (Theoretical presentation of Sanatana culture is the need of the hour). In: Uthaana Bangalore. 1 May 2014.

4. Lahousse, Elke. “Balu De Beer”. In: Weekend Knack, Series: De Lange Mars. 28 May 2014, pp. 41-46.5. Jagers, Jan. “In België gebeuren wekelijks minstens vijf groepsverkrachtingen”. (In Belgium there are at least five group

rapes a week). In: Knack, Factchecker. 25 June 2014, p. 38.6. “Ontdek India met het India Platform.” (Discover India with the India Platform). On: www.vlaandereninactie.be/nieuws/

ontdek-india-met-het-india-platform. 20 August 2014.7. van der Veen, Wiebe. “UT ondertekent overeenkomst met het India Platform” (UT signs agreement with the India Plat-

form). On: www.utwente.nl/nieuwsevents/2014/8/316725/ut-tekent-overeenkomst-met-india-platform. 29 August 2014.

Radio interviews with India Platform team members

1. De Roover, Jakob about group rapes in India. On: Radio 1 (url: www.radio1.be/programmas/de-ochtend/op-nieuw-twee-vrouwen-verkracht-india. 13 June 2014.

2. Fárek, Martin about the comparative science of cultures shaped by professor Balagangadhara and the research activities of the India Platform team. In: The Living laboratory programme, Czech Radio Pardubice. 6 October 2013.

3. Balagangadhara, S.N. about Indian culture in the framework of the Europalia India festival. On: Radio Klara. 15 October 2013.

4. Jalki, Dunkin and Tess Joss about the comparative science of cultures shaped by professor Balagangadhara and the re-search activities of the India Platform team. In: The Living laboratory programme, Czech Radio Pardubice. 20 October 2013.

Notes written by India Platform team members

1. De Gersem, Nele, Marianne Keppens, Sarika Rao, Jakob De Roover and Sarah Claerhout. “An India strategy for Belgian industry, higher education and federal and regional policy making: Towards closer and increased collaboration in science and innovation”. A concept note for two activities in Brussels (Belgium): A roundtable and a symposium. Sent to regional and national policy makers, administrators, politicians, academicians, governors and business people. 1 October 2013.

2. De Gersem, Nele, Jakob De Roover, Marianne Keppens and Sarika Rao. “Seminar “Business meets academia: Collabora-tions between India and Belgium - a draft concept note”. A proposal for a concept note for a seminar in the framework of the Belgian Economic Mission on 26 November in Mumbai. Sent to the representatives of Flanders Knowledge Area and KU Leuven. 1 October 2014.

3. De Gersem, Nele, Sarika Rao and Marianne Keppens. “Afgeschrikt door consensus? Blijvend vrijdenken of vrijblijvend denken”. An invitation for a first roundtable in an informal series of discussions about the role of our universities in society. Sent to interested students and staff members of Ghent University and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). 24 October 2013.

4. De Gersem, Nele, Marianne Keppens and Jakob De Roover. “Four focus domains of the India Platform”. A background note to the India Platform focus groups on Waste Management, Urban Planning, Health Care and School Education. Sent to thematic groups of policy makers, administrators, politicians, academicians, governors and business people in Belgiium. 6 January 2014.

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5. De Gersem, Nele, Jakob De Roover, Marianne Keppens, Sarah Claerhout and Manoj Kumar Dora. “Note on the VLIR-UOS country strategy - India (regional focus)”. A note for the Flemish Interuniversity Council – University Development Cooperation in the framework of the new country strategy plans for India. Sent to and discussed with VLIR-UOS repre-sentatives. 10 February 2014.

6. De Gersem, Nele, Marianne Keppens and Jakob De Roover. “A note for the Cooperation between India and the European Union: A long term view.” Reply to the Draft roadmap for cooperation between India and the European Union for the workshop of SFIC (Strategic Forum for International Science and Technology Cooperation). Sent to the Belgian repre-sentatives of SFIC. 22 March 2014.

7. De Gersem, Nele, Sarika Rao and Marianne Keppens. “Academische vrijheid of academisch keurslijf?” An invitation for a second roundtable in an informal series of discussions on the role of our universities in society. Sent to interested students and staff members of Ghent University and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). 22 March 2014.

8. De Gersem, Nele and Sarah Claerhout. “Incubatie Vlaams India Platform (VIP)”. (Incubation Flemish India Platform). A project proposal for the Flanders Department of Foreign Affairs. Sent to and discussed with the Flanders Department of Foreign Affairs. December 2013; approved for funding in March 2014.

9. De Gersem, Nele, Marianne Keppens and Jakob De Roover. “High-level roundtable on India and the EU innovating to-gether (in health, water and energy). Feedback from the India Platform.” A feedback on a concept note for a roundtable planned in Delhi in October 2014. Sent to the representatives of the European Commission. 3 June 2014.

10. De Gersem, Nele, Sarika Rao, Sarah Claerhout, Marianne Keppens and Jakob De Roover. “Visit of the Czech delegation to India. A proposal for roundtables during the Delhi and Bangalore visit”. A concept note for the visit of a delegation of the Czech Minister of Higher Education, Rectors and Vice-Rectors to India in 2014. Sent to and discussed with represent-atives of the Czech Embassy in Delhi. 6 August 2014.

11. De Gersem, Nele, Sarika Rao, Sarah Claerhout, Marianne Keppens, Jakob De Roover. “European Higher Education Fair (EHEF) - Some proposals”. A concept note for the European Higher Education Fair in India in 2014. Sent to representa-tives of DAI, the organisers of the EHEF 2014 for the European Commission. 4 September 2014.

Articles and books written by India Platform members

1. Shanmukha, A. 2013. (Jana) Lokapala mattu bharatiya prabhutvadallina bhrashtachara (Jan Lokpal Bill and Corruption in the Indian State). Shimoga: Kuvempu University, Prasaranga.

2. Hegde, Rajaram. “Bhaarateeya samskrutiya nija svaroopa: Dikkugetta dharma.” (The Real nature of Indian Culture: Dis-oriented Dharma). Mallara Adyathmic Magazine, Bengaluru, 1 October 2013.

3. Hegde, Rajaram. “Brahmananendare Yaru?” (Who is a Brahmin?). Chintana Bayalu, January-March, Vol. 2, Issue 3. 2014, pp. 11-22.

4. Sadananda, J.S. “Caste and Identity politics in India”. Aruhu Kuruhu, Mysore. January – March, Vol. 20. 2014, pp. 22-31.5. De Roover, J. “The Embarrassed Modern Hindu”. In: Outlook India. 24 Feb 20146. Pathan, Sufiya. “No Alternative”. In: Outlook India. 28 Feb 2014 7. Shanmukha, A. “Revisiting Socio-Political Thought of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule.” Chanakya: Journal of Political science.

Dharwad: Karnataka University. March, Vol 1, No. 1. 2014, pp. 23-31. 8. De Roover, J. “Blinded by ideology”. In: OutlookIndia. 19 May 2014.9. Hegde, Rajaram. “Chaitanya avara pratikriyege uttara: Brahmanashahi Yellide?” (Where is the Brahmin Priesthood? A

reply to Mr. Chaitanya). Chintana Bayalu. April-June, Vol. 2, Issue 4. 2014, pp. 35-43.10. P. K., Santhosh Kumar. “Paratantryadinda muktavagada swatantrya” (Independence is not derived from dependence). In:

Hosadigantha. 21 August 2014, p. 8.11. Hegde, Rajaram. “Brahmanarellaru Olleyavaradare…” (If all Brahmins Become Ethically Good...). In: Hosadiganta, Kan-

nada Daily news Paper, 10 September 2014.12. P. K., Santhosh Kumar. “Rajyapalara Nemakada vivada sariye?” (Is the controversy on the nomination of the Governor

right?). In: Hosadigantha. 12 September 2014, p. 6.13. P. K., Santhosh Kumar. “Purohithashahi mathu Roman Catholikkaru”. (Priesthood and Roman Catholics). In: Hosadi-

gantha. 24 September 2014, p. 6.14. M. S., Chaitra. “Who cares for Environment?” In: Organiser, Vol. LXV No. (40). 2014, pp. 33-34.15. Sadananda, J.S. “Bharateeya chintaneya svaroopavannu gurutisuvudu hege?” (How do we recognise the form of Indian

thinking?). In: Matukate 111. Sagara: Ninasam heggodu. 2014 pp. 16-22 (http://ninasam.org/pdf/matukate/matukate-111.pdf).

16. Choudhary, Bhagirath, Godelieve Gheysen, Jeroen Buysse, Piet van der Meer and Sylvia Burssens. “Regulatory options for genetically modified crops in India.” In: Plant Biotechnology Journal 12. 2014, pp. 135–146.

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17. Marchant, Thierry and Mishra Debasis. “Mechanism design with two alternatives in quasi-linear environments.” In: So-cial Choice and Welfare, 2014, DOI 10.1007/s00355-014-0837-4.

18. Glorie, S., J. De Grave, T. Singh, J.L. Payne and A.S. Collins. “Crustal root of the Eastern Dharwar Craton: Zircon U–Pb age and Lu–Hf isotopic evolution of the East Salem Block, southeast India”. In: Precambrian Research, 249. 2014, pp. 229–246.

19. Losonczi, Péter [edit.] and Walter Van Herck [edit.]. Secularism, religion, and politics: India and Europe. New Delhi: Routledge. 2014.

20. Rajan. J., A. den Dekker, and J. Sijbers. “A new non local maximum likelihood estimation method for Rician noise reduc-tion in Magnetic Resonance images using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test”. In: Signal Processing, vol. 103. 2014, pp. 16-23.

21. Riji, R., J. Rajan, J. Sijbers, and M. S. Nair. “Iterative bilateral filter for Rician noise reduction in MR images”. In: Signal, Image and Video Processing, 2014.

22. Sukumaran, J., V. Rodriguez, S. Irullappasamy, W.J.J. Thangiah, M. Andó and P. De Baets. “Exploration of tribological characteristics of naturally woven fiber composites.” In: Mechanical Engineering Letters, Szent István University. 2013.

23. Balagangadhara S.N. with Divya Jhingran. 2014. Do all roads lead to Jerusalem? The making of Indian religions. Delhi: Manohar.

Contributions on social sciences blogs by India Platform team members

1. Blog: Nilume

http://nilume.net

This blog is run by a collection of young people from Karnataka, who come from diverse fields. This blog is known for, among other things, hosting popularising articles on serious academic issues for ‘lay people’ and to stand by the minority and alternative voices in the Kannada cultural world. In this regard, they have provided a forum to the researchers in the Centre for the Study of Local Cultures (CSLC, see www.cslc.in). Currently they have a special section dedicated to the CSLC research, where CSLC members write about complex social science ideas in accessible simple language, called, “Nadu – Nudi: Maruchintane”. (In Eng-lish: Land – Language: A Rethinking). (Home page of the section: http://tinyurl.com/mcw48xu).

Prof. Rajaram Hegde’s articles on this blog are the following:

1. 19-06-2014. “Murti pujeya kurita adhunikara gondalagalu” (The modern quandaries on murtipuje). 2. 28-07-2014. “The history of Karnataka”.3. 18-08-2014. “The history of Karnataka”.4. 01-09-2014. “The history of Karnataka”.

Prof. Sadananda Janekere’s articles on this blog are the following:

1. 06-02-2014. “Caste and Identity Politics”.2. 12-02-2014. “Caste and Identity Politics”.3. 20-02-2014. “Caste and Identity Politics”.4. 07-03-2014. “Caste and Identity Politics”.5. 28-03-2014. “Caste and Identity Politics”.

Dr. A. Shanmukha’s articles on this blog are the following:

1. 14-03-2014. “Indian State and Corruption”.2. 21-03-2014. “Indian State and Corruption”.3. 28-03-2014. “Indian State and Corruption”.

Dr. Santhosh Kumar P.K.’s articles on this blog are the following:

1. 18-08-2014. “Brahminaremba Roman Catholicaru” (Brahmins as Roman Catholics).

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2. Blog: the CSLC blog

http://cslcku.wordpress.com

The Centre for the Study of Local Cultures (CSLC) uses its blog to reflect on the most urgent ongoing issues in Karnataka in particular and India in general. Prof. Rajaram Hegde and Prof. SN Balagangadhara’s weekly column on a topic/issue relevant to the time is the main attraction of this blog. The column is entitled Vasahatu Prajneya Vishvaroopa. (In English: Omni-form of Colonial Consciousness). Besides this, the blog also has articles by other group members on relevant issues.

Prof. Balagangadhara’s articles translated by Prof. Rajaram Hegde between 1 October 2013 and 1 October 2014 are the following:

1. 04-10-2013. “Devaru athava ‘God’nannu nambuvudendarenu?” (What is it to believe in Deva or God?) 2. 11-10-2013. “Namma devategalu mattu Semitic God” (Our Devas and the Semitic God)3. 18-10-2013. “Bharatiya samskrutiyalli Evil emba kalpane iralikke sadhyave?” (Is it possible that Indian culture has the

concept of Evil?)4. 25-10-2013. “Bharatiya Samskrutiyalli Secular emba parikalpane ideye?” (Do we have the notion of Secularism in India?)5. 01-11-2013. “Secular chintakaru religion inda horabandiddareye?” (Have the secularists given up Religion?)6. 08-11-2013. “Religion mattu Pashchatya Vignanagala sambandha” (The Relationship between Religion and Western Sciences)7. 15-11-2013. “Siddhantavannu kattutta badukannu rupisikolluva krama” (The process of living through constructing theories) 8. 22-11-2013. “Manushyanau bhayadinda muktigagi Devarannu srushtisidane?” (Did man create Devas to get rid of fear?) 9. 29-11-2013. “Bhrashtachara parikalpane mattu Bharatiyaru” (Indians and the notion of corruption)10. 06-12-2013. “Bharatiya samajavu ninta neeru ennuva parikalpaneyu ellinda huttitu?” (From where did the idea that In-

dian society is stagnant emerge?). 11. 12-12-2013. “Buddhanu Varnadharmavannu allagalediddane?” (Did Buddha reject Varna?)12. 20-12-2013. “Astavyasta prapanchavannu hididitta vyavastegagi hudukata” (In search of the order that holds the chaotic

world together) 13. 27-12-2013. “Sarvatrika niyamagalige kattubidda normative jagattu hagu Bharatiya sandarbha” (The normative world

and the Indian context). 14. 03-01-2014. “Neeti aneeeti: Purva mattu Pashchimagala bhinnate” (Moral-immoral: the difference between East and West).15. 10-01-2014. “Jeevanada arthakkagi vyartha hudukaata” (Futile search for the meaning of life). 16. 17-01-2014. “Bharatiyarige arthavagada kanunina alvike” (The rule of law that Indians do not understand). 17. 25-01-2014. “Bharatiyarige itihaasa pragne ideye?” (Do Indians have a sense of history?). 18. 31-01-2014. “Ramayana Mahabharatagalalli satya ghatanegalannu hudukuva geelu” (The habit of searching for true

events in Ramayana and Mahabharata).19. 07-02-2014. “Puraana kathegalu mattu satya sullina prashne” (The purana stories and the question of truth and falsity). 20. 14-02-2014. “Devaru mrutara atmakke shantiyannu karunisabhude?” (Can Devas bestow peace to the atma of the deceased?). 21. 21-02-2014. “Manukulavu French krantiya mulaka vimochanegondaga…” (When mankind was liberated through the

French Revolution...). 22. 28-02-2014. “Satyavannu talupalu halavaru margagalu” (Many avenues to reach the truth). 23. 07-03-2014. “Sarvadharma samabhavavu namma prabhutvakke sadhyave?” (Can Indian state practice religious neutrality?). 24. 14-03-2014. “Bharatiya purana kathegalannu arthysuvaga elli edavattaguttide” (Where do we err in interpreting the pu-

rana stories?). 25. 21-03-2014. “Kathegalannu kattutta jagattannu kattikolluva krama” (The process of constructing the world through con-

structing stories). 26. 28-03-2014. “Jagattannu stereotypegala mulaka noduva krama” (The mode of looking at the world through stereotypes).27. 04-04-2014. “Ella samskrutigaligu riligion iralebekendu vidvamsarigeke annisuttade?” (Why do the scholars feel that

religion is a cultural universal?). 28. 27-06-2014. “Bharatiya sandarbhadalli Kanunu mattu Nyaya” (Law and Justice in the Indian context) 29. 11-07-2014. “Kanunina alvike yarige arthavaguttade?” (Who understands the rule of law?). 30. 18-07-2014. “Nyaya nirnaya: Purva – Pashchima madarigalu” (Settlement of disputes: The Eastern and Western models). 31. 25-07-2014. “Bhartiyarige kanunina bhashe arthavaguttadeye?” (Do Indians understand the language of law?). 32. 01-08-2014. “Bhartiyarige bhasheyeke badidatada vishayavagide?”(Why do Indians fight in the name of language today?).33. 08-08-2014. “Manushyanu hutta svatantra endarenu?” (What do we mean by ‘man is born free’).

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34. 16-08-2014. “Manava hakkugala parikalpane ella samskrutigalallu ideye?” (Is the concept of Human Rights a cultural universal?). 35. 22-08-2014. “Vyakti mattu samaja: Purva Pashchimagala bhinnate” (Individual and society: East and West). 36. 30-08-2014. “Pashchatya naytika siddhantagalu mattu Bharatiya naytikate” (The Western ethical theories and the Indian

sense of naitikate) 37. 15-09-2014. “Manushyarellaru yavudaralli samanaru?” (In what way are all men equal?) 38. 27-09-2014. “Bhayotpadane: Aparadhada hosa avatara” (Terrorism: A new Incarnation of Crime).

Articles by Prof. Rajaram Hegde on this blog are:

1. 03-03-2014. “Pracheena sahitya mattu mamsaharada kurita charche” (Ancient literature and the debate on meat eating). 2. 20-06-2014 “Murti pujeya kurita adhunikara gondalagalu” (The modern quandaries on idol worship).

Articles by Dr. Santhosh Kumar P.K. on this blog are:

1. 30-04-2014. “Kuran and manusmruthi emba pavitra granthagalu” (Quran and Manusmruthi as two holy texts)

3. Facebook group: Samskriti Cintane Samana Mattu Asamana Manaskarige

https://www.facebook.com/groups/samskruthivedike

In English: “Cultural forum, a place for debate between the equal and unequal minded” This facebook group provides a place to express views and thoughts without any restriction. There is space for criticism and con-tributions, without, however, everything being accepting by everyone. Because scientific debate in social sciences is rare in India, it is an important forum. At the moment of this report, 758 members were registered in this group.

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