University celebrates Indian Week Namaste@RWU

At the end of April, Ravensburg-Weingarten University of Applied Sciences was all about Namaste@RWU. With the intercultural Indian theme week, RWU paid tribute to its long-standing cooperation with its Indian partner universities and set an example of internationalization in action. The aim was to strengthen academic cooperation, create new perspectives for students and enable them to experience Indian culture on campus.

As around ten percent of RWU students come from India, the exchange with the country is of particular importance to the university. The week was sponsored by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

International teaching and academic exchange

Several guest lecturers from Indian partner universities enriched regular courses with perspectives from their specialist areas and provided insights into the teaching and research focuses of their home institutions. New ideas for joint research projects, exchange formats and future collaborations were also generated in numerous discussions with RWU lecturers and staff.

Supplementary offers such as a Hindi taster course and intercultural training provided students, teaching staff and employees with additional insights into India's cultural diversity.

Culture, encounters and international perspectives

A particular highlight was the Indian Cultures Night, where Indian students transformed the campus into a lively cultural space with music, dance and culinary specialties. "The Indian students put so much heart and soul into the evening - from the decorations to the dances to the home-cooked food. It was simply an all-round successful evening," says Katrin Ronneburger, Head of the International Office.

At the International Meet & Greet, Indian students in particular were introduced to career opportunities and support services. In addition to RWU's Career Service, the Welcome Center Oberschwaben-Bodensee, ifm Pune and Let's Bride IT Pune - the liaison office between Baden-Württemberg and Maharashtra - former RWU students also had their say. They shared their personal success stories and gave the current students valuable tips for entering the German job market.

At the Indian Partner Fair, all guest lecturers presented their home institutions and provided information about study and exchange opportunities. Ifm Pune was also represented again and was available to answer questions about internships and collaborations.

The Indian Movie Night with the film Kal Ho Naa Ho provided emotional cinema moments, before the theme week came to a sporting conclusion with a cricket tournament. Four teams competed against each other in changing constellations for almost eight hours. In the end, the Red Royals came out on top.

Successful signal for the future

With "Namaste@RWU", the university succeeded in closely combining academic exchange, career orientation and cultural encounters. The positive response from students, staff and guests shows how valuable the collaboration with the Indian partners is and what potential lies in future joint projects and stays.

Click here for the picture gallery.

Text: Katrin Ronneburger / Kathrin Wöhrle