Tag: Workshop

Nandhini Duraimurugan’s Sediment Transport Study Published in ISH Journal

Posted on by in News, Research

The IGCS team is thrilled to share that Nandhini Duraimurugan, recipient of the IGCS research grant for 2023, has successfully published their research article titled “Field investigation of suspended sediment transport study in the Kandla Creek, Gujarat, India” in the ISH Journal of Hydraulics. This achievement is a testament to their hard work, dedication, and innovative contributions to the scientific community. We are honored to have been a part of their journey. Congratulations, Nandhini

You can find the link to the article here.

IGCS Summer School 2023 in Berlin, Germany

Posted on by in News, Summer & Winter School

Summer School 2023

The Integration of Renewable Energies into a Power Grid – A Key Contribution towards a Carbon Neutral Society

Date: 24 July to 04 August 2023

Venue: Technical University in Berlin, Germany

IGCS Summer School 2023, Berlin
IGCS Summer School 2023 Information Flyer

Objective

Achieving net-zero emissions, mitigating climate change, preventing the excessive depletion of natural resources, and reducing waste are major challenges the world is facing today. The energy sector is of particular importance in meeting these challenges.

Nowadays, the primary targets and concerns worldwide are energy transition, clean energy, sustainable energy, and energy security. Based on the three main trends shaping the current and future global energy landscape – decarbonization, decentralization, and digitalization – the integration of renewable energy systems into the existing power grid represents a key challenge for an innovative and viable solution towards a carbon-neutral future.

The energy system of the future must be achieved through sustainable management of natural resources, ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns, developing energy infrastructure and technologies, and raising political and social awareness to contribute to this overall system development.

This year IGCS Summer School focuses mainly on the technical aspects of integrating different renewable energy sources into the existing power grid as an innovative and potential solution towards a sustainable and clean energy future. The economic, environmental, and social aspects of this system will also be discussed during the school. It brings together students from Indian and German institutions, who will jointly and interactively develop their skills with the following learning outcomes:

  • developing a fundamental and holistic understanding of the technical aspects of integrating different renewable energy sources into the existing power grid
  • identifying the technical challenges that must be overcome to integrate a high proportion of renewable energy into the existing grid, such as developing infrastructure and technology, coordinating power generation from multiple sources, balancing power supply and demand, advancing grid storage options, and increasing energy flexibility.
  • identifying the main challenges and outstanding issues related to the implementation of renewable energy resources from economic, environmental, and social perspectives.
  • proposing innovative solutions and strategies to implement renewable resources on a large scale.

Schedule

This Summer School will run for twelve days from July 24th until August 4th 2023 and will consist of lectures, group works, panel discussions, excursions and intercultural exchanges.

The Summer School will be held as a physical event at the Technical University in Berlin, Germany.

Participants

The course is open to German* and Indian Master’s and PhD. Students. Knowledge of sustainability topics in the field of energy is of advantage. The number of participants is limited to 30 (15 German /15 Indian).

Selected participants from German universities will receive a mobility scholarship.

Selected participants from Indian universities will receive a mobility scholarship as well as a scholarship to cover living expenses during School.

IGCS is covering the costs of stay for all participants and will provide lunch on the weekdays.

*Non-German students and university graduates can apply if they are enrolled in the course of study at a German university to obtain a degree at a German university. For more information check DAAD-Website: Bewerbungen um ein Stipendium (German only).

Application

Interested students may apply through the 2023 Application Form. The application deadline is 01st of May 2023. Applications received after this date will not be considered.

The link is open from 31st of March – 1st of May 2023(7 PM CET/10:30 PM IST). You will need to register first before you enter the actual form. You can switch between German and English. Please read the instructions carefully, including the help notes attached to many entry boxes.

Please prepare the following documents to be uploaded through the form:

  1. CV
  2. Transcript of records of last completed semester/graduation certificate.
  3. Letter of recommendation from an academic supervisor. It should state your academic and personal qualifications for participation in the IGCS Summer School.
  4. Enrolment certificate of your University
  5. Passport Copy
  6. Motivation Letter

Positive results will be announced in the beginning of May. We kindly ask you to refrain from inquiries about the application status in the meantime. You will be informed if you are not accepted and your data will be deleted.

Students may be eligible to receive credit points for their participation in the IGCS Summer School. Please check with your home institution.

Contact

Please contact project coordinator Lisa van Aalst or Dr. Anna Uffmann if you have any questions.

Organizers

IGCS Area Coordinators for Energy, Prof. Dr. Frank Behrendt (Technical University Berlin), Prof. Dr. Krishna Vasudevan (Indian Institute of Technology Madras), and Dr. Khulud Alsouleman (Technical University Berlin).

Lisa Van Aalst, IGCS Project Coordinator, Visits Chennai India

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The IGCS team in Germany had the opportunity to visit IIT Madras in Chennai last month, where they were engaged in research and exchange teaching programs. Lisa Van Aalst, IGCS Project Coordinator at RWTH Aachen University, shares their experience in Chennai:

IGCS Team in Chennai
IGCS Team in Chennai

“After more than two years of working remotely, I finally had the chance to visit the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras campus, on a project management visit with the Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (IGCS).

Together with the IGCS Postdocs Christoph Woiwode, Daniel Rosado, and Khulud Alsouleman, we have had fruitful meetings strategizing on joint research projects addressing the Urban Water-Food-Energy-Waste Nexus in the Perumbakkam resettlement area as well as introducing hybrid teaching modules at IIT Madras in the field of sustainability.

Besides finally meeting face-to-face with our IGCS colleagues, we have also had the chance to interact with new faces and met our wonderful colleagues from DAAD India to discuss scholarship opportunities for Indian students and researchers.

IGCS Team In Chennai

In New Delhi, I had the chance to meet with RWTH Head India Office Benjamin Pfrang. Together with the Goethe Institut Indien and the German Embassy in New Delhi, we attended the inauguration of the Mayoor Public School Noida as a PASCH school. This initiative connects more than 2,000 schools worldwide where the German language is particularly important.“

Do you want to conduct your research with IGCS and our focus areas? We offer research grants to students interested in the field of sustainability. Visit our Grants page for more information.

Dr. Khulud Alsouleman, IGCS Post-doc, Visits Chennai India

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The IGCS team in Germany had the opportunity to visit IIT Madras in Chennai last month, where they were engaged in research and exchange teaching programs. Dr. Khulud Alsouleman, IGCS post-doc in the area of Sustainable Use and Management of Energy and from the Technical University Berlin, shares the premise of their work in Chennai:

Image

“It was an enriching experience to be close to the students in IITM, to deliver and discuss some important topics In Biomass conversion technologies. During my stay at IITM, I conducted some laboratory analysis in the chemical engineering department related to an initial project idea with Prof. Vinu (waste management Indian coordinator), to enhance the research cooperation not only between the Indian and German partners, but also between the IGCS areas.”

The IGCS Team in Chennai, India
Dr. Alsouleman in IIT Madras

Do you want to conduct your research with IGCS and our focus areas? We offer research grants to students interested in the field of sustainability. Visit our Grants page for more information.

Dr. Daniel Rosado, IGCS Post-doc, Visits Chennai India

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The IGCS team in Germany had the opportunity to visit IIT Madras in Chennai last month where they were engaged in research and exchange teaching programs. Dr. Daniel Rosado, IGCS post-doc in the area of Sustainable Water Management and from Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel shares the premise of his work in Chennai:

“Unplanned urbanization can have negative effects on the environment. At the IGCS we investigate how the lakes of Chennai, India, are affected by this uncontrolled urbanization and we look for ways to improve this situation.”

Do you want to conduct your research with IGCS and our focus areas? We offer research grants to students interested in the field of sustainability. Visit our Grants page for more information.

Announcement IGCS-motan Workshop 2022

Posted on by in News

#sustainabilitychallenge – Rethinking the Future of Plastics

Your ideas are too good to be forgotten!

IGCS and motan are carrying out a two-day virtual workshop.

Have you always had ideas on how to revolutionize the way we work and live with plastics in a sustainable way?

Then take part in our #sustainabilitychallenge: ‘Reduce | Re-Use | Recycle | Recover – Strategies Towards a Sustainable Plastics Industry: Rethinking the Future of Plastics’ and make a difference – shape the future with your innovative and sustainable ideas. 

Our collaborative efforts are dedicated to helping students from Indian and German academic institutions to develop and foster sustainable ideas. This workshop is a continuation of our joint vision: incorporate innovative and sustainable ideas generation in interdisciplinary research, teaching, training, and exchange in the area of sustainable development. Together motan and IGCS would like to motivate and support students to conduct research in the area of plastics and the circular economy.

Thus, IGCS and motan jointly extend an invitation to be a part of our event. We are always looking for motivated students to carry out a research project or an industry internship supported by motan and the IGCS.

Applications are now open. Please find the link here.

Deadline: 31. October 2021

Workshop Details:

● Date: 6 – 7 December 2022

● Program: Impulse lectures by domain experts, work in small groups on related topics and presentations

● Target group: Students currently enrolled in an undergraduate (Bachelors), post-graduate (Masters), or doctoral program in Indian or German academic institutions

● Award: The winner will get the opportunity to work out a research project with the support of motan and the IGCS

Requirements:

● Letter of Motivation

● CV

● Certification of enrolment (in current university)

About motan

Sustainability is a core value within the motan culture. This means not only the products, solutions, and behavior but also the training of young people and the development of global networks. In addition to social aid and cultural projects, the foundation’s focus is on introducing social responsibility into business activities. For more information on motan and their activities, please visit the link.

IGCS conducts Summer School 2022 in Aachen

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IGCS Summer School 2022: Sustainable Waste Management in The Nexus of Climate Change and Low Carbon Economy

This edition of the IGCS Summer School, in the IGCS focus area of Sustainable Waste Management, specialized in designing a set of interdisciplinary lectures and an integrated approach that covers advances in research and technological implementations in Waste Prevention, reuse, and recycling approach, management, and regulatory aspects, as well as the socio-economic and environmental considerations. It connected concepts of sustainable waste management with clean energy, energy efficiency, reducing CO2 emissions, bio-based economy, and restoration of the ecosystem and its services.

The Summer School brought together students from Indian and German academic institutions with nationalities from across the world, comprising a pool of diverse specialization backgrounds, who jointly and interactively develop their skills with the following learning outcomes:

1. Identifying measures and opportunities in the circular economy to contribute to climate protection
2. Developing a fundamental and holistic understanding of different waste management systems and technologies
3. Proposing innovative solutions to strengthen the circular economy

Participants were engaged in interdisciplinary on-site and hybrid (online + on-site) lectures on the state-of-the-art practices and emerging waste management strategies in Germany and India, such as composting of biodegradable wastes, handling of construction debris, incineration of residual waste, and plastics upcycling methods, liquefaction of unsegregated municipal solid wastes and recycling of industrial wastes. They were also encouraged to learn from their peers and colleagues through working groups on specialization topics, intercultural workshops, student panel discussions, and entrepreneurship workshops.

Alena ̶ IGCS Winter School 2022 Student Mini-Lecture Presenter Testimony

Posted on by in Alumni & Community

The IGCS Winter and Summer schools have open platforms for our participants to engage in peer learning. During our Student Mini-Lecture series, selected participants present their research project, area of expertise and recent findings.

Alena Spies (RWTH Aachen University) proves a testimonial from their presentation during the Student Mini-Lecture series:

In order to transform our current linear economic system into a circular economy, material flows that were previously declared as waste must be recognized and made usable as raw materials. The project EnEWA (saving energy in paper production by opening up the value chains of waste paper from lightweight packaging, residual waste, and commercial waste) addresses this issue precisely. Paper from mixed waste streams is currently mainly used for energy recovery.

The main reason why the paper is not used for material recovery is its contamination. The Chair of Anthropogenic Material Cycles (ANTS) at RWTH Aachen University is researching a solution. Project partners are the Chair of International Production Engineering and Management (IPEM) at the University of Siegen and the industrial partners Tomra Sorting GmbH, STADLER Anlagenbau GmbH and PROPAKMA GmbH as well as the paper producer LEIPA Group GmbH. The project EnEWA is dealing with the collection and the recovery of paper from mixed waste streams as well as the processes for recycling the paper fibers. Following an analysis of the recovered paper grades and paper composites, the necessary sorting technology will be developed and adapted. Subsequently, a process for the hygenization and preparation of the paper fibers will be designed. The application-oriented research helps to optimize the recycling of paper and gives an essential contribution to closing the loops in terms of a circular economy. The material characterization is essential for the development of all further process steps and therefore the necessary first step. The first results of the characterization of paper from lightweight packaging waste show that more than 45 % of the wastepaper could have disposed of in a separate paper collection system.