An eleven member delegation from the University of Twente, Netherlands, visited Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham’s Coimbatore campus on February 7^th, 2017, to discuss potential educational and research collaborations. During the visit, Amrita faculty and delegates from Twente shared their research and academic backgrounds, held interactive sessions, and found areas of mutual interest for future collaborations.

The event began with a welcome address from Amrita’s Dean of International Programs, Dr. Maneesha V. Ramesh followed by self introductions by all members of the Twente delegation. Amrita Vice Chancellor Dr. P. Venkat Rangan then gave a presentation about Amrita’s mission, vision, educational programs, research activities, and major milestones to the Twente delegation. This was followed by a presentation of Amrita’s flagship international program, Live-in-Labs® – an experiential learning initiative in rural India.

From the University of Twente, Drs. Sanders Lotze, Head of Internationalization at Twente, gave a presentation about the highly reputable institution, highlighting various educational programs and areas of research. After his presentation, members of the Twente delegation and Amrita faculty split into three groups to discuss possible areas for short term and long term collaborations.

The event concluded with a meeting in which each Twente faculty member presented area wise educational and research collaborations they were interested in pursuing with Amrita. Faculty members emphasized their eagerness to initiate collaborations and presented a list of action items they wished to take forward as soon as possible. 

The Twente delegation included: Prof. Dr. Paul Havinga, Chair, Department of Computer Sciences; Dr. Deepak Tunuguntla, Faculty of Engineering Technology; Prof. Genie Stoffels, Faculty of Thermal Engineering and Program Coordinator for Mechanical Engineering; Prof. Sarthak Misra, Faculty of Biomechanical Engineering; Prof. Ciano Aydin, Chair, Faculty of Behavioral, Management and Social Sciences; Dr. Irna Van Der Molen, Coordinator of Centre for Risk Management; Drs. Sander Lotze, Head of Internationalization and Deputy Director at the Department for Strategy & Policy; Prof. Alma Schaafstal, Program Director for Industrial Design Engineering; Ms. Sudha Sudeep, Managing Director, University of Twente India Office, Mr. Erik van Dijk, Marketing Advisor, Department of Marketing & Communication; and Ms. Sathya Ramesh, University of Twente, India Office Assistant.

Participating Amrita faculty included: Dr. P. Venkat Rangan, Vice Chancellor; Dr. Maneesha V. Ramesh, Dean of International Programs & Director of Amrita WNA; Dr. Sasangan Ramanathan, Dean, School of Engineering; Prof. Subba Rao, Chairperson, Chemical Engineering, Coimbatore; Dr. Raghu Raman, Chairperson, Amrita School of Business, Coimbatore; Prof. P. Manoj, Chairperson, Amrita School of Business, Bangalore; Dr. K. Sankaran, Registrar; Prof. Deepak Gupta, Chairman, Amrita School of Business, Doctoral Programs; Dr. K. M. Mini, Chairperson, Civil Engineering, Coimbatore; Dr. J. Chandrashekhar, Chairperson, Aerospace Engineering, Coimbatore; Dr. Madhava Datta, Chairman, Amrita Center for Industrial Research & Innovation; Dr. Latha Parameswaran, Computer Science Engineering; Dr. Shyam Diwakar, Director, ACCNN; Dr. Thirumalini S., Chairperson, Mechanical Engineering; Dr. Shantanu Bhowmick, Head, Research & Projects, School of Engineering, Coimbatore; Dr. Sindhu Thampatty, Chairperson, EEE, Coimbatore; Dr. Suja M. K., Chairperson, Department of Social Work, Coimbatore; and Dr. Nirmala Devi M., Vice Chairperson, Electronics & Communications Engineering, Coimbatore.