5th Heidelberg Lecture

 

Location: Kolkata

 

Heidelberg Centre South Asia (branch office of the Heidelberg University in New Delhi), in collaboration with the Observer Research Foundation,  School of Planning and Architecture (New Delhi), GIZ and Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, conducted a one-day workshop on Smart Cities in Kolkata, on August 9, 2016. The workshop was supported by Friedrich Naumann Foundation and attended by over 75 participants, representing government agencies, education & research institutions, non-governmental organisations and industry.   Mr. Olaf Iverson, Consul General of the German Mission Keynote Address held the inaugural address, whereas the keynote address was given by Mr. Debashis Sen, Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development Department, Govt. of West Bengal, and Chairman, Office of the New Town Kolkata Development Authority.  Amongst the topics presented at the workshop, Dr. Jenia Mukherjee (Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur) spoke on 'Smart' or Sustainable? Lessons from Historical and Political Ecology’, whereas Dr. Mahalaya Chatterjee, Director  of the Centre for Urban Economic Studies, Department of Economics, University of Calcutta, analysed ‘The Trajectory to Inclusiveness - Proposed Smart Cities in West Bengal’. The overarching aim of the workshop was to understand how contemporary and future challenges can be addressed efficiently or smartly so that goals of sustainability and quality are achieved in a desirable manner and that there is a holistic improvement in the quality of life of different sections of the society. There is a need to critically assess the challenges and improve the policies and projects in order to be able to make better informed policy recommendations and decisions

 

 

Location: Kochi

 

Heidelberg Centre South Asia (HCSA), BayIND,  School of Planning and Architecture (New Delhi), GIZ, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC) and Fraunhofer India in collaboration with Cochin University of Science and Technology, conducted a workshop on ‘Smart City: Infrastructure & Mobility’ on August 11. The workshop was supported by Friedrich Naumann Foundation and attended by over 45 participants, representing government agencies, education & research institutions, non-governmental organisations and industry. The purpose of the workshop was to critically examine the concept of the ‘smart cities’, to add to the visibility of the German scientific landscape, to deepen the collaboration between German and Indian scientific communities and to initiate a dialogue on Smart Cities between scholars, industry representatives and policy makers. The workshop was inaugurated by the Vice-Chancellor of CUSAT Prof. Dr.  J. Letha. Amongt the themes and topics discussed within the framework of the workshop were 'Sustainable Smart Cities through Cultural and Creative Interventions’ ( Mr. Sabin Iqbal, Director and Co-Founder, Synergy Int. Co), ‘Urban Water Security- with special reference to Kochi’ (Dr. Sunny George, Director, SCMS Water Institute, School of Engineering and Technology

 

 

Location: Pune

 

Heidelberg Centre South Asia (HCSA), University of Goettingen, School of Planning and Architecture (New Delhi), Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC) and University of Cologne in collaboration with IISER Pune, conducted a workshop on ‘Smart City: Infrastructure & Mobility’ on August 19, in Pune. The workshop was coordinated by the Heidelberg Centre South Asia (Branch Office of the Heidelberg University in India) and supported by Friedrich Naumann Foundation. Organized at IISER Pune, the workshop was attended by over 80 participants, representing government agencies, education & research institutions, non-governmental organisations and industry.  The purpose of the workshop is to add to the visibility of the German scientific landscape; to deepen the collaboration between German and Indian scientific communities; to initiate a dialogue between Indian and German scholars and practitioners on Smart Cities; to publish and circulate a comprehensive policy paper consisting of recommendations for stakeholders and decision makers; to establish a long-term platform for exchange between scholars and practitioners, both in India and Germany, working on Smart Cities and to contribute to the larger debate on smart cities in the world. The workshop was structured into the following thematic panels: smart transportation, inclusive cities, urban infrastructure planning & design and social infrastructure. The workshop was opened by Dr. Naresh Sharma, Head, International Relations & Academic Adviser and  Prof. Dr. A.A. Natu, from IISER Pune, and followed by highly interesting presentations on ‘Bicycles in the Smart City: The case from Pune’ (Ms Sanskriti Menon, Programme Director, CEE Central Regional Cell and CEE Urban Programmes, Centre for Environment Education, Pune), ‘How to decide what's Smart and what isn't when it comes to deciding transport solutions in cities’ (Mr Ranjit Gadgil), ‘Delivering India’s Smart Cities - Translating the Vision into Delivery’ (Mr. Sanjay Paranjpe, Siemens Ltd.),  or Dorsch Consult India (Mumbai), to name a few.

 

 

Location: Bangalore

 

Under the joint umbrella of the European Science, Technology and Innovation Platform in India (EU STI Platform) and the German House for Research and Innovation (DWIH), Heidelberg Centre South Asia (HCSA), BayIND (Bavarian-Indian Centre), School of Planning and Architecture (New Delhi), Fraunhofer India and EU STI, conducted an India-EU Dialogue on Smart Cities: Mobility, Infrastructure and Energy.  The workshop was coordinated by the Heidelberg Centre South Asia (Branch Office of the Heidelberg University in India) and supported by Friedrich Naumann Foundation. Organized at  Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, Bangalore, the workshop was attended by over 150 participants, representing government agencies, education & research institutions, non-governmental organisations and industry from India and Europe.  Mr. Christoph Bertrams, Director Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, welcomed the participants, The inaugural address was given by Ms Tania Friederichs, Counsellor, Head of Research & Innovation Sector, Delegation of the European Union to India, New Delhi, whereas opening addresses were held by Ms Hellwig-Bötte, Consul General of the German Mission and Mr. François Gautier, Consul General of the French Mission in Bangalore. The first technical session was opened by Dr. TS Muralidara, Nodal Officer Smart City Programme, Technical Adviser to the Mayor of Bangalore, who spoke on ‘Bengaluru - Path towards Becoming a Smart City’, followed by highly interesting and thought-provoking presentations given by Professor Dr. K. B. Akhilesh, Senior Professor, Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, on Planning Towards Smart Cities - Cross Cutting Issues, or Professor Dr. T.G. Sitharam, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, who spoke on Mobility and Management: A Framework for Achieving Sustainable Urban Mobility In Indian Cities. Dr. Deepak Baindur, GIZ, analysed the Institutional Challenges in implementing Smart City Mission in selected cities, whereas Ms Pronita Saxena (Founder and CEO) presented Citizengage’s innovative approach to Building a Recycling  Economy. A Waste to Resource Economy