News : Kapil Sibal inducted into Honorary Senate of the prestigious Lindau Foundation in Germany: India focus at Nobel Laureates meet

Germany and South Asia: Indian Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal with Professor Wolfgang Schürer, Chairman of the Lindau Foundation

Kapil Sibal inducted into Honorary Senate of the prestigious Lindau Foundation in Germany: India focus at Nobel Laureates meet

June 29, 2009

Indian Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal, who is on a visit to Germany—the first country he visits in his new capacity—has been inducted as a new member of the Honorary Senate of the Lindau Foundation. From 28th June – 3rd July 2009, 23 Nobel Laureates meet with 580 highly gifted young researchers from 67 countries at the 59th Meeting of Nobel Laureates in Lindau, on Lake Constance, southern Germany. The special focus this year is India, which is the first international state to be designated partner for the meet.

At the inaugural ceremony on Sunday, the Foundation Nobelprizewinners Meetings at Lake Constance honoured Kapil Sibal and José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission for their commitment on behalf of science and international understanding by inducting them to the Honorary Senate. The Senate is an assembly of outstanding figures in the areas of science, politics and business. Professor Wolfgang Schuerer, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation, presented the honours as part of the 59th Meeting of Nobel Laureates in Lindau.

Young researchers from China, Germany, Ghana, India and USA in discussion with José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission and Professsor Werner Arber, Nobel Laureate and member of the Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings

Young researchers from China, Germany, Ghana, India and USA in discussion with José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission and Professsor Werner Arber, Nobel Laureate and member of the Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings

As partner country at the Lindau Meetings, India hosts one whole day—a unique opportunity to showcase excellence in science to an international audience of 23 Nobel Laureates and 580 young researchers from across the world. India has been sending students and scientists to the Lindau Meetings since 2001. As per a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2007 during German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to India, 25 young researchers are sent to attend the Lindau Meetings every year.

This year, since India is the partner country, 43 scholars are participating. The Indian team is short-listed every year at the Department of Science & Technology by a high level expert team led by eminent scientist in the particular field. The final group is selected by the Lindau Council. Three young scientists from Bangladesh, one from Nepal and six from Pakistan are also participating in this year’s Lindau meetings.

At the briefing session for the Indian team on the eve of their departure on Friday, Dr. T Ramasami, Secretary at the Department of Science and Technology summarised the experience of the Indian participants, “they get a sense of excitement, which fires the imagination – and rekindles hope.” The young researchers expressed their sense of awe and excitement at the opportunity of meeting Nobel Laureates face to face and getting the opportunity to share ideas and concepts with colleagues from all over the world. Some of the researchers also look forward to establishing professional contacts and getting a first-hand experience of the scientific scene in Germany.

After the Lindau meetings, the team of young Indian researchers will be taken on a tour of premier German institutions by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The scientists will visit the Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (FHI) and the Technical University in Berlin (TU), and the Universities of Bielefeld, Mainz and Bonn. They will also attend an information session on funding opportunities in Germany at the DFG head office in Bonn and of course, catch a few glimpses of Germany through sightseeing trips.

This year, the Council and Foundation for Nobel Laureate Meetings is also commemorating the centenary of the birth of Count Lennart Bernadotte (1909-2004), ‘spiritus rector’ and co-founder of the meetings in Lindau. The occasion is marked with an exhibition – ‘Entdeckungen’ (‘Discoveries’) – on Mainau Island as part of the ‘Expedition Germany’ Year of Science 2009. The exhibition consists of 20 pavilions that explore sustainable approaches to dealing with water. India is hosting a pavilion at the exhibition, which will be held alongside panel discussions by noble laureates on “Sustainability and Climate Change”, being chaired by Nobel Laureate and Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Dr. R K Pachauri.

The snow-covered Alps form a stunning backdrop for Lindau, on the shores of Lake Constance

The snow-covered Alps form a stunning backdrop for Lindau, on the shores of Lake Constance

The Meetings of Nobel Laureates in Lindau are organised by the Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings and the Foundation Lindau Nobelprizewinners Meetings at Lake Constance for the scientific disciplines of physics, chemistry and medicine or physiology. Interdisciplinary meetings are held every five years as well. With the focus on Chemistry, this year’s lectures and discussions cover a broad spectrum – from the biochemistry of the living cell to the analysis of surface reactions, to new strategies for synthesis. The spotlight this year is on sustainability and the climate.

Begun as a plan to rebuild the scientific bridges between nations after the Second World War, the event has increasingly developed into an international meeting point between students and young scientists on the one hand and Nobel Prize winners on the other. These annual gatherings are a forum for encounters and international communication of a kind that is unique. The meetings offer young researchers in the sciences from all over the world an opportunity to delve in greater detail into topics relevant to their research fields in direct encounters with the authorities in their disciplines.

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