The program is aimed at German universities that wish to cooperate with Indian higher education and research institutions in the following areas within the framework of co-financing:

• Energy, Sustainability and Climate
• Smart Cities & Mobility
• Semiconductors and New Materials
• Healthcare and MedTech
• Supercomputing, AI, Quantum Computing
• Advanced Manufacturing & Industry 4.0

The program is open to all disciplines.

Background

In October 2024, the 7th Indo-German Government Consultations took place in New Delhi under the motto “Growing together - innovative, mobile and sustainable”. In order to strengthen and expand scientific cooperation and academic exchange between Germany and India, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the DAAD and IIT Kha-ragpur on the sidelines of the government consultations. It was agreed to establish a bilateral, co-financed program “German Indian Academic Network for Tomorrow (GIANT)” within the framework of the “Scheme for Promotion of Academic & Research Collaboration” (SPARC) financed by the Indian Ministry of Education and the German Federal Foreign Office (AA).

Program Goals

The objectives of the program are: 

• Acquisition of (inter)disciplinary and/or administrative competencies by master students, teachers, (junior) researchers and/or university management as well as gaining international and intercultural experience.
• Making the research results of the cooperation projects accessible to an (inter)national public. 
• To offer jointly (further) developed, internationally oriented curricula, teaching and learning materials. 
• To establish institutional cooperation between the participating universities and, where appropriate, non-university stakeholders, which will form the starting point for further international cooperation.

The GIANT program contributes in the long term: 

• To strengthening scientific cooperation and academic exchange between Germany and India.
• To the establishment and expansion of efficient and internationally networked universities in Germany and India.
• To strengthen mutual connectivity to scientific and economic developments in Germany and India.

Funded by