Fraunhofer-GesellschaftInterview with Anandi Iyer, Director of the Fraunhofer Representative Office India
Neu-Delhi, India, June 22, 2024
Anandi Iyer, director of the Fraunhofer office in India, has been awarded the Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for her contributions to German-Indian collaboration in the field of science and research.
Congratulations on your award. What is Fraunhofer’s contribution in India to German-Indian collaboration?
Over the past 25 years, I have been deeply involved in collaboration in the science and research sectors through my various roles, from acting as a strategic advisor to the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in India to leading the INTEC project and the Fraunhofer Representative Office in India. The Fraunhofer model is highly sought after in India. About 56 Fraunhofer institutes are already involved in India. We have set in motion not only projects with industry, but also strategic and long-term cooperative initiatives with the government and academic institutes. As a Fraunhofer representative, I sit on various high-ranking committees and working groups established by the government, associations, and international organizations. This allows me to position Fraunhofer’s innovation expertise very effectively.
Which research fields are especially interesting for India?
India is known worldwide as a leader in software. That means research fields such as the digital transformation, smart manufacturing, and quantum computing are all very important. Areas such as renewable energy and electromobility have also been gaining ground in recent years. Topics such as the circular economy and sustainability generate huge interest in India as well. India is heavily dependent on agriculture, so the government puts a lot of resources into areas such as automation of agriculture, digital farming, and agrivoltaics.
What current projects is Fraunhofer involved in in India?
Right now, we have several projects in the renewable energy sector. Fraunhofer has also been named a technology partner to the Indian government for its Hydrogen Valley initiative. India is also investing a great deal in building innovation clusters. We have been engaged to work with partners from the state of Tamil Nadu to establish an innovation cluster for digitalization. The German Innovation Forum is a highly interesting initiative. We have teamed up with major German companies, including Bosch, Siemens, Siemens Healthineers, Continental, Mercedes Benz Research Centre, Festo, and SAP, to create a platform in Bangalore. The goal is to initiate joint projects, foster interdisciplinary expertise, and address the challenges in the Indian market.
You’re really involved in the area of gender equality and women in STEM. What is your work in this area like?
That’s something that is really important to me. When India held the G20 presidency in 2022/23, the Indian government nominated me to chair the “G20 Empower Women in Science” working group. I got the chance to work with an international group of women and launch multiple initiatives to support women’s involvement in STEM and take concrete action for gender equality. I’m working on another exciting project right now with Dr. Christiane Bucher and Dr. Andrea Gassmann, both former Fraunhofer colleagues, in which we’ve designed an exhibition series for women in science. We will be organizing an exhibition and symposium in September 2024 in collaboration with Experiminta in Frankfurt and the Science Gallery in Bangalore. We hope this initiative will be another way to encourage young women to get involved in STEM and pursue careers in the field.
Interview: Thomas Röll