Partnerships

India

The Leopoldina and the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) are working together to increase the visibility of the scientific communities in each other’s country and to intensify the dialogue between academics in both countries. The two institutions also work together to provide international policy advice, for instance by drawing up statements for the G20 summits. The close and friendly collaboration is based on a cooperation agreement signed in 2007 and extended in 2012.

The Leopoldina has maintained close links with India for a long time. A number of Indian scientists are members of the Leopoldina, among them Professor Raghavendra Gadagkar from Bangalore, former INSA President.

The Leopoldina and INSA regularly organise interdisciplinary science symposia with high-profile speakers. The subject areas vary widely, ranging from medicine and microbiology to nanoscience and evolutionary biology. In recent years, neuroscience has been the key area of interest. The November 2018 symposium “The Challenge to Learn” in Hyderabad is one example.

Furthermore, the two academies have established the joint Leopoldina-INSA Lecture Series, where distinguished Leopoldina and INSA members present their work to a wider public in order to increase the visibility of Indian and German scientists in each other’s countries.

The two institutions also work together to give policy advice. In 2017, the academies of the G20 countries jointly prepared recommendations for the G20 summit under the leadership of the Leopoldina, in response to the German Federal Government’s mandate to establish a Science20 Dialogue, in order to strengthen the role of scientific expertise in the G20 format.

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