On August 28, TH-OWL President Professor Dr. Jürgen Krahl and TH-OWL Vice President Professor Dr. Uta Pottgiesser welcomed an eleven-member delegation from the Karnataka State Bioenergy Development Board. In addition to intensive discussions on joint research priorities, a memorandum of understanding was signed, laying the foundation for strategic cooperation. Cooperation agreements were reached in the areas of research, knowledge transfer, and scientific exchange with a focus on renewable energies.
During the subsequent visit to the KraftwerkLand research laboratory, Chairman Sudheendra and Managing Director Shivashankar L. emphasized the relevance of these developments to the delegation. The innovative technologies being tested there could make a valuable contribution to the implementation of India's climate strategy, “India's Net Zero Target 2070.”
Three-day visit program for the second delegation
From September 1 to 3, another delegation from Karnataka visited TH OWL. Six representatives from the National Institute of Engineering (NIE) in Mysore learned about the university's innovation landscape. Here, too, the existing cooperation agreement from February 2025 was reaffirmed and fleshed out with concrete projects.
The group included Uday Shankar, Honorary Secretary & Board Member of the NIE Management Committee, and Amjad Hussain, Head of the Incubation Center. They were accompanied by Professor Dr. Lakshmi Ranganatha, Head of the Department of Chemistry, and Professor Shamsundar Subbarao, Head of NIE CREST and Associate Professor, who was visiting TH OWL for the third time
The three-day program, accompanied by TH-OWL sustainability manager Christoph Harrach, took guests to the Innovation Campus Lemgo, among other places. There, they gained insights into InnovationSPIN, the science-to-business center for industrial automation and digitalization Smart Factory, and the Future Food Factory. Other stops included in-depth discussions with Professor Georg Heinrich Klepp at KraftwerkLand in Dörentrup, with its solutions for sustainable energy supply, the Monocab factory hall as a model project for innovative mobility, and the Creative Campus in Detmold. As a cultural finale, Mayor Markus Baier personally guided part of the group through Lemgo's historic old town.
Prospects for cooperation
The two delegation visits mark a further step in the international profile building of TH OWL. For both sides, new opportunities are opening up to pool scientific expertise and intensify the exchange of students and researchers. The areas of sustainable energy, digitalization, and food technology in particular offer great potential for joint projects—with a view to the challenges of a globally networked world.
“The visits by the Indian delegations show how important it is to share knowledge across borders. Together, we can develop sustainable innovations that not only have a regional impact, but also contribute globally to achieving the United Nations' global sustainability goals,” Professor Krahl sums up in retrospect.
