Programme for the Indo‑German Student Dialogue 2026

Berlin, 23–26 April 2026

Thursday – Hertie Foundation Office, Französische Str 48, 10117 Berlin, 2nd floor
4.30 pm  Arrival of participants
5.30 pm Welcome activities
6.30 pm Panel discussion: A New Era of Indo-German Relations?

Dirk Wiese (SPD) – Member of the German Bundestag; First Parliamentary Secretary of the SPD parliamentary group; former Deputy Spokesperson of the German‑Indian Parliamentary Group; supporter of Indian human rights activist Soni Sori through ‘Parliamentarians Protect Parliamentarians’ programme.
Dr Thorsten Rudolph (SPD) – Member of the German Bundestag; Budget Policy Spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group (since May 2025); Deputy Spokesperson of the German‑Indian Parliamentary Group.
Prof. Dr. Shubha Kamala Prasad – Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Hertie School.
Moderator: Aastha Narang – Co-founder EU-India Watch

Dinner at Gaffel Haus (Dorotheenstr. 65, 10117 Berlin)

Friday – Politics & Diplomacy
9.00 am meet for security check (Matthias-Erzberger-Haus, Unter den Linden 71, 10117 Berlin)
9.30–10.30 am – Bundestag Visit / Office of Jürgen Hardt
Jürgen Hardt (CDU) – Member of the German Bundestag; Foreign Policy Spokesperson for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group; member of the group’s executive committee; India rapporteur in the Foreign Affairs Committee.

11.00 – 1.30 pm Social Programming and Lunch (three small groups, options include exploring neighborhoods in Kreuzberg and visiting BERLIN GLOBAL exhibition in Humboldt Forum)

2.00 pm meet for security check (Werderscher Markt 1, 10117 Berlin)
2.30 – 3.30 pm – Visit to the German Federal Foreign Office (Academic Exchange Department)
Amelie Buchwald – Desk officer German Federal Foreign Office
Julian Samojlow – Desk officer German Federal Foreign Office
Annica Gesenhues – Head of Capital Office, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

4.00 – 6.00 pm – Visit to Indian Embassy
Abhishek Dubey – Deputy Chief of Mission
Dr. Ramanuj Banerjee – Counsellor (S&T)

Evening:
Dinner (self-organised)
Free time/optional socialising at Klunkerkranich

Saturday – Industry & Culture
IAC Community Space, Linienstr. 65a, 10119 Berlin
10.30 am – 12.00 pm – Industry Careers Across Borders
Dr. Bijon Chatterji – Co-founder and editor-in-chief of theinder.net, Sales & Business Development Director at Metabolon 
Shikha Pillai – Global Head of Sustainability at Siemens Healthineers
Dr. Markus Schwertel – Director, Global Policy & Strategy, International Organization (digital equity) at HP

Lunch at the Community Space

2.00 – 3.00 pm – The Power of Perspective - Narratives in the Media
Nimish Sawant – Independent Journalist (Science and Technology), contributor at The Hindu, Deutsche Welle, Business Insider, Deutschlandradio.
Julia Wadhawan – German-Indian journalist, author of “Don’t tell me who I am,“ media-project WHO CARED (documents life stories of South-Indian nurses who came to Germany in the 60s and 70s), “Simply Yoga“ for the political magazine SPIEGEL, founding member of the Indo-German Media Network.

3.00 pm – Short Presentation Student Forum Tönissteiner Kreis
Amadeus Seehaus – Member of the board, Student Forum
Eren Güzey – Outreach officer, Student Forum

Afternoon:
Social Programming: Bollywood Dance Workshop or visit to Futurium (based on participant preference expressed in survey)
        3.30 pm Bollywood Dance Workshop OR
        4.45 - 5.45 pm Guided Tour Futurium

Evening:
Farewell Dinner at Anand (Albrechtstr. 12, 10117 Berlin)

Sunday
IAC Community Space, Linienstr. 65a, 10119 Berlin
10.30 am Workshop
12 pm Presentation and group reflections/feedback round
1.00–2.00 pm Departure