Our Tandem Reporters in India

Ten days, three cities, twelve Tandem Reporters - these are the coordinates of the DAAD Promotion Tour across India. Out of almost 100 applicants we've selected our teams for Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai and would like to introduce you to them.

Team Delhi

Aditya Madan is in his second year of his B. Tech in GGSIPU in Delhi. He has already gained journalistic experience, which could come in handy while working as a Tandem Reporter. During Highschool he has won a competition of Hindustan Times and was announced Cub Reporter für HT Nxt, their school supplement. Ever since he has been writing for this newspaper. He's looking forward to meet the German delegation during the Expo.

His tandem partner Franziska grew up in the picturesque Main-Franconia. Even though she is deeply connected to her native place, she ended up in Delhi, where she feels very much at home by now. She studies Indology, English, Spanish and Chinese at Würzburg University. Languages and new cultures are her favourite hobbies! When she needs to relax, she likes to read a good novel, or to simply sing along when her current favourite song is playing. The academic exchange between India and Germany is a heartfelt matter to her, since she hopes that it will build bridges for mutual understanding. Because in the meantime, she has started living somewhere „in between“.

Sayalee Karkare is 26 years old and hails from Mumbai. She has studied Politics, Anthropology and Literature. Thanks to the Erasmus Mundus programme, she spent a year studying in Leipzig and had a great time there. Now she's back in Mumbai and spends her time as a part-time student of languages, teacher of Culture Studies and a freelance journalist. Overall, she is interested in New Media, specifically the freedom and equality that the world wide web brings. My other hobbys are cooking (eating), youtube videos (making and watching) and most of all, films and books (particularly science fiction).

Sayalee works together with Taani Arora from Delhi. She has done MA in German Language from Delhi University. She is presently a student of Indira Gandhi National Open University and pursuing child psychology. She will also be enrolling herself soon for M.phil in German Language. As writing is her passion she's happy to capture the events in Delhi as a Tandem Reporter for DAAD.

Team Hyderabad

Already during her studies of architecture and urban planning Jasmin Mohr focused mainly on the reconciliation of the environment and high quality of life. Right after finishing her studies she worked for a NGO in Africa. After two more jobs in Germany and study trips to West Africa I decided to deepen the knowledge in this area starting my Ph.D. So I began my dissertation with focus on Megacities and Water Management in India. I am particularly  interested in the changing of the Indian way of life because of globalization and what that means for the water resources. To explore this, I am living and studying in India since one year now, where I am in close contact with the population.

Her tandem partner Parikshit Kopade (29) is a proactive and optimistic Indian, who believes Germany to be his second home. After completing his Masters in "Envirofood" at the University of Hohenheim and his MBA in International Industrial Management from the Esslingen University of Applied Sciences he would like to be one of the connecting links between both cultures. Currently he's getting ready to start his Ph.D.

Adela Karas from Göttingen in Germany is 27 years old and in her 3rd year of Cultural and Social Anthropology/Indology-BA. At present she's on a DAAD scholarship and participates in a student exchange in Pune. She loves Latin and African dances, to sing, to paint, to write, to learn foreign languages, and to visit places in the nature. Further she likes to explore the world, to take part in social work projects, and to feel completely involved in any task which she does. She wishes to contribute her share to make the world an interactive place, with better living conditions for everyone. Hence she's glad to be given the chance to support the ‘German Study and Research Expo India 2012’ as a journalist.

Adela works together with Sowmya Somanchi from Hyderabad. She is currently pursuing her Integrated Master of Science in Physics at the University of Hyderabad, Her academic interest lies in various subjects, the favorites being Nano-Science, Bio-physics and Mathematical Modeling. Her passion outside the regular curriculum lies mostly in travelling. She loves to explore new places, people, their language and the culture. She hopes she can visit ‘Germany- das land der dichter und denker’- someday and soak in the history of the country, capture the picturesque country-side and indulge in the music and the film festivals. Being a member of PETA and PALS, she strongly believes in conservation and eco-tourism. She's also a vivid reader.  Some of her favourites are Jeffrey Archer, P.G.Wodehouse and Dan Brown as well as Chetan Bhagat and Arvind Adiga. It gives her immense pleasure to be a part of the ‘Year of the Germany in India’ as a Tandem Reporter.

Team Chennai

After a gap year in in Canada and New Zealand, 21 year old Karl Friedrich Schiebe has been pursuing his studies of Business Administration at the Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt and the Loyola College pf Madras University in Chennai, thanks to a DAAD scholarship. At home in Germany he often looks at surprised faces when he mention that he spends a part of his studies at a universitsy in the South-Indian city of Chennai. How often is your stomach upset? Questions like this are evidence of great interest, but sometimes lack of knowledge about one of the most exciting and populous countries in the world. That's why he's in India: He wants to fight his own ignorance. He wants to see and feel how people live there and learn and understand their and his own culture better.

Sein Tandem Partner Rakesh Sridhar is in his final year of his B.Tech at IIT Madras. In summer 2011 he had to chance to do an internship at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) participating in the DAAD WISE program. He's very passionate about cars, Germany and its language and journalism. Ever since he returned from Germany he's been blogging about the German culture and its relevance for India. That's why he's really looking forward to work as a tandem reporter and share his excitement about Germany with others.  

Pushkal Shivam is 19 years old and studies Humanities and Social Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai. His home city is Mumbai. He started writing for an educational non-profit organisation based in the US while in high school. He is interested in studying different cultures and societies.

His team partner Nikhil Shetty studies at the department of Mechanical Engineering at IIT Mumbai. Since his childhood machines have fascinated him and he developed a keen interest in Engineering Sciences and technology. Just like Rakesh he's a WISE Alumni und has spent a summer at TU Berlin. Besides that he works for in a hostel und is always excited to meet international guests.