Fraunhofer-GesellschaftGerman High Tech Champions 2012 Award Ceremony in Gurgaon, India
Event Review
On March 5, the German High Tech Champion campaign held its first Award Ceremony in India. The venue was deliberately chosen close to Delhi, the second largest city in the world. Three young German researchers met the challenge of presenting their technological solutions for the transportation needs in today's megacities.
Dr. Jan Schubert (Fraunhofer IVI), Mr. Michael Kriescher (German Aerospace Center DLR)and Mr. Andreas Küster (Fraunhofer IVI) came out first in the nationwide competition for application-oriented business cases in sustainable transportation, thus qualifying as ‘German High Tech Champions 2012’. Their proposals convinced the jury not only in terms of their technical virtue and originality but also with regard to financial and commercial viability.
Mr. Shrikant Marathe, director of ARAI, the Automotive Research Association of India, and member of the jury, highlighted the qualities of the SMART-WAY proposal for mobile public transport navigation. “Mobile telephony has progressed in India so well that this proposal will go a long way in streamlining mobility,” Mr. Marathe stated in his assessment.
About 150 guests from industry, research, and the public sector attended the Award Ceremony which was held in conjunction with the 1st Fraunhofer Innovation and Technology (FIT) conference on mobility and logistics. Among the guests were Dr. R. Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Indian Government, Dr. Matthias J. Hack, German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Mr. Sudhir Panse from Tata Motors, Mr. V. Sumatran from Hinduja Automotive, and Dr. Dinesh Mohan from the Indian Institute of Information Technology.
The plenary session featured each of the three champions with a brief presentation. Already the initial feedback from the audience was very encouraging. Representatives of the Indian automotive industry as well as the supplier industry welcomed the concept of a metal monocoque vehicle body as cost effective and tailor-made for an emerging economy like India.
The presentations were followed by a reception with plenty of room for individual discussions. Many made use of this opportunity, and the booths at which the Champions displayed additional information were busy with visitors until late that evening. Dr. Chidambaram and Dr. Sumantran stopped by to discuss in particular the concept of the AutoTram®, a high capacity public transport vehicle especially suitable for the use in BRT systems.
For further information on the champions and their winning business cases please visit: