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The Indian Ambassador, H.E. Shri Hemant Harishchandra Kotalwar, visited the University of West Bohemia for the first time on 4 April. He was invited by the Faculty of Arts and accompanied by his assistant Jana Záhořová, a student at the Faculty of Arts. This was his second visit to Pilsen, as he had already met with city representatives in February. 

At the Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Arts, the Ambassador was welcomed by Dean David Šanc and the Head of the Department of Middle Eastern Studies Veronika Sobotková who presented the new Master’s programme Development and Globalization, which is taught in English.

The Ambassador’s lecture on “Russia-Ukraine Crisis – The India View” was attended by dozens of students of the Faculty of Arts, the Dean David Šanc and several teachers. H. E. Shri Hemant Harishchandra Kotalwar mentioned the global importance of the Republic of India: the country currently chairs the G20 group of the world’s 20 largest economies and is also the most populous country on the planet. Because of the Republic of India’s neutrality, the country’s foreign policy is aligned neither with the West nor the East. India is trying to resolve the conflict peacefully by establishing a dialogue between Russia and Ukraine, actively contributing to efforts to end the armed conflict.

The Ambassador of the Republic of India was also welcomed by Rector Miroslav Lávička in his office. The meeting was attended by Petr Kavalíř, Director of the NTC Research Centre, Kateřina Newton, Expert Consultant for Internationalisation at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, and Romana Suchá, International Cooperation Specialist at the International Office.

The Ambassador said that students of India are very interested in studying technical fields abroad, currently mainly in Germany, and recommended promoting UWB at international trade fairs in India. The participants expressed interest in establishing more intensive contacts with India and assured the Ambassador that they would be happy to welcome Indian students not only in technical programmes, but at each of the six faculties that offer doctoral programmes in English. Petr Kavalíř, Director of NTC, also mentioned his participation in the mission of Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský and representatives of the Confederation of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic to India in February.

In the afternoon, the Ambassador visited the NTC research centre and toured the laboratories of advanced quantum materials, infrared technologies and electrochemical process engineering. With representatives of NTC and Pinflow Energy Storage, he discussed potential cooperation in the development of redox flow batteries. At the end of the visit, the Ambassador attended an informal debate with several Indian scientists employed at the NTC who had accompanied him throughout the visit of the research centre.