As part of the DAAD funded SDG partnership project “Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals - A comparative approach in India, Nepal, and Germany”, BELS students spent a semester abroad at Symbiosis Law School in Pune, India, from September to mid-December 2024.

Our students attended courses in English with professors from the host university to expand their academic knowledge, especially on topics related to sustainability. In particular, the students learned about the Indian legal perspective on sustainability and environmental law. Among other things, they also visited the company Praj Industries to deepen their knowledge of corporate social responsibility.

They also had the opportunity to implement practical measures to protect the environment and learn how global problems can be tackled at a local level. For example, they met with the founders of ExploreiT and were actively involved in conducting two plantation drives - one at a military ground in Pune and another at Deccan University College. Together with students from Symbiosis Law School, Pune, they planted a butterfly garden and initiated a tree planting group with them. These students in India are to implement further planting campaigns at the university in the long term. Through knowledge exchange, the German students have developed and passed on a comprehensive blueprint for the future planning and implementation of student planting campaigns.

In addition to academic knowledge and social commitment, they had the opportunity to get to know the Indian culture better. They discovered many famous cities such as Mumbai, Bangalore and Mysore. This gave them a deeper insight into India's social and cultural diversity.

We are happy about their successful stay.

The students for the DAAD SDG-2024 exchange project have visited the Symbiosis Law School in Pune, India. Kathmandu University - School of Law in Nepal is also part of this exchange project. The students for the 2025 exchange semester have already been nominated. We look forward to enabling more BELS students to take part in this exchange so that they can benefit from an international exchange. Students interested in participating in the 2026 project can contact Dr. Ruth Areli García-León (r-a.garcia-leon@ostfalia.de), coordinator of this project, for more information.