PASCH-Alumni Meet 2019
28.11.2019 – 30.11.2019

The alumni from India and Sri Lanka were guided by Markus Rebitschek, European Youth Education and Meeting Place Weimar. At the end of the event, the participants were certified as "PASCH Ambassadors".

Day 1, Thursday, 28.11.2019

On 28.11.2019, the participants arrived at the venue. The event was opened after the arrival of the alumni and guests by

• Dr. Tabea Münchrath, Cultural Officer, German Embassy New Delhi
• Mr. Carl Jochen Dill, Head of Educational Services, Goethe-Institut New Delhi
• Dr. Ulrike Weingart, Consultant for German as a Foreign Language, Central Agency for Schools Abroad and
• Ms. Veronika Taranzinskaja, Project Manager PASCH South Asia, Goethe-Institut. 

Mr. Horst Scheuermann, Vice Consul & Deputy Head Visa Section, German Embassy New Delhi then gave an informative presentation on current visa information; such as the "National Visa" in Germany and "Schengen Visa" for students and interns.

In the further course of the afternoon (Alumni Session I), the participants got to know each other through various activities ("Name Bazaar", "Map of South Asia/India"). The aim was also to create a trusting working atmosphere between the participants and the team.

Already in this phase, however, one of the objectives was to make sure that each participant knew why he or she was taking part in the meeting (expectations questionnaire). Here the participants were asked to express themselves in writing on three flipcharts in the room on the following three questions ("silent discussion"): "Why am I really here?", "What do I need to really / fully be here?" as well as "For whom else is it important that I am here?" 



This was followed by a presentation of the objective of the meeting and an explanation of the program elements and program development. Ms. Nandita Isloorkar, student of Intercultural German Studies and PASCH-alumna shared her perspective and understanding of networking with the alumni present.

The following session "Working in Teams" aimed at the topics of motivation, trust and understanding of teamwork/working in a team. With the help of various large-scale images, so-called team metaphors by the Austrian coach Rabenstein, the participants were first asked to assign themselves to the image they feel they belong to ("where do you see yourself", "where do you feel most comfortable", "where can you contribute the most"). Following this, participants then worked in small groups on the questions: "strengths", "weaknesses", "typical patterns of interaction/collaboration", "personalities attracted/attracted". Afterwards, the reflection was continued by means of the following questions: 

• Which (of my) needs are met in such a team?
• Why do I really feel comfortable in such a team?
• With what and how do I contribute to such a team?  
• Where is the risk for me to be part of such a team?

The presentation of the joint work was postponed to the following day. After the joint dinner, the "Testing of Digital Offerings of the Goethe-Institut" was on the agenda, which was actively used by the participants.

Day 2, Friday, 29.11.2019

The day was opened by Mr. Hans Christian Winkler, Head of Press, German Embassy New Delhi. The first item on the agenda was the award ceremony: "School and Business" on the occasion of a video clip competition at PASCH schools.

An introduction to the topic of Indo-German trade relations was given by Sonia Prashar, Deputy General Manager of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, AHK. Highlight of the morning was the following panel discussion "School - Economy - Language" with subsequent question and answer session, which was moderated by Peter Gerhardt, ARD. The high-ranking guests of the discussion were:

• Sonia Praschar, Deputy General Manager of the German-Indian Chamber of Commerce, AHK
• George Ettiyil, Managing Director Lufthansa, South Asia
• Oliver Mirza, Chief Executive Officer, South Asia
• Nandita Isloorkar, PASCH-Alumna and student of Intercultural German Studies, Göttingen  
• Manpreet Kaur, PASCH - Alumna and student of Business Mathematics, University of Marburg, Germany

After lunch Ishika D'Monty, Scholarship Officer DAAD Regional Office New Delhi informed the participants in detail about studying in Germany. This information was then supplemented by Manpreet Kaur, PASCH alumna and student of business mathematics, University of Marburg with information on background and practice from the area of "Studienkollegs".

After the coffee break, the alumni had the opportunity to inform themselves in breadth on the topic of "Living and studying in Germany" by means of various information booths. Present were:

• Romina Liesel Elbracht, Project Officer, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (tbc)
• Oliver Gobert, Administrative Sciences, Bachelor, Leipzig and Higher Institute of Management Sciences", FernUni Hagen
• Andreas Balz, student teacher Mainz, "Schulwärts", initiative of the Goethe-Institut
• Denise Litzrodt, student teacher, Halle "Schulwärts", initiative of the Goethe-Institut
• Valentina Bourgue, student of political science, Freiburg, AHK - Wolfgang Löffler, law student Bayreuth, AHK
• Nandita Islookar, PASCH alumna, Intercultural German Studies, Göttingen
• Manpreet Kaur, PASCH - Alumna and student of Business Mathematics, University Marburg

In the subsequent alumni session, the work results of the small groups from the previous day were presented and reflected upon. Under the title "Meine Wege zu PASCH" the participants were asked to reflect on their individual paths, stations and turning points by means of a graphic or creative representation. From this step, the participants individually generated their suggestions for future, concrete project ideas, which are to be taken up again in follow-up events.

After dinner, the team and participants spent time together under the title "PASCH sucht den Superstar - Karaoke Singwettbewerb".

Day 3, Saturday 30.11.2019

The third and last program day of the event started quite early in the morning for some of the participants, as besides a yoga session also a morning hike into the surrounding area of the venue was offered.  

After this start of the day, opening and program introduction, the participants received detailed information about the training and internship in Germany by Isabell Jenninger, Pro Recognition, AHK. One of the main goals of the event was the further development of a PASCH Alumni concept for the South Asia region. In this sense, the focus was on the development or further development of online offers or online tools by means of a needs & interests survey of the participants. The following suggestions were collected with the participants:

The goal of the next program item was the inquiry of further / additional modules in the PASCH ambassador training and other needs for a future, successful alumni work. The task of the team was to moderate the discussion and to record the results. The task was explicitly not to evaluate ideas already expressed (good, bad, feasible, not feasible, etc.) but to record and structure them. To support the discussion process, the following questions were open for discussion: 

• Which offers, activities, etc. are needed to make the PASCH Alumni Network "flourish" in a sustainable way?
• Which offers (trainings, etc.) do you need as alumni to be able to successfully carry out / implement PASCH projects?
• What other suggestions, wishes & ideas do you have for the network?

A special moment was the awarding of the participation certificates and the nomination of the participants as PASCH Ambassadors by the team of the event. Afterwards, the event was evaluated by the participants through different posters.

The meeting ended with the joint lunch.