18. October 2013
Scholarship Holder Meeting on 23rd September 2013 in Bangalore | India

Scholarship holder Meeting in India

For the first time we organized a scholarship holder meeting in India. There, since long students of theology and philosophy are supported. Their aim is a master's or doctorate degree. Twelve scholarship holders participated at the meeting; some could not attend it due to exams.

The meeting at the Franciscan Institute for Spirituality in Bangalore took place in a very friendly and pleasant atmosphere. For the first time, the scholarship holders spoke personally with representatives of the MWI. For the scholarship holders the financial support became a personal encounter, and vice versa for Dr. Meuthrath, Head of the Asia Department, and for Dr. Suermann, Director of the Institute. We, the representatives of the MWI have been impressed by the engagement of the scholarship holders in their studies. All of them are persuaded that the place of study, i.e. India is well chosen. It might be true that the equipment of the universities is not comparable to European ones, but the studying conditions and the contents are much closer to the reality which they will also find later for their work. This closeness to real life is a big advantage of the formation in India. They only want to go to Europe or America for a short research, to consult the literacy or to interview experts.

During the meeting the scholarship holders presented their thesis' themes and told us about their difficulties and their study successes. But we also talked about their future tasks. The MWI reported about its work with the scholarship holders as well as about the support for research and conferences. It was also important to inform them about our donators, who are the ones to enable the work of the MWI, and about the necessary cooperation concerning our advertising.

This short personal encounter will positively influence the mentoring of the scholarship holders and in a longer term, they will have stronger relationships with the MWI and thereby also with the German Church.

Text: Harald Suermann

Traduction: Nadine Albrecht