NDMC delegation visits Leuven 22/6/2017

Leuven's relationship with Indian capital New Delhi bears fruit

The Indian capital New Delhi travels halfway around the world with 25 Indian officials and decision makers to gain knowledge and inspiration in Leuven. India House Leuven connects the Indian capital with Leuven. The focus is on sharing experiences and expertise in the field of new teaching methods in education and IT, ecological and sustainable maintenance of public green spaces and innovative technology for smarter cities.

Last year one of the drivers behind the India House Leuven, Alderman Mohamed Ridouani, went to India. He led a Leuven MindGate mission with medical toppers such as imec, UZ Leuven and Materialize. The successful mission and contacts of the India House Leuven in New Delhi now ensure an exchange with Indian officials and decision makers.

From Thursday, June 22, 2017, the city of Leuven received this delegation for 3 days. This was followed by, among other things, a uniquely adapted program for each target group.

In the context of improving the quality of life of a city (which is also the baseline of the Indian Smart Cities Mission), public greenery plays an important role. The intention is mainly to learn more about the ecological and sustainable maintenance of public green spaces, with a special focus on tree care and on the historical dimension of many of our green city areas. Hereby the 10 senior officials of the green service - from New Delhi also received theoretical training developed by Syntra (a Flemish vocational centre), and - in addition to our world famous herb garden, and the special framework of the Park Abbey - a trip to the historic orchard of the Gaasbeek Castle and the National Botanic Garden of Meise.

Finally, there were visits to companies and research institutions in Leuven: imec, Commscope, Option, Hydroscan, KU Leuven, Materialize, etc.