Indo-German Collaboration under DAAD: Advancing Research and Innovation in Vehicle Safety and Sustainable Mobility

The Department of Automobile Engineering, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science (HITS),
Chennai, in collaboration with Trier University of Applied Sciences (TUAS), Germany, successfully
completed a prestigious DAAD-funded project under the program “A New Passage to India –
German–Indian Higher Education Cooperation (2019–2023)”. This long-term partnership fostered
academic exchange, joint research, and student–faculty mobility between India and Germany.

The collaboration addressed key thematic areas such as vehicle safety, driver assistance systems,
traffic infrastructure, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through this initiative, HITS and
TUAS jointly conducted research on adaptive steering columns, advanced crash box design, driver
posture estimation, and traffic flow optimization at Chennai’s Sholinganallur Junction. The
partnership also facilitated multiple faculty visits, international seminars, and project investigations
in both countries, creating a vibrant ecosystem of applied learning and innovation.

Several joint publications in reputed journals emerged from the project, including studies on
adaptive restraint systems using magnetorheological fluids, crashworthiness enhancement in vehicle
crumple zones, and retrofit e-call systems for accident response—demonstrating tangible research
outcomes with global impact.

Over the five-year collaboration, students, research scholars, and faculty members from HITS gained
international exposure, technical expertise, and cross-cultural competencies through internships,
research stays, and co-supervised projects at TUAS. The program strengthened HITS’s commitment
to global engagement, fostering an academic environment that integrates sustainability, technology,
and safety research.

This Indo-German partnership stands as a model of transnational cooperation, contributing to the
development of future-ready engineers capable of addressing the challenges of safe and sustainable
mobility worldwide.