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Austrian Ambassador to India Robert Zischg on Tuesday stressed the need to ensure Indian students feel at home while pursuing higher education in Austria, highlighting a dedicated onboarding programme designed to prevent students from feeling lonely as part of the India-Austria mobility partnership.
In an interview with ANI, Zischg said one of the most significant initiatives under the India-Austria Memorandum on Mobility and Migration, signed in 2023, is a programme that brings Indian students to Austria while preparing them academically, culturally and socially for life in the country. "In 2023, we signed a memorandum on mobility and migration, which is also fairly comprehensive. What is actually one of the nicest projects which I have been accompanying since I arrived here is bringing Indian students to Austria," he said. According to the Ambassador, the initiative is led by Technical Universities Austria--a consortium comprising the Technical University of Vienna, the Technical University of Graz and the Technical University of Leoben--and is being implemented in collaboration with several Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), including those in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. He stated that the programme goes beyond classroom education by ensuring students are familiar with Austrian culture and daily life before they relocate, recognising that for many it is their first experience of living abroad. Explaining the significance of the onboarding component, Zischg said Indian students already studying in Austria help new arrivals settle into their surroundings by introducing them to Austrian customs, showing them around their cities and helping them build a social network. "So there are already some Indian students there who will introduce them to Austrian customs and they take them to the local pubs and show them around. So they do not feel lonely, because this is something which many students experienced in the past when they went somewhere; there was no network, and then you find out, 'I'm alone,'" he said. "And that is with that onboarding programme we want to prevent. We want the Indian students to really feel at home in Austria. And then they might come back; they might stay in Austria. So it is, I think, a beautiful programme," he added. The Ambassador said the initiative has begun this semester and will be expanded to all three participating Austrian universities in the next winter semester. Describing mobility as an important pillar of India-Austria relations, Zischg said the partnership is not limited to economic cooperation but is also aimed at strengthening people-to-people ties. "It's not only about trade; it's about bringing people together," he said, adding that Austria is also looking to create legal pathways for skilled professionals. He said migration should be viewed more positively while remaining well-managed and beneficial for both countries. "We need to move beyond simply rhetoric and have this topic of migration, which, of course for many reasons, is negatively associated in many quarters, to give it positive momentum because migration has always been a phenomenon also in Europe. People migrate. But of course it needs to be in a very controlled manner so that both sides, the recipient countries and the sending countries, are happy with it," he stated. The Ambassador also called for more high-ranking political exchanges to further deepen bilateral ties and expand trade and investment. Looking ahead, Zischg expressed hope that political engagement between the two countries would continue to grow. "In the political realm, I would hope that we will have more high-ranking visits from Austria to India," he said. He said Austria's Economy Minister is expected to visit India again early next year, while a visit by Austria's Foreign Minister could take place later this year or early next year. He also expressed hope that ministers from the Indian government would travel to Austria. The Ambassador said boosting trade and investment would remain one of the embassy's top priorities, noting that around 160 Austrian companies already have subsidiaries in India. "We have already got 160 Austrian companies with subsidiaries here. So this for us is already a very significant number," he said, adding that there remains substantial scope to expand commercial ties. He also voiced optimism over the proposed India-European Union Free Trade Agreement, saying lower tariffs and reduced non-tariff barriers would help unlock greater economic cooperation. Describing bilateral ties as being "at an all-time high", Zischg cited Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker's recent visit to India--the first by an Austrian Chancellor in 42 years--along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Vienna in July 2024 as milestones that have elevated India-Austria relations to a new level. "The two visits have really put Austrian-Indian relations on a really new level," he said, adding that they reflect the shared political will to strengthen cooperation in both strategic and economic spheres. (ANI)
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