Mönchengladbach, 11 May. The Ambassador of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Karunatilaka Amunugama has now visited the Department of Textile and Clothing Technology at the University of Applied Sciences of Niederrhein. The two-hour meeting in Mönchengladbach focused on opportunities for cooperation between the biggest European department of textile and clothing technology and the island nation 200 km to the east of the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent.
There, tea alongside the rubber textile industry plays an important role. Ambassador Amunugama promoted the good production conditions of his country. "Textile is our most important industry and it will continue to grow", said the Ambassador. He was welcomed by university President Hans-Henning von Grünberg, Dean Prof. Rudolf Full, Vice Dean Prof. Lutz Vossebein and Prof. Jutta Wiedemann and Prof. Walter Harsch.
The Department of Textile and Clothing Technology has a broad base. Around 20 percent of students come from abroad, a bachelor's and a master's degree programme will be offered completely in English. There are agreements with numerous universities in over 20 countries, including a double degree agreement with the Tianjin Polytechnic University in China.
Further discussions between the faculty management and representatives of the local universities will show how exactly a cooperation between Sri Lanka and Mönchengladbach could look like. The target of Dean Voller is to establish a long-term cooperation with universities and companies. "We want to be able to offer already a semester abroad in Sri Lanka to our students in 2017."
The meeting was by Maria Andranikidou and Ann-Christin Wehmeyer of "Sri Lanka Bridge", an association for the promotion of economic relations between Germany and Sri Lanka.