International partnerships rarely begin with a signature; they begin with a visit. On 8 and 9 September 2026, the Center for International Relations and Research (CIRR) at Parul University hosted Prof. Dr. Ulrich Moosheimer, Professor for Printing Technology and Innovation and International Department Manager at Munich University of Applied Sciences (MUAS), Germany, under its Visiting Delegate Program. It was his first visit to India, to Vadodara, and to Parul University, giving the engagement a genuinely introductory character.
Prof. Moosheimer is a specialist in printing technology with a growing focus on print electronics, an emerging field distinct from traditional publication printing. He also serves as a board member of OE-A Directors and as international manager for his faculty at MUAS, giving him both the research depth and the administrative remit that make a visit like this productive. The programme, coordinated by CIRR under its Director Dr. Preeti Nair, with Assistant Directors Mr. Prince Rathod and Dr. Bindi Thakkar, was designed to introduce him to the university and to identify concrete areas where the two institutions might collaborate.
Two Days on Campus
The visit moved from the general to the specific. It opened with a campus tour and a traditional welcome at PU Circle, followed by a meeting with the Provost, Prof. Dr. K. N. Madhusoodanan, who gave an overview of the university’s academic and international programmes. Prof. Moosheimer visited the Skill Lab and drone-related facilities, and held one of the visit’s most substantive conversations with Dr. Bhaskar Mitra, Dean of the Faculty of Design, where his printing specialism formed a natural connection. Day two brought a meeting with the Faculty of Management Studies (Dr. Jitendra Sharma, Dr. Amrita Singh, and Dr. Ashutosh Verma), a visit to the Micro Nano Research and Development Center (MNRDC), and a concluding meeting with the university’s President, Dr. Devanshu Patel, and Vice President, Dr. Geetika Madan Patel.
The Micro Nano Lab Steals the Show
If one moment defined the visit, it was the tour of the Micro Nano Research and Development Center (MNRDC). Prof. Moosheimer singled it out as the most impressive laboratory he saw, praising its new analytical tools and describing it as a very well-equipped lab.
The Micro Nano Research and Development Center was the most impressive of the laboratories, a very well equipped lab with new analytical tools.
– Prof. Dr. Ulrich Moosheimer
He distinguished it from the student-education facilities seen earlier, noting the MNRDC’s particular value for analytics and research support. There, he met Dr. Anand Joshi, head of a research centre, who outlined research areas overlapping with work at MUAS, and extended an invitation for Prof. Moosheimer to attend an “IC Summit” planned for 2027, to be formalised by email. It made the MNRDC the single point in the visit most directly linked to a concrete future opportunity.
Planning to dive deep in the research field and engineering then join B.Tech and M.Tech courses.
Avenues Explored
Across the two days, several possible forms of collaboration were discussed, each an idea to be pursued rather than a finalised plan:
- A joint research paper on printing technology, proposed by Dr. Bhaskar Mitra, with Prof. Moosheimer to consider it on follow-up.
- Semester exchange for management students (BBA and MBA), with an indicative three to four students.
- Full-time postgraduate exchange of Parul University Master’s students into MUAS’s Master in Nano programme, an option MUAS indicated it had begun evaluating.
- A faculty and visiting-professor exchange, which Prof. Moosheimer would take to his MUAS colleagues.
- Participation in the IC Summit 2027, pending a formal invitation and his availability.
A Meeting of Structures
Part of what made the discussions productive was a sense of compatibility. Prof. Moosheimer observed that the two universities’ academic structures fit together well, comparable lecture formats, similar faculties, and entrepreneurship centres at both, despite clear differences: English at Parul University versus German at MUAS, a student body he estimated at roughly five times larger at Parul, and a residential campus model at Parul against MUAS’s city-based structure in Munich. That the two found genuine common ground across such differences suggests the visit identified real structural alignment, not just warm hospitality.
A Foundation, Not a Finish Line
It is important to be clear about what the visit was, and was not. No formal agreement was signed. What the two days produced was an exploratory, relationship-building engagement and, in the concluding leadership meeting, an in-principle expression of intent to work toward a bilateral agreement on the parameters discussed. Each avenue carries an identified next step, an email, an internal review, a formal invitation, rather than a concluded commitment. In the language of international partnerships, this was a strong and promising first step, the kind on which lasting collaborations are built. For Parul University, it was a chance to present its research infrastructure to an international partner and open several complementary conversations at once; for Prof. Moosheimer, a first direct encounter with a large Indian residential university and two concrete points of research alignment, in printing and in nanotechnology-related work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Prof. Dr. Ulrich Moosheimer?
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Moosheimer is Professor for Printing Technology and Innovation and International Department Manager at Munich University of Applied Sciences (MUAS), Germany, with a research focus on print electronics. He is also a board member of OE-A Directors. He visited Parul University on 8-9 September 2026 under the university’s Visiting Delegate Program, his first visit to India.
Did Parul University and MUAS sign an agreement?
No formal agreement was signed during the visit. It was an exploratory, relationship-building engagement, and university leadership expressed an in-principle intent to work toward a bilateral agreement on the areas discussed. Several collaboration avenues, including joint research, student exchange, and faculty exchange, were discussed as ideas to be pursued through follow-up, rather than concluded commitments.
What collaboration areas were discussed?
The discussions covered a joint research paper on printing technology, semester exchange for management (BBA and MBA) students, full-time exchange of Master’s students into MUAS’s Master in Nano programme, a faculty and visiting-professor exchange, and Prof. Moosheimer’s possible participation in an “IC Summit” in 2027, each at a discussion or proposal stage.
