Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week

Artsy end to a creative Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week

2010-11-08T13:08:00.002+05:30

An art party with some thousand guests in the garden of the Ambassador marked the end to an extensive Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week, in which seminars, round tables, lectures, a food festival, performances, quizzes, and exhibits had featured Indo-Swedish food for thought, body and soul.

Guests of honor were the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Ms. Praneet Kaur and the Swedish Minister for Enterprise and Energy, Ms. Maud Olofsson.

The Ministers, along with other guests were served Indo-Swedish entertainment, by Swedish Idol Sibel, the immensely popular Bombay Vikings and the cover band Black Slade. Bombay Vikings’ lead singer Neeraj Shidhar, lived in Sweden for many years and the performance was his gift to what he calls his “father land”.

The Ambassador of Sweden to India, Mr. Lars-Olof Lindgren after the performance awarded Neeraj Shidhar a glass sculpture with a hand etched copper Dala Horse by Atul Bakshi, specially crafted for the Embassy of Sweden.

To capture the theme of the Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week 2010 – creativity and innovation – the theme for the party was art. The art, like the entertainment and the food, was chosen to underline the Indo-Swedish cooperation. Indian glass artist Atul Bakshi, displayed his works together with Swedish glass artists Bertil Vallien and Kjell Engman. Atul Bakshi had for the party created an 8 feet long sculpture called Mor Matsya, in which Swedish innovations were showcased along with iconic logos of Swedish companies and traditional Swedish artefacts. The name of the sculpture is derived from the Swedish word for mother and the Sanskrit word for fish, which is the first avatar of Vishnu, the preserver.

Also on display was an art photo exhibit, in which the finalists of the photo competition Swedish Innovations – Indian Interpretations were displayed. The winning photograph “Acceptance of Technology Irrespective of Age” featured the Bluetooth.

The photographer Barkath Ali Khan was presented with a large flight ticket from Turkish Airlines at the party.

This coming spring, Mr. Khan will go to Sweden to visit the Hasselblad Academy in Gothenborg, and Fotografiska in Stockholm.

The extensive program and the individual events of the Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week 2010 were featured extensively in Indian media, making the efforts of the Embassy and the fifteen partner companies and organizations well worth wile.

Nobel Memorial Activities in Delhi that are open to public

2010-10-20T09:29:00.001+05:30

During the Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week, several interesting activities will take place, and a number of them in Delhi. the events are open to public and, unless otherwise stated, free of charge (this does not apply to the restaurant activities at Olive Beach or the concert by Sibel at Kuki nightclub).

(Please note that there is a limitation in the number of seats for the seminars and the concert. A policy of first come, first serve will apply.)

WELCOME!!!

Ongoing Activities

Oct 25-28	Art Photo exhibit “Swedish Innovations – Indian Interpretations”. Swedish innovations captured and interpreted by Indian photographers. The result of a nation-wide photo contest. Venue: India Habitat Centre, the Experimental Art Gallery
Oct 25-31	Swedish Food Festival at the restaurant Olive Beach. The Swedish chef, Mark Phoenix, who is one of the chefs behind the Nobel Banquet, is in town and has prepared a Swedish a la carte menue exclusively for Olive Beach, where he will also cook throughout the week. Venue: Olive Beach, Hotel Diplomat, 9 Sardar Patel Marg, Chanakyapuri
Oct 25-31	Exhibit of Nobel Prize Diplomas. Actual sketches and tools from the creation process, as well as replicas of Indian Nobel Laurents’ diplomas. Venue: India Habitat Centre, the Convention Foyer.

Special Events

Oct 23	Concert by the Swedish Fusion Band Mynta at RENDEZVOUS 2010, the annual cultural festival organized by IIT Delhi. Please contact IIT festival coordinator Mr. Shriram at 9899238968 to investigate possibilities of attending the concert. Time and venue: 5:00 pm at Dogra Hall, IIT Delhi, Hauz Khas.
Oct 25	Learn to Cook Like a Swede at the Olive Beach restaurant. Time and venue: 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm at the Olive Beach, Hotel Diplomat, 9 Sardar Patel Marg, Chanakyapuri
Oct 25	Seminar and Panel Discussion on Energy Challenges for the Future. Speakers: Dr. Tomas Kåberger, Director General, Swedish Energy Agency; Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General, Bureau of Energy Efficiency; Dr. Anders Wijkman, Vice President, Club of Rome. Time and venue: 7:00 pm in the Casuarina Hall, India Habitat Centre
Oct 27	Talk on the Creation of Nobel Prize Diplomas and the development of the diplomas over the years. Speakers: Ms. Annika Rücker, Swedish contemporary artist and creator of Amartya Sen’s Nobel Prize diploma; and Mr. Oscar Aschan, Swedish art historian. Time and venue: 7:00 pm in the Casuarina Hall, India Habitat Centre
Oct 28	Schnapps Tasting at the Olive Beach restaurant. Time and venue: 7:00 pm onwards at the Olive Beach, Hotel Diplomat, 9 Sardar Patel Marg, Chanakyapuri
Oct 29	Concert by immensely popular Swedish artist Sibel (tbc). Sibel is known from Swedish Idol, who is just about to release a new album. Organized in special cooperation with Saab. Entrance fees may apply. Kindly contact Kuki nightclub for more extensive information. Time and venue: 10:00 pm at the night club Kuki, Masjid Mofth Community Centre, next to Smoke House Grill, GK-2.
Oct 30	A Musical Exposé of Opera, Classical Swedish Tunes and Contemporary Music by Swedish tenor and Jussi Björling scholar Mr. Mats Carlsson and Swedish pianist Mr. Michael Engström. Time and venue: 4:00 pm at the Teen Murti Auditorium of Nerhu Memorial Library.
Oct 31	Guided Walk of the Nobel Prize Diplomas Exhibit. Guide: Swedish art historian Mr. Oscar Aschan Time and venue: 10:00 am in the Convention Foyer of the India Habitat Centre.
Oct 31	Swedish Brunch at the Olive Beach restaurant. Time and venue: 12:00 pm onwards at the Olive Beach, Hotel Diplomat, 9 Sardar Patel Marg, Chanakyapuri

Ericsson's head of region on Nobel Memorial Week:

2010-10-06T14:23:00.000+05:30

"We are extremely delighted to be a part of the Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week, paying tribute to the importance of creating and stimulating innovative environment for companies. We believe continuous innovation is as important for people, business and societies today as it was in the times of Alfred Nobel. It is a memorable occasion to renew the ties that Sweden and India share with Ericsson being in India for over 100 years now. We are extremly proud to be associated with the celebration", says Gowton Achaibar, Head of region, Ericsson India.

On this year's theme of innovation and creativity, he says:
"Creativity and innovation are vital part of our DNA. Ericsson lays great emphasis on innovation beyond technology. It is our quest to understand the problems of our customers and solving them in new creative ways providing them unmatched value proposition."

As you may hear, a partner to count on!

Presentation of the winners from the Bengaluru qualifying quiz round

2010-10-05T12:18:00.002+05:30

Rahul Gupta, Sudarshan MA and Vineet Raj from R.V. College of Engineering (RVCE) won the Bangalore qualifying round of the Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Inter Collegiate Quiz competition. The team beat 75 other teams from different colleges in the city in the quiz competition, hosted by quiz master Adittya Nath Mubavi.

The happy winners of the Bengaluru edition will be representing the city in the Grand Finale in New Delhi on October 23. Rahul Gupta, Sudarshan MA and Vineet Raj, said they felt proud to win the event and had prepared for it by going through news from Sweden. Asked for their winning strategy, the team answered: “Prepare a lot more!”

Invest Sweden - Nobel Memorial Week partner for the first time

2010-10-05T11:19:00.000+05:30

The turn has come to introduce Invest Sweden, another of the new partner organisations of the Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week 2010. When asked about their main motivation for joining the initiative, Srikant Illuri, Country Head of Invest Sweden in India, points at Nobel Memorial Week's linkage to innovation, as well at the emphasis of Sweden-India relations:

"At Invest Sweden, innovation lies at the heart of what we communicate. Here in India, our aim is to connect Indian companies to the best business opportunities in Sweden. Thus, it is important for us to inform our clients about Sweden's innovative culture and business climate, as it offers the perfect complement to the companies we actively work with here."

The Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Quiz

2010-09-15T14:55:00.001+05:30

– A contest where knowledge about knowledge is rewarded and a trip to Sweden is at stake!

Are you interested in an internship with a well-renown Swedish company? Or have you simply always dreamt of visiting Sweden? If so, this is an opportunity you can’t miss out on!

The Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Quiz brings together quizzers from esteemed colleges and technical Institutes for an Inter-Collegiate Quiz in a battle where minds prevail over muscles. Quiz master is the quizzing icon, Mr. Adittya Nath Mubayi.

At stake is an all-expenses paid trip to Sweden with special visits to some of the Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week partner companies, as well as chances for internships with these prestigious companies.

Preliminary rounds will be held in:

Bengaluru September 18^th
Pune September 26^th
Mumbai September 25^th
Delhi October 23^rd

The winning team from each preliminary round will be invited to the Grand Finale, which will be held at IIT Delhi on October 23^rd.

How to ensure a spot in the contest?

Each team should consists of three students. Please note that there are no restrictions on the number of teams per college. The team members should register himself/herself with his/her complete name, contact number, mobile number and c-mail id. The applications shall be sent to contact the person of the city in question.

Details about the venues

Bangalore

Date : 18th September, 2010

Time : 1330 hrs

Venue : R.V. College of Engineering

R.V. Vidyaniketan Post

Mysore Road

Bangalore - 560 059

Contact Person : Mr. Nakul Sangolli

Mobile No. : 9902825431

Mumbai

Date : 25th September, 2010

Time : 0900 hrs

Venue : I.I.T. Mumbai

Powai

Contact Person : Mr. Mukund Madhav

Mobile No. : 9930735131

Pune

Date : 26th September, 2010

Time : 1100 hrs

Venue : Pravara Centre for Management Research and Development

Off Senapati Bapat Road

Near Patrakar Nagar

Pune 411016

Contact Person : Ms. Anagha Kalay

Phone No. : 020 25651104, 25651499

Delhi

Date : 23rd October, 2010

Time : 0900 hrs

Venue : I.I.T. Delhi, I.I.T. Gate

Hauz Khas

New Delh 110016

Contact Person : Ms. Georgia Morrison

Contact Nos. : 44197127

Mobile : 9811228434

There will also be on the spot registration between 0800 hrs and 0900 hrs and the Quiz will begin at 0900 hrs.

Remember to register well in time to avoid last minute hassle!

Introduction of one of the new partner companies

2010-09-15T09:25:00.000+05:30

SEB is a new partner company for Nobel Memorial Week. When asked about the company's reasons for joining in the Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week partnership, Jörgen Sjöström, SEB's managing director in India, refers to the innovation focus of the week:

"At SEB, innovation is an important tradition. Entrepreneurial spirit characterizes SEB in many ways and has done so from the very beginning. After more than 150 years as a financial partner to both companies and private individuals, the bank still has the same goals: to meet the needs of the future and encourage growth through new solutions and technology."

Sweden excels in competitiveness

2010-09-10T09:45:00.001+05:30

The World Economic Forum's Competitiveness Ranking was published yesterday. In it, Sweden ranks as the world's second most competitive country after Switzerland. “Sweden has many strengths, including excellent institutional environment, transparent governance and low corruption. In addition to all these things, it’s focusing on education and is highly innovative”, says Jennifer Blanke, the head of the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Network.

Add to that the spirit of creativity!

Last day to submit pics for photo contest!!!

2010-09-08T09:21:00.002+05:30

Dont' forget!
A trip to Sweden is at stake!
The chance to get exhibited and published!

Swedish Innovations - Indian Interpretations

The Swedish innovations are out there,
the Indian interpretations are with you!

All entries by Indian nationals are welcome!

Håkan Kingstedt, MD of Sandvik: Why are you a Nobel Memorial Week Partner?

2010-09-07T11:12:00.004+05:30

"The Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week is a platform to share, showcase important areas for future business development and strengthen relations between India and Sweden. The ‘Nobel’ brand signifies high quality and it is supported by high level participants. At Sandvik we are very glad to support the initiative taken by the Embassy together with the partner companies."

Thank you, Mr. Kingstedt! It is a pleasure to work with you to further strengthen the India-Sweden relations!

For those of you who are not familiar with the exact business of Sandvik: Sandvik is a global industrial group with advanced products and world-leading positions in selected areas – tools for metal cutting, equipment and tools for the mining and construction industries, stainless materials, special alloys, metallic and ceramic resistance materials as well as process systems. In 2009 the Group had about 44,000 employees and representation in 130 countries, with annual sales of over INR 43 000 crores.

Short Q&A with Jan Widerström from Saab

2010-09-07T11:01:00.001+05:30

Saab is one of the companies that have partnered up for Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week ever since the initiative started in year 2007. Why is that, Jan Widerström, Vice President for Saab and Head of the Asia-Pacific Region?

"The Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week is a tribute to Alfred Nobel and an opportunity to nourish the bilateral relations between India and Sweden, countries that share a history of global peace initiatives. For a better and safer future, we at Saab are looking to establish those relations even deeper.", says Jan Widerström.

And could you please describe Saab, for those of our blog followers who are not yet familiar with the company?

"Saab serves the global market with world-leading products, services and solutions ranging from military defence to civil security. Throughout our history we have always been at the forefront of change, and we will keep pushing boundaries to create better solutions for an ever-changing world."

Sounds fab! Thanks, Mr. Widerström.

Nobel Laureats of Indian Origin or Citizenship

2010-08-31T12:38:00.003+05:30

India has produced quite a few Nobel Laureats over the years.
This year, not least due to the celebration of his 150th birthday, Rabindranath Tagore may be the first one that comes to mind, but there are many others. (And of the Nobel Laureats over the years that are NOT of Indian origin or citizenship, quite a few have had strong ties to India nonetheless, through their reseach, or because of personal interests in the country.)

1902 Ronald Ross was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

1907 Rudyard Kipling was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature
1913 Rabindranath Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature
1930 Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics
1968 Hargobind Khorana was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
1979 Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
1983 Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics
1998 Amartya Sen was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics
2001 V.S. Naipaul was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature
2009 Venkatraman "Venki" Ramakrishnan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Sweden has also produced a number of Nobel Laureats. The latest in the line is Arvid Carlsson, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in year 2000.

Photo competition: Swedish Innovations - Indian Interpretations

2010-08-30T16:46:00.003+05:30

Invitation for entries to juried photo exhibit “Swedish Innovations – Indian Interpretations”.
Entries accepted until September 8th, 2010.

There is a multitude of Swedish innovations, many of which are present in the lives of Indian people in one way or the other. As part of the Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week, a juried exhibit of photographs, in which Indian photographers capture these innovations, will be organized.

This competition/ exhibition is open to amateurs as well as professionals.

Background
This year, Nobel Memorial Week will feature creativity as a driving force for innovations. As part of this, Indian photographers are invited to artistically capture and interpret Swedish innovations (in an Indian context or the interpretation in general – this is up to the each photographer). Ten photographs will be selected for the exhibit, which will be first displayed on the Nobel Memorial week party on October 30, 2010, hosted by the Ambassador of Sweden to India. Close to one thousand influential members of society will thereby get to see the photographs already on the opening day. The exhibit will afterwards be screened in the Swedish Trade Commission, among other places.

The photos will be featured with the names of the photographers in a booklet of “Swedish Innovations, Indian Interpretations”. One photographer will be honored with a round-trip ticket to the capital of Sweden, Stockholm.

The jury will consist of Indian cultural profiles, and the Ambassador of Sweden to India. The decision of the jury cannot be overruled.

Guidelines:
Entries should be in landscape format.

Each entry should be sent in a 8x12 inch print, marked on the backside with the name of the work (also indicating the innovation being captured), the name of the photographer, e-mail address and telephone number.

Photograph should be taken by the photographer himself/ herself. Photographs taken by other people or downloaded from the net or taken from an existing work by someone else will be disqualified.

Attach a letter in which you briefly describe yourself and give your contact details, including e-mail address.

Do not attach the original or electronic files in the application.

Photographers that are selected for the exhibit will be contacted in September and requested to send their high resolution photo in a file on a DVD or CD. If this has not reached the Embassy within 7 days, the photographer has forfeited his or her place.

Entries arriving at the Embassy of Sweden after September 8 will not be considered.

Winners will be contacted by e-mail on or before September 30.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact Ms. Urvinder Kaur at urvinder.kaur@foreign.ministry.se.

Applications should be marked "Nobel Memorial Week Photo Competition" and sent to:

Embassy of Sweden
Attention: Sara Aulin
4-5 Nyaya Marg, Chanakyapuri
New Delhi, 110 021

Applications can also be handed in in the reception of the Embassy of Sweden in New Delhi during opening hours.

Applications will not be returned.

The Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week background

2010-08-30T16:38:00.006+05:30

The Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week was instituted in year 2007, by the Ambassador of Sweden to India, H.E. Mr. Lars-Olof Lindgren, in cooperation with a number of selected representatives of Swedish industry in India. The week celebrates innovations, creativity and entrepreneurship, Swedish contributions to the development of the world and the fruitful Indian-Swedish relations.

The week also celebrates the legacy of Swedish inventor and philantropist Alfred Nobel, who at his death in 1896 donated the majority of his personal wealth to a trust, from which annual prizes were to be given to those who had made the greatest contribution to mankind during the proceding year. So has happened since 1901.

Over the century that has passed, the importance of innovations and scientific as well as cultural strides has increased rather than declined. Innovations have become key to solving challenges that the world faces, as well as instruments to enhance the chances of a global development that benefits all and does so in a sustainable manner. It is therefore little surprise that Ambassador Lindgren, and his colleagues from the business community felt it was time to make Sweden's contributions to the development of the world known in India. Also, as curiosity is at heart of all innovations, the ideas was not only to share with the Indian society the Swedish experience, but also to learn from the Indian society about solutions for the future.

To date, there are over 33 500 patented Swedish innovations, and the development is spurred by a national innovation system. Products like the steam turbine, the ball bearing, the gas powered beacon and the adjustable wrench all helped transform the country from an agrarian to an industrialized society in the absolute technological forefront.

Today, the urgency of protecting the environment has boosted many new products and services and many of the recent innovations are in the fields of renewable energy, waste management and sustainable transports. There are also innumerable innovations in the field of communications and mobile services, aimed at the needs of people in the computer age. One of these is Skype, the free Internet calling service.

During the Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week, the focus is to capture the importance of innovations to a sustainable development of the world. And the communication from the organizers is that creativity and culture are key elements in innovations. We hope you will follow us on an exciting Sweden-India focused innovation week in the end of October!