Monday, November 8, 2010

Artsy end to a creative Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week

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.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Nobel Memorial Activities in Delhi that are open to public

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

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Ericsson's head of region on Nobel Memorial Week:

"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!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Presentation of the winners from the Bengaluru qualifying quiz round

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

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."

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

The Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Quiz

 – 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 18th
  • Pune September 26th  
  • Mumbai September 25th
  • Delhi October 23rd

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


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
Register at        :           rvce.sweden2010@gmail.com
Contact Person  :           Mr. Nakul Sangolli
Mobile No.         :           9902825431


Mumbai          

Date                 :           25th September, 2010
Time                 :           0900 hrs
Venue               :           I.I.T. Mumbai
                                    Powai
Register at        :           nobelquizmumbai@gmail.com
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
Register at        :           sweden2010@pcmrd.org
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
Register at        :           georgia.morrison@foreign.ministry.se
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

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."