Media coverage
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Media coverage
Title https://www.tudelft.nl/en/2026/ide/january/tu-delft-signs-mou-wef2026 Degree of recognition International Media type Web Country/Territory Switzerland Date 29/01/26 Description On January 20, 2026, TU Delft signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The ceremony was personally presided over by the Hon. Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis, enabled by MMRDA’s Commissioner, Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee, and joined by TU Delft’s Abhigyan Singh.
Prior to the signing, Shankar Deshpande, Chief Investment and Planning Officer at the MMRDA, highlighted the importance of this new collaboration for Mumbai, as did Nabil Taouati, the Dutch Consul General in Mumbai. Ena Voûte, TU Delft Pro-Vice Rector International Affairs, shared the value added for TU Delft of further developing its living lab methodology in the Mumbai context.
As part of this MoU, TU Delft’s Faculties of Architecture and the Built Environment (BK) and Industrial Design Engineering (IDE) will work together with the MMRDA to develop and operationalise the Urban Living Lab (ULL) methodology at the Mumbai Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (MIAMS). MIAMS is envisioned as a flagship metropolitan-scale living lab, using real-life urban challenges of MMR to develop data-driven, technology-enabled, scalable, inclusive, and globally replicable solutions for metropolitan cities. It also builds on the expertise developed across TU Delft faculties and at the AMS Institute to collaboratively shape the ULL approach in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
Ena Voûte reflects: “We are pleased to collaborate on Urban Area development with the MMRDA. Development of and in large cities draws on a wide variety of expertise found here in TU Delft, ranging from civil engineering and architecture to urban development and design for the human scale – just to name a few. Through this collaboration we can make use of our experience as well as develop it further for the challenging setting in Mumbai.”
Abhigyan Singh from the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering looks back on the process that led to the signing: “It has been a privilege to coordinate and help initiate the process that led to this milestone. We had several productive meetings in Mumbai, where we explored key research topics and presented my work on urban living labs at TU Delft and AMS Institute, focusing on climate resilience, urban heat, clean energy, inclusivity, and digital twin technologies. I’m grateful for the teamwork and close collaboration that made this MoU possible. Partnership building is crucial.”
We at TU Delft are excited about this collaboration and committed to exploring meaningful avenues for research and innovation in Mumbai and India more broadly.URL https://www.tudelft.nl/en/2026/ide/january/tu-delft-signs-mou-wef2026 Persons A. Singh