A home, not just
an association.
Founded in 2014 by six students from Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi, ISAK is now Koblenz's largest cultural student body — a registered e.V. with 340+ members from 17 Indian states. We run on volunteers, samosas, and the conviction that you shouldn't have to figure out a new country alone.
Started over chai in a dorm in 2014.
Six students. One pressure cooker. A shared frustration with German bureaucracy — Anmeldung, blocked accounts, Schufa, the works — and an unshakeable hunger for ghar-ka-khaana that the mensa couldn't satisfy.
Arjun, Preethi, Karthik, Sonal, Dev and Manasi registered ISAK as an informal study group in October 2014. By December, they'd organized the first unofficial Diwali dinner in a rented community hall. Forty people showed up. Nobody had expected forty.
Twelve years and one registered Verein later, ISAK now has 340+ active members, a nine-person elected board, a partnership with the Indian Embassy in Berlin, and a Diwali celebration that books out the Audimax every November.
We're still about chai, mostly. Just a lot more of it — and with a much better pressure cooker.
Twelve years, one
growing family.
From six students with a pressure cooker to a registered Verein with 340 members, a board of nine, and a Diwali that sells out the Audimax.
Six students, one pressure cooker
ISAK founded as an informal study and community group. First Diwali dinner in a rented community hall — 40 people showed up. Nobody had expected 40.
First official Diwali Night
Moved to a real venue. Live classical dance performances, rangoli competition, 120 attendees from the university and city. ISAK put on the campus map.
Registered as eingetragener Verein
ISAK becomes ISAK e.V. — a legally recognized association. Constitution drafted, first formal board elected, bank account opened. Now eligible for institutional support.
Career program launched
First German CV Workshop and alumni network established. Three partner companies sign MoUs. Twelve ISAK members land Werkstudent roles in the first cohort.
Navigating the pandemic together
ISAK pivots entirely online. Virtual Diwali Night reaches 280 viewers — students from across Germany tune in. The WhatsApp welfare line becomes a lifeline for isolated students.
250 members milestone
Fastest-growing semester: 80 new members in one intake. Holi on the Rhine event at Deutsches Eck draws 300+ attendees from outside the university. First media coverage in the Rhein-Zeitung.
Embassy partnership & scholarship fund
Cultural diplomacy partnership signed with the Indian Embassy in Berlin. First ISAK Merit Scholarship of €1,500 awarded to an outstanding final-year student.
340 members, 17 states
Today. Our biggest year yet. Diwali Night 2026 is already sold out. The Welcome programme has welcomed 80+ students this semester alone. And the chai is still terrible — but the company is perfect.
Three things,
repeated daily.
Belonging
From the first WhatsApp message — "which bus goes to the Ausländerbehörde?" — to the last farewell party after graduation. Nobody navigates Koblenz alone as long as ISAK exists.
Roots & wings
We celebrate every Indian language, faith, cuisine and region — Tamil, Punjabi, Bengali, Malayali, all of it. And we build bridges with our German hosts, neighbours and classmates.
Pay-it-forward
Today's seniors become tomorrow's mentors. The second-year student who helped you find a flat will have freshers asking them the same question. The cycle is the whole point.
From every corner of
a billion people.
ISAK is open to all students with a connection to India — Indian nationals, PIOs, NRIs, and international students who want to understand and celebrate Indian culture. You don't need to speak Hindi. You don't need to have grown up in India. You just need to show up.