Announcing the opening of the institute, Dr Stefan Dreyer, Director of Goethe -nstitute/Max Muller Bhavan, South Asia said, “The last two to three years have seen a surge in the demand for German language courses in Gujarat. The Goethe-Zentrum is a response to that. It will equip the people going to Germany with basic language skills and knowledge about German culture. The Institute will not only have in-house training programmes, but will also reach out to schools, colleges and private companies that show an interest in conducting German language classes.”

The Goethe-Zentrum is a part of the Indo-German Language and Cultural Society and will initially start with four instructors, including one, who is a native speaker of the language. German is the most widely spoken language in Europe and is second only to English as the most widely used language on Internet.

Monica Grewal, Director of Goethe-Zentrum, Ahmedabad said, “The Institute will help in fostering closer linguistic and cultural ties between the two countries. For professionals and businessmen from the state, it will help them easily acquire basic German language skills and also in keeping them abreast with the latest business developments in Germany."

Situated opposite the St. Xavier's College, the institute will offer four six-week long German course and one slightly advanced 12 weeks Intermediate Level course. The basic level courses are all priced at Rs 4,500, while the intermediate course costs Rs 7,500. The course fee does not include the cost of books.

The classes for all categories will commence from March 1.The successful completion of the courses will result in getting the 'Zertifikat Deutsch' an internationally recognised certificate of proficiency in German. The institute also houses a library where German newspapers would be made available.