Lessons benefit students and universities

Chinese and German institutions celebrate decades of academic excellence together

Chinese universities and colleges have increased ties with German higher education institutions to provide domestic students with easier access to a wider variety of subjects.

As Chinese higher education institutions were creating more diversified academic paths to the domestic students, a number of universities and colleges have enhanced their academic cooperation with German partners.

For example, to begin talent cultivation and increase competitiveness regarding international programs, Qingdao University of Science and Technology has opened its new Sino-German campus. It will host 1,049 students this autumn.

Foshan University is a higher education institution in technology and sciences based in Foshan city, Guangdong province. It gained permission to start its joint education program in environmental science with German university Hochschule Trier. They will start enrollment from 2020.

This July, Jiangsu University of Technology celebrated the 15th anniversary of academic cooperation with Germany's Merseburg University of Applied Sciences.

"In the 15 years of Sino-German academic cooperation in academy, more than 810 students have been sent to study in Germany in 13 consecutive years ... about 55 percent of the graduates choose to pursue further study or work in Germany. Most of the returning graduates are now working in German enterprises, banks and enterprises," said Zhu Linsheng, president of Jiangsu University of Technology.

He Xingchu, an official with Jiangsu education department, spoke highly about the 15 years of achievement made by the joint effort of the institutions. "At present, the whole province is sparing no effort in pushing the quality of education in the province," he said. He hopes the joint project will promote the quality and efficiency of such an education model and play a leading role in future Sino-German cooperation projects.

This year also marked the 20th anniversary of the Sino-German College of the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology - a cooperation project between the USST and Hamburg University of Applied Sciences.

Liu Daoping, deputy Party secretary of the Party Committee of the USST, said that the achievements were due to the deep friendship and deep cooperation between the two universities and strong support from Shanghai and Hamburg. "Since the school started in 1988, Sino-German College has provided a large number of outstanding graduates with an international vision to all sectors of society and has become a name card for the internationalization of education of the USST," he said. He added the school will continue to seize the opportunity of development brought about by China-Germany relations.

"The USST is rooted in the land of China and has been working ceaselessly in opening-up and promoting international cooperation in academia," said Ding Xiaodong, headmaster of the USST.

He added that the university is aiming to improve its professional education through multi-certification systems in order to cultivate talent with an international vision and the ability to communicate across different cultures.

Academic cooperation and cultural exchanges have been an important part of the Belt and Road Initiative. Pascal Abb, a senior researcher at the Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution, said that the initiative does not just benefit China, Germany and other European countries.

It will also bring vitality for development in the related economies, he said.

Apart from education, the joint academic partnership also focuses on students after graduation. For example, the Sino-German College of Technology of East China University of Science and Technology requires its student to participate in at least 20 weeks of hands-on work to make sure they are prepared for the real world.

"I'm very honored to be an intern at an emerging internet company. During my internship, I can always feel the innovations and energy," said Jiao Longhao. He is studying an electric engineering and automation major at the college.

renxiaojin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/07/2019 page12)