Press release: The University of Göttingen has expanded its network of contacts in China

Nr. 218/2010 - 09.11.2010

Cooperation with six top Chinese universities – two international research training groups planned

(pug) The University of Göttingen has expanded its network of contacts in China and entered into new cooperation agreements with top Chinese universities. In addition to existing agreements with the universities of Nanjing and Hefei, University Vice President Professor Hiltraud Casper-Hehne, who leads the university’s internationalisation strategy, crafted and signed contracts with Peking University, Renmin University in Beijing and Zhejiang University in Hangzhou. An additional contract with Fudan University in Shanghai will soon also be complete. “We are now cooperating with six of the nine best universities in China, strengthening the collaboration between renowned scientists while supporting the university’s exceptional scientific network,” Professor Casper-Hehne said after returning from China. While there, the Vice President joined with Professor Johanna Wanka, Lower Saxony’s Minister of Science and Culture, to work toward expanding the relationships between universities in Lower Saxony and China.

The cooperation between Göttingen and the outstanding Chinese universities includes an exchange program for scientists and students as well as joint scientific research projects and expert symposia. Two joint international research groups are also being prepared with Nanjing University on the subjects of cultural exchange and computer sciences. Starting during the 2010/2011 winter semester, the University of Göttingen will also train students to become qualified Chinese teachers in its East-Asia Sciences/Chinese as a Foreign Language bachelor program, the only of its kind in Europe. There is now more interest in the program than spots available – all 20 have already been filled. At the same time, a German Excellence Program will start at Nanjing University to offer up to 30 select students German during their studies. This will prepare them for transferring to the doctoral program at Göttingen once they have successfully completed their masters.

The Sino-German Institute for Legal Studies is also one of the joint projects between both universities. Starting with the 2011/2012 winter semester, the Institute will introduce an international program on Chinese law. While in China, the vice president also offered her congratulations on the 60th anniversary of the German Department at the Beijing Foreign Studies University, the University of Göttingen’s partner school. The department leads in foreign language linguistics in China and cooperates closely with the University of Göttingen’s Department of Intercultural German Studies as part of the Intercultural German Studies Germany-China program, which offers students both a Chinese and German degree.

The universities of Göttingen and Anhui have also had an exchange program for students and professors since 2003. With the support of the Robert Bosch Foundation, a qualified German teacher was appointed to a new German language position in Anhui this year. Both universities also recently agreed to offer additional scientific training to Anhui’s German lecturers at the Department of Intercultural German Studies in Göttingen as well as expanding the German-language program in Anhui.

“China is developing quickly not only economically but also in research. The university-level cooperation with the partner region of Anhui is a cornerstone of Lower Saxony’s Sino-German partnership,” said Lower Saxony Minister Wanka. There are now a total of about 150 collaborations between universities in Lower Saxony and Anhui. The number of Chinese nationals studying in Lower Saxony has risen fivefold in the past 10 years to more than 2,500.

Contact:
Professor Hiltraud Casper-Hehne
Vice President of the University of Göttingen
Wilhelmsplatz 1, 37073 Göttingen
Phone (0551) 39-12184, Fax (0551) 39-4520
E-mail: hiltraud.casper-hehne@zvw.uni-goettingen.de
Internet: www.uni-goettingen.de/de/110984.html