How Should We Work With China?

Together, RWTH and Forschungszentrum Jülich have successfully applied for funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). They will work with other partners in the region, Germany, and Europe from 2023-25 to find ways to coordinate scientific and academic cooperation with China and to navigate through the politically turbulent waters. The ENTRANCE project – short for “Expertise & Transfer Network on China & Europe” – will work towards this goal with numerous training courses, workshops and meetings, targeting three groups in particular: Researchers, employees in technology and administration, and RWTH alumni.

We Have Enjoyed Good Relations with China for Decades

China remains one of the most important countries for RWTH. Many professors have maintained good relations with their colleagues there for decades. What’s more, many former doctoral students now hold professorships at renowned Chinese universities themselves. Currently, about 3,400 Chinese students are enrolled at RWTH. Networks, partnerships, as well as Chinese students and researchers on site form an important contribution to the success of our University. They make a significant contribution to both the innovative capacity and the international appeal of RWTH.
The framework conditions surrounding German-Chinese cooperation have changed significantly in recent years. Geopolitical tensions, new legal regulations, political changes of course and changing social perceptions require an adjustment of the way in which we collaborate with China. The “reduction of dependency” and thus also of cooperation with China is currently the explicit goal of political and social decision-makers in Germany. If RWTH wants to continue to cooperate with institutions in China to tackle urgent global challenges, it must act in a legally competent manner that is in line with its values while minimizing any risks in the best possible way. ENTRANCE aims to find standards, processes and solutions for this – by working with Chinese students, researchers, and alumni.

 

Further Development of the Alumni Network in the Field of Engineering

The further development of the DCHAN engineering professional network into the China Forum for Economy & Science (ChiFES) is of particular importance to the alumni in the ENTRANCE project. The German-Chinese Engineering Alumni Network (DCHAN-Engineering) most recently provided German universities, research institutes, and companies that have a connection to China with funding from the BMBF between 2018–2022. With ChiFES, we would like to continue to foster the good relations with our alumni, provide attractive offers, mediate between the University and alumni, and act as a contact point for specific questions and concerns related to China. At the same time, the format is to be opened up in an interdisciplinary fashion, both beyond engineering and to Chinese alumni from other universities in NRW.

 

Alumni Online Talks and Regional Meetings

To increase the visibility of the alumni network, Alumni Online Talks will be held every other month. These regular online events provide insights into current research issues or projects but also into the life and work of China-related alumni in Germany or those German or Chinese alumni who live in China.

Finally, the biannual regional meetings are the real highlights of ENTRANCE's calendar of events. These will take place at changing locations in the state of NRW and will always have a different emphasis in terms of content, scope and format. The essential constant is the exchange between Germany and China, where the regional meetings form a bridge between research, business, region, and alumni. At the same time, they serve as a kind of “project showcase” that gives outsiders and interested parties alike an insight into the state of affairs and opens up the opportunity for them to make new contacts and to get involved in the network themselves. The first meeting will take place on July 14 in Wuppertal, followed by a second meeting in Aachen in December.

– Author: René Seyfarth