SDC Shibao Issue 1

WELCOME TO BEIJING!September 10. 2012 will be a day to re-

member! The date marks the official start of the four SDC Master’s Programmes. With the launch of the programmes, 48 students from the eight Danish Universities will join 56 Chinese students. Together, the students will form the first batch of Master students at the Sino-Danish Center for Edu-cation and Research. What you are holding is the first issue of the joint SDC Newspaper, SDC Shibao. The newspaper will provide you with the latest news from the SDC project and will keep you updated on fun places to visit in Beijing; in-terviews with fellow students and research-ers; articles about research conducted

Sino-Danish Center for Education & Research welcomes new students

within SDC and much more! The idea of this newspaper is to bring you news and articles, relevant for both Danish and Chinese stu-dents and researchers. The MSc students

have arrived in Beijing and are settling in and they are eager to start the programmes. The joint SDC-Secretariat welcomes all of the new students to Beijing!

Visiting the UCAS Olympic Village CampusThe Olympic Village Campus is the central hub for SDC activities

One of the key components of the SDC collaboration

is the construction of the new building of the Sino-Danish Center, located at UCAS’ new Yanqihu campus approximately 60 km northeast of Beijing. As the new campus will not be completed until 2013, the first batch of students will join the Olympic Village Campus in Beijing. All four programmes will stay under one roof at the central campus. A big advantage of the Olympic Village Campus is the easy access to Beijing’s many cultural locations, entertain-ment and great sources of

food. The Olympic Village Campus is near many CAS in-stitutes, including the Insti-tute of Biophysics, founded in 1958. The main research focus of the Institute is pro-

tein science and brain & cog-nitive science, making the campus an excellent location for the SDC Master’s pro-grammes. The campus is lo-

S E P T E M b E r 2 0 1 2 • V o L u M E 1 • S I n o - D A n I S H C E n T E r F o r E D u C A T I o n A n D r E S E A r C H

On September 10., the four Master’s programmes at the Sino-Danish Center for Educa-tion and Research begins. The Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt spoke at the opening ceremony and CAS President Bai Chunli presented a welcoming speech to the stu-dents.

Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt speaks at the official SDC opening

Continued on p. 8 »

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SDC Shibao

An overview of the SDC collaboration

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UCAS and the eight Danish Universities

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Meet the new SDC students

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SDC-avis-1-sept2012-A4_0509.indd 1 11/09/12 15.55

2 September 2012

by Hans gregersen and Zhu Xiangbin, Directors of the Sino-Danish Center for Education and Research

It is with great pleasure that we welcome all the new MSc students to the Sino-Dan-

ish Center for Education and Research. As Directors of the SDC collaboration project, we are thrilled to see so many Danish and Chinese students willing to be part of this historic collaboration between Denmark and China. You are truly pioneers, not afraid to take chances and able to seize new oppor-tunities. The four Master’s programmes are in many ways the foundation of the SDC proj-ect. For the next two years, you will have a tremendous impact on the further expan-sion of the Sino-Danish Center. The devel-opment of the four programmes will create shared knowledge and form strategic part-nerships between Danish and Chinese in-dustry in China. As a Master’s student starting in one of the SDC programmes, you have the oppor-tunity to gain new knowledge - but you are also a part of a very special group. You are going to develop cultural insights vital for the continued success of Sino-Danish rela-tions. Danish businesses will be able to use both your cultural skills and academic knowl-edge to gain access to the Chinese market. Many Chinese businesses are also looking to become an integral part of the Western mar-kets. Some of you will be able to guide them on the journey ahead - some of you will be able to add value to their R&D, production and further technological growth. Collaboration is the key to success. Only by working together as one united group will the Master’s programmes become a success. It is important that Danish and Chinese stu-dents view themselves as one united group, willing to learn and share from cultural ex-periences. We hope that the newspaper in your hand, the SDC Times, will contribute to this process. We encourage Danish and Chi-nese students to learn from each other and to continue to act as pioneers, strengthen-ing Sino-Danish collaboration and relations.

Professor Zhu Xiangbin serves as the Principal Director of SDC and is also Assis-tant President of UCAS and former Director of UCAS’ International Af-fairs office. He has previously been professor at Changchun Insti-tute of Manage-ment, CAS and visiting scholar at University of Il-linois, uSA. He has also served as first secretary of educa-tion at the Chinese Embassy in Wash-ington D.C.

Professor Hans Gregersen serves as the Executive Director of SDC. He has previously been Research and Inno-vation Director and Chairman of the research council at Aalborg Hospital, Denmark. He has held professorships at Aarhus and Aal-borg Universities in Denmark, Chongq-ing University and Beijing Polytech-nic University in China. He also held professorships in Norway, Ireland and California and has degrees in

medicine, engineer-ing and strategic management

Professor Hu Zhengyi is the Chinese principal coordinator of the Water and Environ-ment theme in SDC but in addition he has the task of being study admin-istrator for SDC on behalf of UCAS. Hu Zhengyi will facilitate that the study programs run smoothly and good communication be-tween everyone. He can be reached at phone 151 0112 2510 and email [email protected]

Morten Laug-esen is the Head of the Danish SDC-Secretariat. He holds a PhD-degree from China Studies at Aarhus Univer-sity in Denmark. Morten Laugesen is going to be in Beijing from August to November 2012, to help facilitate the launch of the SDC programmes. Morten Laugesen can be contacted by mail: [email protected], or by phone: +86 186 122 757 31

Ms. Na Xu is the personal as-sistant for Execu-tive Director, Hans gregersen. She arranges activities for SDC-students, and will be helping students to settle down and study in beijing. Ms. na Xu can be contacted by mail: [email protected], or by phone: +86 186 3015 8218

Ms. Xin Wang works for the SDC in Beijing. She man-ages SDC Ph.D and Master students as well as the implementation of academic exchange activities. She can help students regarding rules and regulations at uCAS. Ms. Xin Wang can be con-tacted by mail: [email protected], or by phone: +86 186 1826 4257

Ms. Yang Ling-nan is working at UCAS as personal assistant to Mr Zhu Xiangbin. She is a

part of the Chinese SDC-Secretariat and is working on developing the SDC collaboration further. Ms. Yang Lingnan can be con-tacted by mail: [email protected], or by phone: +86 108 825 6107

Yuan Piye works as an as-sistant for SDC. He is in charge of curriculum ar-rangement, office procurements, etc. Yuan Piye can be contacted by mail: [email protected], or by phone: +86 138 1180 0498

Gitte Hvitfeld is the Head of the Secretariat for Elective Courses at Copenhagen Business School. She is an expe-rienced study administrator and is in Beijing from September to December 2012. gitte Hvitfeld is the link between UCAS and the eight Danish uni-versities. gitte Hvitfeld can be contacted by mail: [email protected]

Whether you are a Danish student arriving in Bejing for the first time or a Chinese student used to life in the big city, we know how impor-tant guidance can be. The joint SDC-Secretariat is staffed by people ready to help you get started on your new education in Beijing:

Meet the SDC Staff in BeijingThe joint SDC-Secretariat is always avaliable to help and guide you through your time at Sino-Danish Center

Collaboration is the key to success


3September 2012

SDC is built on strong relations between Denmark and China

The Sino-Danish Center for Education and Research (SDC) is a joint project between

Denmark and China. By uniting resources, knowledge and research tradition, SDC aims to create new opportunities for students, researchers and industry in both Denmark and China. SDC combines the knowledge and expertise of the eight Danish universities and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS). The main mission of the Sino-Danish Center for Education and Research is to add value to Chinese and Danish societies

through the exchange of knowledge, tech-nology and talent. One of the main focus areas of the col-laboration is to boost the mobility of Master’s students, PhD-students and re-searchers, and the launch of the four Mas-ter’s programmes has shown that students from both Denmark and China are willing to step outside of their comfort zone, in order to gain new knowledge and cultural experi-ences. The most visible sign of the Sino-Danish collaboration is the construction of the new Yanqihu campus in the Huairou District. Here, the House of the Danish Industry Foundation is currently under construction

and the house will soon act as the central hub for SDC activities. The SDC project is based on the Knowl-edge-based Strategy for Collaboration be-tween Denmark and China, created by the Danish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education. A major part of the strat-egy was the foundation of the Sino-Danish Center for Education and Research and soon after, the eight Danish universities joined forces with the University of Chinese Acad-emy of Sciences. In addition to the four Master’s pro-grammes, SDC is already financing over 50 Danish, International and Chinese PhD-stu-dents.

An overview of the SDC collaboration

The SDC project connects Den-mark and China, but equally

important is the bond between the many universities in the proj-ect, who all play an integral part in the development of new Mas-ter’s programmes, PhD-projects and collaborative research. In Denmark, all eight Danish universities are part of SDC and

have formed partnerships with the Chinese university, UCAS, developing four new and unique Master’s programmes. This article presents the his-tory of UCAS and the Danish uni-versities, to give both Danish and Chinese students a historic over-view of the academic institutions part of the Sino-Danish Center.

The University Of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) was founded in 1978. UCAS was the first graduate school in China, approved by the State Council. As a part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), UCAS is working with over one hundred CAS institutes. CAS is the national academy for

natural sciences, technology and high-tech innovation in China. The CAS headquarter is located in Beijing and the CAS institutes, research centers and laboratories are spread across 20 cities throughout China. At present, 38.000 stu-dents attend one of UCAS’ three campuses

UCAS and the eight Danish Universities

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4 September 2012

in Beijing. 50% of the attendees are PhD-students.

All four Master’s programmes at the Sino-Danish Center will be located at the Olympic Vil-lage Campus in Beijing. UCAS offers programs for interna-tional students and the univer-sity collaborates with academic institutions and multinational corporations throughout the world. An example of the col-laboration between UCAS and the Danish universities is the development of the four Mas-ter’s programmes. Here, re-searchers from the different universities are working to develop every aspect of the programmes and the teaching staff is comprised of both Dan-ish and Chinese academics. The president of both CAS and UCAS is Dr. Bai Chunli, who is a re-nowned scientist in the fields of nanoscience and chemistry. On the Danish side of the SDC, all eight universities in Denmark are involved. The University of Copenha-gen is the oldest university in Denmark, founded in 1479. The university is also the second largest in Denmark, with more than 37.000 students. The uni-versity is renowned as one of the leading universities in Scan-

dinavia and one of the leading research institutions in Europe. The rector of the university is Dr. ralf Hemmingsen. The uni-versity of Copenhagen is the leading Danish university for the Water & Environment MSc programme. Aarhus University is the larg-est university in Denmark with over 43.000 students enrolled. Aarhus University was founded in 1928 and has since merged with a number of academic in-stitutions in Denmark. The uni-versity was founded due to the increasing number of students at the University of Copenhagen after World War I. The rector of Aarhus university is Lauritz b. Holm-nielsen. Aarhus univer-sity is the leading Danish uni-versity for the Neuroscience & Neuroimaging MSc programme. Aalborg University was es-tablished in 1974. The uni-versity is one of the fastest growing universities in Den-mark, and in 2011, Aalborg University increased the num-ber of new students by 31 per cent. The number of students at Aalborg University is currently over 17.000. Aalborg University has a strong focus on problem-based and project-oriented learning and research. The rec-tor of Aalborg University is Pro-

fessor Finn Kjærsdam. Aalborg University is the leading Danish university for the Innovation Management programme. Copenhagen Business School is one of the largest business schools in Europe. Established as a private educational insti-tution in 1917, Copenhagen Business School became a part of the public Danish education system in 1965. Copenhagen Business School has more than 19.000 students in the fields of economics, administration, politics and business commu-nication. Per Holten-Andersen is the rector of Copenhagen Business School. Copenhagen Business School is the leading Danish university for the Public Management & Social Develop-ment MSc programme. The University of Southern Denmark was formed in 1998, when Odense University, South-ern Denmark School of Business & Engineering and South Jut-land University Centre merged. The university has more than 20.000 students. The rector of the University of Southern Den-mark is Dr. Jens Oddershede. Roskilde University was founded in 1972 and is home to over 9.500 students. The university is known for having six basic studies programmes

in the fields of Humanities, So-cial Sciences, Natural Sciences and Humanistically applied Natural Sciences. The rector of Roskilde University is Professor Ib Poulsen. The IT University of Copen-hagen is the youngest of the Danish universities, founded in 1999 and integrated as a uni-versity in 2003. It is the small-est of the Danish universities with over 2.200 students. The university is highly specialized, focusing on computer science, IT management and digital media studies. The rector of the IT University of Copenhagen is Mads Tofte. The Technical University of Denmark is also a highly spe-cialized university, focusing on technical programmes and re-search in the fields of engineer-ing, environmental research and chemistry, to name a few. The Technical University of Den-mark has over 7.500 students. The university is ranked among Europe’s leading engineering institutions, and as the leading engineering university in Scan-dinavia. The president of the Technical University of Denmark is Professor Anders Overgaard. Bjarklev.

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5September 2012

MSc-student Morten Lykke Olesen reflects on his arrival in Beijing

“As a Dane arriving in Beijing, I quickly no-ticed that this place was and would be

worlds apart from what I was used to and knew of back in Denmark. I sort of felt as if I had just landed on another planet,” Morten explains.

Knee deep in the Beijing Experience

� Morten Lykke olesen at The great wall.

Morten Lykke olesen is preparing for the start of the SDC-programmes. He is study-ing Public Management, and chose to travel to beijng a month in advance: “Beijing could be described as a city of extremes. Within your first trip around the city, you are sure to encounter the ancient and modern architecture standing side by side”, says Morten. He also experienced a

significant cultural difference when he ar-rived in China: “You are sure to experience things, large and small, that will fascinate you. The good manners of queuing and standing in line that I knew from Denmark are basi-cally non-existent here in Beijing. Shoving and pushing is apparently normal, and you will learn quickly


6 September 2012

that the Chinese don’t take offense of these habits, so neither should you,” Morten explains.

getting around in the big city can be a challenge, but Morten quickly adapted to new ways of transportation: “The traffic in the city is, well, exciting to say the least. When on foot, take notice of how the Chinese behave, as the rules of the road seem somewhat confusing at times, even for the locals. Cars do not necessarily stop for a red light, so when crossing a road, remember to look at the traffic to be sure that they are stopping for you or at least slowing down. When taking a taxi, buckle up! They’re cheap however and by far the easiest way to get around the city when you new here,” says Morten. One important note for newcomers in Beijing is that it can be difficult to commu-

nicate in English. Morten had to adjust to the language barrier by relying on gestures and a bit of technological know-how: “Although I had been warned by friends, I was surprised to learn that so few Chi-nese speak English in Beijing. It is simply not possible to rely on English as a means of communication here. You will have an easier time pointing and using gestures than by speaking English to the locals. But there are plenty of apps, programs and vid-eos on Youtube that can help you require some basic language skills, so as to make you daily life run more smoothly,” Morten explains. Morten recommends experiencing as much of the Chinese culture as possible and this extends to trying all the great food in the city: “The food in Beijing is awesome. Be it lunch or dinner, the selection of dishes is so

vast, and in my experience, most of it good. And it is so cheap that even as a student you are able to eat out every day. Breakfast is also nice, but very different from the ce-reals many Danes are accustomed to. And when looking for a place to eat, don’t be de-ceived by looks, the most barebones places are often as good as the most beautiful and renowned restaurants. And be sure to try something new and different, often you’ll be surprised. I for one never knew how deli-cious scorpions and crickets could taste,” Morten reflects. Beijing is a vast and complex city and in Morten’s opinion, the different cultural of-fers and opportunities for entertainment are sure to make a major impression on newcomers: “It is a city that never sleeps. At all hours of the day you can go out to eat or amuse yourself otherwise. Karaoke bars are pretty fun, and a great way to loosen the mood and start of an evening. The nightlife that I have experienced is fun and impressive, and in my opinion it easily rivals that of Den-mark. So far, my experience of Beijing has been a good one, and I’m confident that it will continue to be so, as there is still so much left undone, and so much time to get knee deep in the Beijing experience!”

Morten Lykke olesen is studying Public Management & Social Development at the Sino-Danish Center for Education and Re-search

� Morten Lykke olesen likes the food in beijing.

The food in Beijing is awesome. Be it lunch or dinner, the selec-tion of dishes is so vast, and in my experience, most of it good.

Morten Lykke Olsen


7September 2012

By Christina Pamela Christiansen, MSc-student, Public Management & Social Development

In less than a week I am going to start my Master’s program at Sino Danish Center

(SDC) in Public Management & Social Devel-opment. This is the third time I’m moving to China to stay for a longer period of time. I have studied and worked in more than eight different countries since I finished high school, but no other country intrigues me the way China does. What leads me to China this time and why did I choose a Master’s programme at SDC? In retrospect I would say that it is invis-ible coordinating forces or a chronology of events, which, like the breadcrumbs in the fairytale of the brothers grimm, has shaped a trail for me to follow. I often refer to it as my breadcrumb navigation system. The story begins in 2007: I moved to bei-jing to work as a tour leader for the Dan-ish travel agency Bravo Tours. It was six breathtaking months traveling around China from North to South and East to West, pre-senting the country’s magic culture and his-tory to my Danish guests. It was the best job in the world, however a smoggy, warm morning in spring, I decided that it was time to leave Beijing and move to Aalborg to study International Business Communication. I chose Aalborg University, because it offered the perfect combination of International Business Communication, Chinese Area Studies, and it allowed me to spend six months in London where I studied Innovation Management & Entrepreneur-ship. At the time I realized that not only did I have a passion for Chinese Area Studies and Entrepreneurship but that the combina-tion itself was interesting. In 2010, after I got my bachelor degree I decided to move to Shanghai, China’s fast moving innovation hub. I came there with the aim to crack the code of mandarin and

A breadcrumb navigation system leading to China

find out what the phenomenon ‘Chinnova-tion’ was all about. This was also where I first heard about the joint project on educa-tion and research between the eight Danish universities and the University of the Chi-nese Academy of Sciences. At that time I just got accepted to a Mas-ter’s program in Organizational Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Copenhagen Business School and I decided to attend this program until SDC would open for application one year later. While I was contemplating how to handle a year of withdrawal symptoms for my China addiction I ran around Copen-hagen searching for my next China fix: next to my studies I followed a program in Business Chinese at Copenha-gen Business Confucius Constitute

I believe that when experiences, ambitions and students meet across borders, study programs and universities new ideas and solutions arise.

Christina Pamela Christiansen

� Christina Pamela Christiansen.


where I met likeminded China pas-sionate people and many passion-ate Chinese who were studying in

Denmark. I have had many enjoyable and inspiring conversations with these amaz-ing people and we joined several event and conferences on China together. However, I found that very few of the events I joined, managed to capture what China is now and what it can become. Likewise, many of the articles I read about business in China made me realize that Innovation in China is among the most discussed topics in international business today and maybe also the least un-derstood. Very often a negative perspective of Innovation was depicted. I believe that great opportunities lie amid the challenges China faces today and I think it is about time so show all the positive attributes of China. I find that there are many good ex-amples showcasing China in its transition from ‘Made in China’ to ‘Innovated in China’ that we can learn from.

I also think it is a shame that these cool communities, where I spend so much time, seemed to be two separate worlds. I really missed the global and diverse community I had experienced in Shanghai where you get hit by ideas from different fields and cul-tures every day. All these invisible coordinating forces made me think of creating a student net-work that combines all the above mentioned elements that I was lacking in Copenhagen. Now four month later a student network called CHInAnÂo is born. nÂo (pinyin) means brain in Chinese and the network scrutinizes China now and the challenges of the future. I believe that when experiences, ambi-tions and students meet across borders, study programs and universities new ideas and solutions arise. This is also what I be-lieve SDC is all about, and I cannot wait to be a part of it.

Published by the Sino-Danish Center for Education and Research 2012

Danish Ambassador to China, Friis Arne Petersen, held a speech fol-lowed by a small reception when the Danish SDC student visited the Dan-ish embassy in Beijing. The visit was a part of the introductory week in Beijing, where the Danish SDC stu-dents get a chance to see the many facets of life in the city. “I’m impressed by the courage and wisdom that you are your Chinese co-students has displayed by partici-pating in this study programme. This project only exist very few places in the world. I’m proud of the project that you represent and it will be very interesting to follow from the side-line” the Ambassador said.

The Danish and Chinese students were waiting for the time when the two groups of students would meet. At the introductory week, starting September 3., they had a chance to meet face to face. At the MSc programme Water & Environment, the two principal co-ordinators, Peter Engelund Holm and professor Hu Zhengyi, and research Professer Erik Jeppesen opened the week. The Danish and Chinese stu-dents got a chance to meet each other.

cated very close to the olympic facilities used in the 2008 olympic games in bei-jing. Near the Olympic Village Campus is the Bird Nest Stadium to the south. The impressive construction was built for the olympic games and is now used for a vari-ety of cultural and athletic events.

Visiting the UCAS Olympic Village Campus« Continued from p. 1

Ambassador bids new SDC students welcome

Chinese and Danish students joined forces in the introductory week

Life around campus is brimming with ac-tivity, as the area is full of different restau-rants, shops and parks. Many of the Danish SDC MSc students are living in the apart-ments close to campus whereas the Chinese students live on campus. The Olympic Vil-lage Campus will serve as the center for SDC activity throughout 2012/2013.


SDC Shibao Issue 1

Documents

new sdc students page

new campus

sdc project

sinodanish center

new studentswithin sdc

sdc activitiesone

sdc masters programmes

sdc collaboration page