International Affairs - Relations Internationales - EPFL

Progress-Report_DEF.qxd:Layout 1 5.6.2007 3:00 Page 14
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China
VPRI
International Affairs
In November 2006, EPFL was officially designated as the Swiss Leading House
for India. In this important national capacity, the institution will be responsible for
the implementation of SER’s Bilateral Scientific and Technology Cooperation
Program with India for the period 2008 to 2011. EPFL will play a key role in
strengthening academic relationships between Switzerland and India in all areas
of science, technology, engineering and the humanities.
China’s science and technology are developing quickly; its economy is also taking
on a world-leading role. China is about to invest more money into R&D than the
European Community. Economic relations between China and Switzerland are
steadily developing. Many multinational firms, among them a number of Swiss
companies, are established in China, making this country an important location for
our graduates. Asia is swiftly becoming a major academic pole; many scientists
and faculty members at EPFL have developed academic relationships with
Chinese researchers and institutes.
The VPRI set up a team 8 to develop initiatives with renowned universities in China,
to support collaboration and exchange between EPFL professors and Chinese
The visit by The Tsinghua Senior
Management Team (here Gu
Binglin, President of Tsinghua
with EPFL President Patrick
Aebischer) in the beginning
of 2007 was carefully prepared
by VPRI in 2005 and 2006.
8 Zhen Xiao, BS Eng, currently Research Assistant at EPFL, Nicolas Musy,
Dipl. Physics Engineer EPFL, based in China since 1988, Marius Burgat.
scientists and to enhance exchange opportunities for EPFL Master’s students
(EPFL regularly welcomes 70 to 100 Chinese students):
Chinese academic delegations visiting EPFL: 20 Chinese delegations visited
EPFL – this gave us an opportunity to get in touch with the Chinese academic
world. EPFL was not well known in China, and visitors were very interested by
EPFL’s performance and achievements, organization, processes and management
structure.
Targeted on-campus visit in China: To get in touch with a few key universities,
a visit was made by the VPRI’s Chinese team in July ’06 to ascertain EPFL’s
status and image in China and to prepare for the visit by the Senior
Management Team in the Fall. Universities that were visited included Beijing
(PKU), Tsinghua, Tianjing Univ., Nankai Univ., Fudan, Shanghai Jiaotong,
Zehjiang Univ.
Follow this, the Vice-President for International Affairs, Prof. Martin Vetterli,
visited China in December 2006 with an EPFL delegation and signed cooperation
agreements (MoUs 9 ) with three prestigious Universities:
Beijing University (PKU);
Tsinghua University;
Shanghai Jiaotong University.
These new collaborations are in addition to the student exchange agreements
signed with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST),
Chinese University of Hong Kong and also with Singapore (NUS – National
University of Singapore and NTU – Nanyang Technological University), where the
Chinese community is particularly active.
For many years now, Chinese scientists – up to 100 at a time – have been on
the EPFL campus. The team intends to keep in touch with these EPFL Chinese
alumni. EPFL will consolidate relations with partners established in 2006 and
explore possibilities with newly selected universities.
9 Memorandum of Understanding.
VPRI
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