Group t and Beijing Jiaotong university open International ... - Groep T

Opening academic year 2010-2011
GROUP T :
the international dimension
GROUP T hasn’t stolen its name. We’re not called ‘Internationale Hogeschool Leuven’ – ‘International
University College Leuven’ by mere chance. It is precisely this international dimension – linked to a
distinguished vision and mission – that manifests and establishes GROUP T in the educational landscape
in Belgium and abroad, in Flanders and the world.
Prof. Guido Vercammen,
Director General of Group T.
engineering program that started 13 September
last and in which four colleagues are teaching;
e. and – last but not least – an honorary doctorate
for President Johan De Graeve in China. Johan De
Graeve joins Paul Janssen of Janssen Pharmaceutics
and Jacques Rogge of the International Olympic
Committee as a Belgian honorary doctor in China.
Promising alternative
With the intensive collaboration in Asia and China,
GROUP T accomplishes a few things at the same time.
As you know, Asia and China are in full development
and are strongly advancing. As a power as well as a
market. Chinese education cannot meet the need for
international and entrepreneurial engineers. Nor is
it just a quantitative gap. The fact that the existing
curricula do not sufficiently anticipate the engineering
profile that China requires, increases this problem.
Our international engineering program is recognized
in China today as a promising alternative. The
International Class that started recently at the Beijing
Jiaotong University bares witness to this. At the same
time, we cease the opportunity of the collaboration
with our stakeholders from China and Asia to develop
distinguishing competencies with our students and
teachers. Again, this is a movement that manifests
itself in width as well as in depth. By offering a program
in which Flemish students work together with
Asian students, GROUP T anticipates the growing
need for engineers that can offer an added value for
companies that are targeting Asia. In sum: for the
Asian students, GROUP T is the gateway to Europe,
for the Flemish students it’s the gateway to Asia.
Global society
Allow me to start with a piece of wisdom
from ancient China: Zi Xia, having become
the governor of Jufu, asked for advice on
governing. The Master said: “Do not try
to do things in a hurry. Do not intend on small gains.
What is done quickly is not done thoroughly, and if
small gains are considered, great things remain unaccomplished.”
These are the words of Kong Fuzi (Master
Kong), better known here as Confucius. He uttered
them more then 2,000 years ago and they apply
perfectly to the international strategy GROUP T
charted for its engineering and teacher training programs
15 years ago and from which we are now reaping
the benefits.
Learning experiences
Our mission is ‘educing essence by experiencing existence.’
It’s about discovering and developing talents
but also about creating a learning environment that
allows you to develop your essence to the best extent
possible. At GROUP T this is established by: exposing
them to their future professional practice as an
engineer or as a teacher as early and as intensively
as possible. This is done by immersing them in a rich,
international learning and living environment.
Fifteen years ago, the first GROUP T mission went
to China, led by President Johan De Graeve. At that
time, the Chinese Ministry of Education had asked
GROUP T to audit and where necessary improve the
education programs of the Radio Industry College
in Wuhan (Central China). What was then a modest
start – some were wondering what we were doing in
China – has now grown into a wide network of more
than 20 partner universities spread over the entire
country. In addition to that collaboration, GROUP T
has extended its action radius to the entire Mekong
region with countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Laos,
Cambodia, Myanmar and the Chinese province Yunnan.
In India and Ethiopia, too, the first steps have
been taken towards collaboration.
Results
Concrete results of this international strategy include:
a. the increasing popularity of English-language
joint engineering programs: 20% of the Leuven
Engineering College student population is international;
b. the China Journey Project, the annual study trip
that has taken nearly 2,000 students and teachers
to China in ten years time;
c. the Confucius Institute at GROUP T, the first Confucius
Institute in Flanders for the promotion of the
Chinese language and culture;
d. the establishment of an International Class at the
Beijing Jiaoting University, an English-language
Back to Confucius. Another well-known aphorism of
his goes as follows:
“When planning for a year, plant corn
When planning for a decade, plant trees
When planning for life, train and educate people”.
A teacher is more than ever part of the society. Society
is becoming more and more global. And school
and class have gained more and more color. At
GROUP T you learn how to deal with that diversity.
You are actively introduced to intercultural education.
Through independent work placements abroad
and international projects the world becomes your
home. GROUP T offers you a cosmopolitan teacher
training program that literally and figuratively
pushes back frontiers.
Today we open the new academic year. At the same
time, GROUP T also opens the world to you just as
the university college opens itself up to the world. I
wish each and every one of you success on this fascinating
journey. See more, look further and keep in
mind the wise words of Confucius: “People do not
fall over mountains, they stumble over molehills.”
Prof. Guido Vercammen
Director General
GROUP T
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jg. 20, nr. 1, 15 december 2010