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10 Tongji University: 100 Years of “Together in a Boat” The centenary of Tongji University in May is a milestone in the development of Chinese-German relations. No other university in China or Germany engages more scientists, engineers and students in the academic exchange between the two countries. Turning 100, Tongji appears younger than ever before, an academic place vibrant with energy, creativity, and the willingness to expand into the world. “Colleges and universities are an important base in the national strategy to boost science and education,” said China’s President Hu Jintao in a congratulation letter. “I wish Tongji University could inherit its good traditions and explore the future with innovation.” Indeed, innovation is one of the key words for the University, which is home to some 41,000 students and 4,200 faculty members, including more than a dozen academicians with the Chinese Academy of Science and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Formerly mainly associated with its achievements in architecture and civil engineering, it has turned into a multifaceted university. After receiving its status as a university in 1927, Tongji was the first and only German language university in China. The various presidents navigated Tongji, which is often translated as “being in a boat together,” through deep waters. During World War II, the university was relocated several times to the hinterland. After its return to Shanghai, from 1946 onwards several faculties were transferred to other universities. Today, it is as much known as the main force in the EXPO 2010 planning as as a center for environmental protection, design and automotive engineering. The university is listed in the key governmental research programs. Sustainability in industry and Prof. Dr. Wan Gang, Science Minister of China, President of Tongji University (right) and Prof. Dr. Max Huber, Vice - President of DAAD sign a new cooperation agreement. In the background the German President Dr. Horst Köhler with his wife and German Ambassador Dr. Volker Stanzel . Photo: Anja Feldmann production is the key focus of outgoing president Prof. Dr. Wan Gang, who was nominated the country’s new science minister one month before the centennial celebration. Today, the university is the front-runner for example in developing fuel cell and hybrid cars in China with its Tongji University Automotive Institute which was established in 2002. One of the great achievements of Wan and his predecessor as Tongji president and now vice minister of education, Prof. Wu Qidi, was their determination in promoting public private partnerships. The Chinese German University College CDHK with its 28 chairs sponsored by German, Chinese and Austrian companies, is one of the best examples for this policy. During the festivities, the college added Haniel Group and Kuehne Fellowship foundation to the list of its sponsors with chairs in entrepreneurship and international logistics networks respectively. Wan Gang even serves on the advisory board of the German steel company ThyssenKrupp. Public Private Partnerships Tongji is not concentrating on foreign companies alone. Prof. Wan has always made clear that the university will seek cooperation with partners abroad and at home and will put its research in service of the many, not of the few. During the festivities, the Chinese car manufacturer Geely announced an investment of RMB 50 million into a new Joint Automobile Engineering Institute for cooperation in human resources training and development of key components. Together with the steel company Baosteel Group, Tongji will set up a research program to develop high-strength steel for lightweight clean-energy cars. The biggest investment comes from Fortune 500 companies General Motors, EDS, Sun Microsystems, and Hewlett Packard. Together, they launched the largest collaborative engineering education Center in Asia Pacific and will provide software, hardware and training worth more than USDollar 400 million at Tongji’s new Campus in Anting (Jiading). The PACE center (Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education) will provide more than 700 seats of product lifecycle management and 50 workstations. One of the partners in PACE is UGS PLM Software, a division of Siemens Automation and Drives (A&D) and leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services. Even in an increasingly globalized DAAD China Info 1/2007
academic world, the main characteristic of Tongji remains its strong ties with Germany. While promoting cooperation with several European partners, relations with German institutions, universities and companies have been strengthened over the years. The university supports the new Confucius Center in Hanover by sending a representative. The strong relations were most visibly marked by the visit of German president Horst Köhler during his China visit in the end of May. German President Horst Köhler brought a birthday present for Tongji university: For the next three years, four outstanding students of the Chinese German Hochschulkolleg will be granted scholarships, thus recognizing Tongji Chronology 1907 The physician Erich Paulun establishes the German medical school for Chinese in Shanghai. The medical school has its roots in the Tongji Hospital in Shanghai, which had been founded in 1900. Apart from Paulun one of the most important supporters of both school and hospital is Germany's general consul in Shanghai, Wilhelm Knapp. 1927 Tongji is officially registered as a state university. 1937-45 The odyssee of Tongji begins. After university buildings were destroyed in Wusong, the university is several times relocated to places all over China between 1937 and 1945. 1938 The last German Tongji professors return to Germany. 1940-45 During the war years, several faculties are founded, among them mathematics, physics, ship engineering and law. 1946 Tongji returns to Shanghai 1949-56 Tongji is placed under the supervision of the Shanghai commission for military control. In the following years it looses its status as a comprehensive the contributions to Sino-German scientific cooperation by Tongji university, and, in particular, by the CDHK. From its starting point, first as a medical school, later as a school for medicine and engineering, the institution trained specialists both in their fields and in the German language. (Anja Feldmann) Contact Anja Feldmann DAAD-Lektorin Chinese German University College for Postgraduate Studies at Tongji University E-mail: feldmann@mail.tongji.edu.cn Tel.:+86-21-6598 5141 university, as more and more faculties are transferred to other universities. For example, the medical faculty is merged with its counterpart at Wuhan University. 1978 Tongji resumes its relations with Germany and reintroduces German language studies. President Li Guohao visits Germany in the following year. 1980 The Ruhr-University Bochum becomes the first partner of Tongji. 14 other German universities follow. 1993 Chancellor Helmut Kohl visits Tongji and promises the foundation of the Chinese-German University College. 1998 The Chinese-German University College is inaugurated. 2000 After merging with the Railroad university, Tongji becomes Shanghai’s largest university 2002 Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder visits Tongji and receives the honorary doctor. 2007 Centenary of Tongji (Anja Feldmann based on material by Prof. Li Lezheng) 100 Jahre Tongji Medizinische Fakultät in Wuhan Am 20. Mai 2007 fand in Wuhan die große 100-Jahr-Feier der Tongji Medizinischen Fakultät statt. Viele offizielle Vertreter, Alumni und Gäste aus dem In- und Ausland kamen nach Wuhan, um ihre Glückwünsche auszusprechen. Die Feierlichkeiten wurden von Professor Li Peigen, Präsident der Huazhong Universität für Wissenschaft und Technologie, und Professor Qiu Fazu, Ehrenpräsident der Tongji Medizinischen Fakultät, eröffnet. Herr Dr. Schröder, Staatssekretär im Bundesministerium für Gesundheit, Herr Lauk, Leiter der Wirtschaftsabteilung der Deutschen Botschaft, Zhang Xinsheng, Stellvertretender Bildungsminister und andere Gäste gratulierten der Tongji Medizinischen Fakultät herzlich zu ihrem runden Geburtstag. Im Anschluss begeisterten die Studenten der Huazhong Universität für Wissenschaft und Technologie mit einem abwechslungsreichen und bunten Programm mit Gesang, Tanz und Akrobatik die zahlreichen Gäste. Den Abschluss der Feierlichkeiten bildete ein Konzert des Ärzteorchesters aus Hamburg. (Judith Poppitz) Feierlichkeiten zum hundertjährigen Bestehen der Tongji Medizinischen Fakultät. Fotos: Judith Poppitz DAAD China Info 1/2007 11
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