New guideline paper on the Indo-Pacific pays tribute to the CDHAW. Prof. Worlitz has been involved in the project since it was founded in 2004 and looks back on the successful partnership in this interview.
In the German government's new paper "Guidelines for the Indo-Pacific", the Chinese-German University of Applied Sciences (CDHAW) was mentioned and highlighted as a lighthouse project.
The CDHAW is an institution within Tongji University in the heart of the megacity of Shanghai. The 26 German partner universities of the German university consortium for international cooperation, to which the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences has also belonged since the founding of the CDHAW, are involved both professionally and in student exchanges as part of a double degree program.
At the HSZG, students on the Mechatronics course have the opportunity to take part in the program of Tongji University and the German University Consortium for International Cooperation. This cooperation offers students the unique opportunity to gain valuable practical experience in the heart of the breathtaking metropolis, acquire international skills and broaden their cultural horizons in the process.
In turn, students from China have the opportunity to study at the HSZG as part of this cooperation. Up to ten mechatronics students have taken up this offer every year since 2007.
This successful bilateral cooperation has now been highlighted in a new paper published by the German government. With the "Guidelines on the Indo-Pacific", the German government has been setting the course for its future policy with the countries in the Indo-Pacific region since August of this year. The aim is to expand cooperation with the Indo-Pacific countries, as they have gained in economic and political importance in recent years.
"As part of the promotion of sustainable cooperation in the field of science and research, two universities were founded in the Indo-Pacific region with German participation: the Chinese-German University of Tongji University with the Chinese-German University of Applied Sciences (CDHAW) and the Chinese-German University College in Shanghai as well as the Vietnamese-German University in Ho Chi Minh City. The Federal Government intends to continue to accompany and support the development of these flagship projects of German foreign science policy in the future."
(Source: Page 59, Federal Government - Guidelines on the Indo-Pacific: GERMANY - EUROPE - ASIA, Shaping the 21st century together).
Reason enough to take a brief look back at the success story of the Chinese-German University of Applied Sciences (CDHAW) at the HSZG with Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Worlitz, guest lecturer and subject coordinator for mechatronics at the CDHAW.
Prof. Worlitz, in addition to the recognition of the CDHAW in the German government's new policy paper, Tongji University was described as "an outstanding place of academic exchange between our countries" by the then Federal President Joachim Gauck back in 2016. How high is the value of political attention for the bilateral CDHAW project?
The idea was born at a Sino-German meeting between the education ministers of both countries in the early 2000s and the German university consortium was founded in 2004. Between 2008 and 2019, 1623 Chinese and German students obtained a double degree at the CDHAW. The CDHAW is de facto a separate faculty with its own staff and laboratories at Tongji University in Shanghai. This is also something special in international university cooperation.
The success is due to the dedicated work and exceptionally good cooperation of all those involved in the ministries, the DAAD and the universities. Political support has always been important. If we can look back on a good 16 years of CDHAW today, then this is also the result of a pioneering, far-sighted course set by the political players, which is still with us today.
What are the general conditions for students at the HSZG to obtain a German-Chinese double Bachelor's degree in mechatronics?
The special thing about this cooperation is that students can obtain this double degree in two semesters. One of the semesters is a theory semester, which is only offered in the winter semester and whose lectures are held in English. The program is intended for students who have completed four bachelor's semesters at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and can be completed in the fifth and/or sixth semester. Students aiming for a double degree must write and submit their Bachelor's thesis in English. The CDHAW is provided annually through the China Scholarship Council (CSC), a contingent scholarship from the PRC government. These scholarships are intended for the German participants of the CDHAW double degree programs and can also be applied for by students of the HSZG.
How is the program accepted at the HSZG?
More and more German students from the partner universities are taking advantage of the double Bachelor's program at the CDHAW. This is also the case at the HSZG. There are currently four mechatronics students studying on the double degree program. This year, despite corona-related restrictions, there are a total of 21 German students on the Mechatronics degree program.
How is the partnership structured for Chinese students?
The Chinese students complete the first three years in Shanghai and the fourth year at one of 26 partner universities in Germany, provided they meet the academic and language requirements, for example at the HSZG. Following the double degree in Germany, many students decide to study for a Master's degree.
Students from Tongji University in Shanghai took part in a summer school program at the HSZG last year. They carried out experiments in the modern laboratories of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and visited the Zittau power plant laboratory and the Zittau South signal box. How was the program received by the students?
Yes, that's right, last year seventeen CDHAW students attended a summer school at the HSZG for the first time. It has now become a tradition for CDHAW students to hold a summer school in Germany during the semester break. What was new last year was that the two-week trip to the universities in Mannheim, Göttingen, Prague, Regensburg and Munich also included a stop at the HSZG in Zittau. The students particularly remember the South Signal Box, but also the modern laboratories and the beautiful surroundings, especially the Oybin. It was the express wish of the Chinese side to make a stopover in Zittau this year, which we were happy to comply with.
Two students from the Summer School began their studies at the HSZG in the fall.
Since its foundation, the CDHAW has quickly developed into a successful model. Since 2011, it has been a sub-institution of the Chinese-German University (CDH) at Tongji University. What do you think are the biggest advantages of studying bilingually at the CDHAW?
The Chinese and German alumni of the CDHAW are in high demand on the job market. They benefit from practical training and gain important language and intercultural skills in addition to experience abroad. This enables them to fill important interfaces for companies between China and Germany. A clear advantage.
In October last year, a whole series of activities took place to further intensify international cooperation in the field of teaching. To this end, you and the current Vice-Rector for Education and International Affairs, Prof. Sophia Keil, traveled to Shanghai to develop opportunities for cooperation between the HSZG and the CDHAW in the Department of Economics and Industrial Engineering and to exchange experiences in teaching in a "Smart Factory". What is the current status of developments?
In the future, we also want to cooperate with CDHAW in the Industrial Engineering and Management degree course in order to enable German students to study part-time at Tongji University as a first step. Later, similar to the mechatronics course, Chinese students will also come to Zittau to study. We are also thinking about developing collaborations with other universities under the DHIK consortium umbrella.
There will also be increased cooperation in research in the future. We are currently preparing a research project on "Industrial Big Data" and "Artificial Intelligence Technology" together with our Chinese colleagues. The project is due to start in 2021. In addition to CDHAW and HSZG, other partners from China and Germany will also be involved.
Anyone interested in the German-Chinese double Bachelor's degree in mechatronics can contact Prof. Dr.-Ing Frank Worlitz by e-mail.
