They are small, modest, friendly, happy, don’t complain, work hard, and don’t demand a lot of attention. Who are they? They are the Chinese, and Delft China Day paid tribute to their contribution to the university.
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The Chinese community makes a significant contribution to the scientific output and renown of the TU. Delft has a relatively large Chinese academic community. In 2001, there were 89 Chinese students (including MSc students) at the TU and about 100 PhD students, post-docs and staff members. This year, there are already some 300 Chinese at Delft, says Yu Bing, former Chairman of the Association of Chinese and Scholars in the Netherlands (ACSSNL).
According to Professor Jakob de Swaan Arons, of the Laboratory Applied Thermodynamics and Phase Equilibria, approximately 105 Chinese students have received PhD degrees since the first Chinese student arrived in Delft in 1947. Last Friday, to show its appreciation of the scientific contributions the Chinese make to the university, TUD held a Delft China Day, co-organizing the event with ACSSNL and Cicat, the management center for international cooperation with universities and research institutes in Africa, Asia and Latin America. More than 150 Chinese attended Delft China Day, where topics of discussion were
cultural differences and the need for academically trained people in China.
”Chinese are very modest, but in Holland people tend to work with their elbows,” says De Swaan Arons. ”Chinese people can’t stand that. If they start acting like the Dutch, they give up being Chinese. We must appreciate their modesty as a virtue and we should not automatically choose the assertive people who push
their way to the front.”
There are more things the Dutch need to know about Chinese culture. For instance, instead of asking, ‘How are you?’, the Chinese ask, ‘Did you eat already?’. ”After you%ve eaten, you feel better there for they ask that,” De Swaan Arons explains. The Chinese ambassador in Holland delivered a speech at Delft
China Day, in which he talked about the need for educated people in China to tackle big challenges. De Swaan Arons: ”East China, with cities like Beijing and Shanghai, is very developed, sometimes more so than Western Europe. But western China is relatively poor and needs to be developed. People who have studied at Delft can bring back their knowledge and know-how in
order to help their country.”
Mother land
According to Cicat’s director, Paul Althuis, Chinese who have studied at Delft are sure to receive good jobs in large companies or research institutes when they return home. ”In this way we build up relationships, which might lead to further cooperation. In education, as in business, establishing closer relations with China is interesting for Delft.” Moreover, these relationship-building activities are an investment in China for TUD, because it%sincreasingly difficult to find motivated Dutch students for science and technology. Althuis: ”The TU can’t find enough PhD
students in Holland, so it’s good for us to have connections with Chinese universities. We can call them and ask for talented and motivated Chinese students. For them, it’s in their interest to study in Holland, because we have good research facilities and
can also offer them better salaries and housing.”
But why are the Chinese favorites of TUD and not people from other countries? De Swaan Arons thinks it’s because of their character, their hard working mentality and their communication skills. ”If I board a plane in China and sit down next to someone, I always get a friendly reaction. From my experiences,
the Chinese often smile. I think that because of their pleasant and open character, they are popular in Delft and the rest of Holland.”
According to Althuis, approximately 25 percent of Chinese students will remain in the Netherlands or in other Western countries after graduation. However, for the past few years, the Chinese government has stepped up their efforts to entice Chinese students and researchers back from Western countries by offering
the same benefits they receive abroad. Bing Zhang, a PhD student at the Faculty of Design, Engineering and Production and chairwoman of the ACSSNL, says: ”I do believe it’s a really good idea of our government to stimulate the Chinese to return home. However, everything has two sides. As for me, after my PhD, I
don’t know if I’ll return home or stay here. In the long run, I think I’ll return to China to serve her.”
Jun Wu, of the Faculty of Architecture, is sure he wants to return to China: ”Our country is encountering huge changes, high growth in economy, which means more chances and challenges, more needs for technology and knowledge. If I find a good position in China, I’ll return after I finish my PhD. I do like the Netherlands, but I also love my country. There is the Chinese saying, ‘A son never disgusts his mother, no matter how poor she is’. By making contributions to your mother land, you will feel so proud that nothing can compare to that kind of feeling.”
.aut
Ingrid Leeuwangh
They are small, modest, friendly, happy, don’t complain, work hard, and don’t demand a lot of attention. Who are they? They are the Chinese, and Delft China Day paid tribute to their contribution to the university.
The Chinese community makes a significant contribution to the scientific output and renown of the TU. Delft has a relatively large Chinese academic community. In 2001, there were 89 Chinese students (including MSc students) at the TU and about 100 PhD students, post-docs and staff members. This year, there are already some 300 Chinese at Delft, says Yu Bing, former Chairman of the Association of Chinese and Scholars in the Netherlands (ACSSNL).
According to Professor Jakob de Swaan Arons, of the Laboratory Applied Thermodynamics and Phase Equilibria, approximately 105 Chinese students have received PhD degrees since the first Chinese student arrived in Delft in 1947. Last Friday, to show its appreciation of the scientific contributions the Chinese make to the university, TUD held a Delft China Day, co-organizing the event with ACSSNL and Cicat, the management center for international cooperation with universities and research institutes in Africa, Asia and Latin America. More than 150 Chinese attended Delft China Day, where topics of discussion were
cultural differences and the need for academically trained people in China.
”Chinese are very modest, but in Holland people tend to work with their elbows,” says De Swaan Arons. ”Chinese people can’t stand that. If they start acting like the Dutch, they give up being Chinese. We must appreciate their modesty as a virtue and we should not automatically choose the assertive people who push
their way to the front.”
There are more things the Dutch need to know about Chinese culture. For instance, instead of asking, ‘How are you?’, the Chinese ask, ‘Did you eat already?’. ”After you%ve eaten, you feel better there for they ask that,” De Swaan Arons explains. The Chinese ambassador in Holland delivered a speech at Delft
China Day, in which he talked about the need for educated people in China to tackle big challenges. De Swaan Arons: ”East China, with cities like Beijing and Shanghai, is very developed, sometimes more so than Western Europe. But western China is relatively poor and needs to be developed. People who have studied at Delft can bring back their knowledge and know-how in
order to help their country.”
Mother land
According to Cicat’s director, Paul Althuis, Chinese who have studied at Delft are sure to receive good jobs in large companies or research institutes when they return home. ”In this way we build up relationships, which might lead to further cooperation. In education, as in business, establishing closer relations with China is interesting for Delft.” Moreover, these relationship-building activities are an investment in China for TUD, because it%sincreasingly difficult to find motivated Dutch students for science and technology. Althuis: ”The TU can’t find enough PhD
students in Holland, so it’s good for us to have connections with Chinese universities. We can call them and ask for talented and motivated Chinese students. For them, it’s in their interest to study in Holland, because we have good research facilities and
can also offer them better salaries and housing.”
But why are the Chinese favorites of TUD and not people from other countries? De Swaan Arons thinks it’s because of their character, their hard working mentality and their communication skills. ”If I board a plane in China and sit down next to someone, I always get a friendly reaction. From my experiences,
the Chinese often smile. I think that because of their pleasant and open character, they are popular in Delft and the rest of Holland.”
According to Althuis, approximately 25 percent of Chinese students will remain in the Netherlands or in other Western countries after graduation. However, for the past few years, the Chinese government has stepped up their efforts to entice Chinese students and researchers back from Western countries by offering
the same benefits they receive abroad. Bing Zhang, a PhD student at the Faculty of Design, Engineering and Production and chairwoman of the ACSSNL, says: ”I do believe it’s a really good idea of our government to stimulate the Chinese to return home. However, everything has two sides. As for me, after my PhD, I
don’t know if I’ll return home or stay here. In the long run, I think I’ll return to China to serve her.”
Jun Wu, of the Faculty of Architecture, is sure he wants to return to China: ”Our country is encountering huge changes, high growth in economy, which means more chances and challenges, more needs for technology and knowledge. If I find a good position in China, I’ll return after I finish my PhD. I do like the Netherlands, but I also love my country. There is the Chinese saying, ‘A son never disgusts his mother, no matter how poor she is’. By making contributions to your mother land, you will feel so proud that nothing can compare to that kind of feeling.”
.aut
Ingrid Leeuwangh
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