Launch of the House of Danish Industry Foundation in Beijing strengthens Danish-Chinese university partnership

On 25 September the House of the Danish Industry Foundation was inaugurated in Beijing, China, further strengthening the partnership between eight Danish universities, the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

This partnership saw the light of day in October 2008, when the Memorandum of Understanding Concerning the Establishment of a Sino-Danish Center for Research and Education was signed by Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China and H.E. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Denmark.

The Danish Minister for Higher Education and Science Søren Pind welcomed the inauguration of the building as a new framework within which good ideas and new perspectives will be developed. For many Danish students, researchers and companies, the initiative will work as a direct bridge into the opportunities offered by the Chinese market.

Once the Sino-Danish Center for Education and Research (SDC) moves in, the house will become a focal point for researchers and students from both countries. The house includes 20 apartments for researchers and teachers, offices for PhD students and researchers, meeting rooms and administration offices. It is designed to accommodate 400 masters students, 100 researchers and 75 Ph.D. students.

In the realisation of the project, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences has functioned as the developer, while the Danish Building and Property Agency and the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, among others, have supervised and quality-assured the construction work.

The partnership consists of six fields of research: Life Sciences, Social Sciences, Water and Environment, Sustainable Energy, Nanoscience, Food and Health. As for the Master’s programmes, offered by the SDC, they are seven: Innovation Management, Public Management and Social Development, Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, Nanoscience and Technology, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Water and Environment, Omics. All graduates will obtain a double degree from both the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and one of the Danish partner universities.

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