To promote Switzerland as the ideal place for studying and research seems easy: talk about the top rankings of Swiss Universities, the diversity of University cities, study options, student associations and cultures, the high standard of living and the possible leisure time activities and bring along Swiss chocolate – that will make everybody realize that Switzerland is an attractive destination for Chinese students. However, the difficulty lies in representing the diversity of the Swiss education system during a short event and in one go.
In order to overcome this problem, swissnex China invited several Chinese and Swiss students who have spent some time of their studies at a Swiss higher education institution to the Swiss Day at Fudan University in Shanghai last Friday 20th of November. The rainy Shanghai weather did not stop interested Chinese college and graduate students to first listen attentively to swissnex CEO and Vice Consul General of Switzerland in Shanghai Pascal Marmier, who introduced the benefits and advantages of studying in Switzerland, and second to follow the pitches of ten young representatives of Swiss higher education institutions.
Amongst the institutions to be presented were the University of Zurich, University of St. Gallen, Universita della Svizzera Italiana, HEIG HES-SO, Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, HEC Lausanne and the University of Lausanne, the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute Geneva. The short presentations of each of the participants gave an in-depth display of the possibilities and opportunities Swiss Universities have to offer. The casual Q&A session after the presentations allowed the interested Chinese students to gather first-hand information and more details on Swiss student lives, application procedures and funding solutions. One Chinese student was impressed by the freedom of choice the Swiss education system allows, others were more attracted by the international outlook of Swiss universities.
With the presentations at Fudan a series of swissnex events promoting Switzerland and its higher education system comes to an end. The Swiss Days at Shanghai International Studies University and Fudan as well as the design talk at Tongji University all promoted the excellence of Switzerland’s higher education and thereby helped to deepen the Sino-Swiss relationship.
- Contributed by Sina Gygax, Junior Project Leader swissnex China