On the 17th of May 2014, Swissnex China and the Consulate General of Switzerland in Shanghai participated in the German Day at the KIC Conference Center. German is one of the 4 national languages of Switzerland and is the most spoken language, numerous universities are in the German part of Switzerland and Chinese students speaking German find it an attractive place to study and live.
Wenling Yao (left) and the author (middle)
The Swiss booth is popular!
All day long, students from several Chinese Universities passed by our stand, looking for information about the higher education in Switzerland. The presence of Wenling Yao was valuable; this Chinese student from Fudan Univesity spent 5 months at the University of Zurich to do an exchange in economics. Her experience in Switzerland gave a very good insight to Chinese students that asked her about the living costs and how she was able to find a place for her exchange.
Other Swiss students were also present and were able to answer more technical questions like specific language requirements (German and English levels), exam registration, different program courses taught at the Swiss Universities, or the necessary requirements to apply for Master or PhD studies. Some were also interested in Swiss art schools and students asked several precise questions on our WeChat group and our Weibo webpage.
Overall, this event was a good platform to promote Swiss universities, as many visitors were students from top universities in China who have strong desire to study in a German-speaking country.
－ Contributed by Liliane Gonzalez, Academic Intern at swissnex China