Contributed by Mr. Basile Zimmermann from the Confucius Institute in Geneva
On the evening of August 28, 2018, in a beautiful 19th century house nearby Lake Geneva, the Confucius Institute at the University of Geneva hosted the fourth meeting of the Swiss French-speaking alumni in China. More than 30 alumni participated in this event to discuss their memories of China and share their experiences of the present day.
The Director of the Confucius Institute, Dr. Basile Zimmermann, welcomed the guests. He expressed his joy to have such an opportunity for the alumni to exchange with each other.
The Director of the Confucius Institute, Dr. Basile Zimmermann, welcomed the guests. He expressed his joy to have such an opportunity for the alumni to exchange with each other.
Gérald Béroud, President of the French-speaking section of the Swiss-Chinese Association,discussed the strengthening of the relations between the two countries and expressed his hopes that everyone would contribute in taking them to the next level.
Béatrice Ferrari, Head of Bilateral Relations at the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, presented the activities of swissnex China, with a special focus on science and technology cooperation as well as scientific diplomacy.
Later on, Dr. Marc Laperrouza gave a detailed presentation of the "China Hardware Innovation Camp" at EPFL, which he had started in 2015 together with Pascal Marmier, who had the original idea. Composed of students with business, design, and engineering background, the program is highly interdisciplinary. Students are organized in groups and work on designing their own connected device, then they all go to China to manufacture it. Every year, Marc Laperrouzza travels with the participants, and he attempts to help them better understand the country. To this day, products that have been designed include for instance a smart milk bottle, a smart lunch box, a device for long-distance communication for the elderly, or a device to measure the quality of water, etc. Marc also takes the students to visit a big Chinese enterprise. He discussed the challenge of providing a few weeks of experience and understanding to students who most often don't know much about contemporary China. Dr. Laperrouzza's presentation lasted more than one hour, and everyone was quite excited to learn about such a successful and innovative way of working with China.
Later on, everybody had dinner together, and the participants continued the discussions on the lakeside.
The alumni agreed that this kind of gathering not only reinforces their relations with China, but also promotes further collaboration of all kinds and gives positive energy.
This event was organized thanks to the support of the French-speaking section of the Swiss-Chinese Association, the Chinese Embassy in Bern, swissnex China, the Department of East Asian studies and the alumni association at the University of Geneva, as well as the alumni association at the University of Lausanne.
日内瓦大学孔子学院举办瑞士法语区留华校友联谊活动
当地时间8月28日晚，日内瓦大学孔子学院在秋风送爽的莱蒙湖畔举办第四届瑞士法语区留华校友联谊活动。30多名曾经在中国留学的瑞士友人参加了活动，共叙彼此记忆中的留华岁月，分享如今中国和各自生活的关联以及对中国的感受。
孔子学院外方院长金亦然 (Basile Zimmermann) 博士首先致欢迎辞。他非常高兴每年能提供机会让留华校友们在一起交流磋商，回忆过去，畅想未来。
瑞中协会法语区分会会长白鹄 (Gérald Béroud) 先生则强调瑞士与中国各界的交往越来越频繁，他希望在坐的各位能为中瑞的进一步交流做出贡献。
瑞士联邦政府科技文化中心的代表彼阿特丽丝·法拉利（Béatrice Ferrari）女士也介绍了瑞士联邦政府科技文化中心中国分部的主要活动，特别是在科学技术方面的双边合作，其宗旨是“为科学服务的外交”。
为了让来宾们了解中国现今的科技文化和创新创业活动，孔院特意邀请洛桑联邦理工学院讲师和研究员、“中国硬件创新训练营”联合创始人马克.拉珀劳扎（Marc Laperrouzza）先生介绍该训练营和中国的创客群体的合作情况。洛桑联邦理工学院的“中国硬件创新训练营”创建于2015年，营员由来自工程、设计、商业等不同学科背景的学生组成，他们以团队形式将好的设计理念变成App或产品雏形。每年，拉珀劳扎先生都会带领营员们带着这些产品的雏形去中国，与中国的创客团队合作生产这些产品。目前，已经成功生产的产品包括智能奶瓶、智能饭盒、面向老人群体的远程沟通装置、测试水源清洁度的产品，等等。此外，他还带领学生参观了一些大型的中国企业。他详细介绍了多年来他如何为洛桑几所高校不同专业的学生开发并组织“中国硬件创新训练营”独特的课程与活动，特别是如何让对中国一无所知的学生在短短的几周内感受、体验、了解中国的国情与当地的真实生活。拉珀劳扎先生为时一个多小时的精彩发言扣人心弦，为大家展示了跟中国合作的多种多样的可能性与广阔的前景。
最后，所有朋友共进晚餐，在友好热烈的气氛中继续交流。大家都认为这样的活动不仅加强了他们跟中国的联系，而且能够推动他们将来跟中国的合作。
此外，他们彼此分享的中国经验也正以良性辐射的方式惠及着他们周围的群体。活动受到了校友们的热烈欢迎。
此次活动获得了中国驻瑞士大使馆、瑞中协会法语区分会、瑞士联邦政府科技文化中心、日内瓦大学东亚学系、日内瓦大学校友会以及洛桑大学校友会的支持。