swissnex China joins discussion on The Frontiers of Digital Convergence at Zhejiang University

By Mirjam Haab, Junior Project Manager - Science Outreach and Diplomacy

On July 15, the Academy of Internet Finance of Zhejiang University in Hangzhou held its yearly EMBA seminar on Fintech and Blockchain related topics. Zhang Ruidong, the Director and Founder of the Blockchain Labs, invited representatives from the Danish and Swiss Science & Technology Consulates to hold country-specific presentations along with industry experts, professors and other interested parties who covered more technical Fintech topics.

This year, the global leitmotif was “The Frontiers of Digital Convergence”. A total of 6 presentations were delivered on various themes, spanning from the newly launched Libra Blockchain by Facebook, its’ motivation and business models evolving from it, over Financial Big Data, how to conduct Artificial Intelligence research and apply it in practice, to Blockchain applications in Supply Chain traceability. Additionally, there were the two country-specific Fintech presentations. The first one covered recent Fintech developments in Denmark and was held by Ran Zhao from the Danish Consulate. The second was held by swissnex China Junior Project Manager Mirjam Haab and covered the Swiss Fintech Landscape, recent developments and an outlook into the future regarding regulatory, economic, social and technological challenges and opportunities.

This very interesting and insightful morning was then followed by a delicious Zhejiang cuisine lunch with all the participants, where further discussions and casual conversations took place. It was, for example, mentioned how Cryptocurrencies are experiencing some hardship in China and are nowhere soon to be integrated as a means of pay according to some participants. Zhejiang University also has a Fintech program and swissnex China would hope to bring together Swiss Fintech startups with their Chinese peers in order to exploit synergies, learn from each other and create added value for both.

Finally, the event, spanning all morning until the early afternoon, provided the occasion for very enriching conversations about cultural differences and drawing comparisons between sociopolitical and economic issues in China, Switzerland and Denmark. Undoubtedly, the exchanges and presentations added value to an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of digital convergence as well as the Danish and Swiss Fintech landscapes.

We cordially thank Zhang Ruidong for his very kind invite and hope to participate at the event in future occasions again.

Ran Zhao (left), Christina Mark (middle) and Mirjam Haab (right) at the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station.

Successful Kickoff of swissnex’s Science Diplomacy Event Series

By Nicola Hofer, Junior Project Manager - Academic Relations

On July 16, swissnex China was delighted to welcome Dr. Jan-Alexander Posth (Senior Lecturer, ZHAW) and Allegra G. Fonda-Bonardi (Chief Officer of Research, DeTao Institute of Green Development) as part of its Science Diplomacy event series. The two speakers compared and discussed their perspectives on ESG compliant investment along China’s Belt & Road. The introduction was delivered by the Science Consul of Switzerland in China, Dr. Felix Moesner.

Dr. Posth gave a presentation entitled "The Belt & Road Initiative and its potential for an ESG revolution: A network view”. He talked from a networking perspective about the opportunities of China’s epic venture to advance Asia’s and the world’s transition to a sustainable economy. He stressed that the Belt & Road Initiative is associated with high hopes, great opportunities and enormous impacts at the global and strategic levels.

Ms. Fonda-Bonardi spoke on “Drivers of change in ESG marketplaces in China and Europe”. She stressed that ESG remains at the center of investment, public attention and even algorithmic power in both Europe and China. The presentation addressed challenges and opportunities in the information ecosystems that drive ESG’s investments in China and Europe, and proposed ways to make ESG’s information ecosystem more robust and effective in channeling capital toward corporate purpose in the short, medium, and long-term.

Following the presentations, Mirjam Haab of swissnex China led a panel discussion. The audience asked interesting questions, which were answered just as competently by the speakers.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Dr. Posth and Ms. Fonda-Bonardi for their interesting and inspiring lectures. swissnex China is looking forward to its next Science Diplomacy event.

swissnex China attends the 5th China-South Asia Exposition in Kunming

By Xu Yuzhuo, Junior Project Leader Academic Relations

The 5th China-South Asia Exposition was held in Kunming from June 14 to 20, 2018. swissnex China was invited by the Consulate General of Switzerland in Chengdu to join the Swiss Pavilion at the expo, represented by our two Junior Project Leaders Priska Furrer and Xu Yuzhuo.

The swissnex China booth at the 5th China-South Asia Exposition in Kunming.

This is the first time that swissnex China has attended the China-South Asia Exposition. Our participation afforded us a stellar opportunity to promote the excellence of Swiss higher education to the audience in Yunnan and its surrounding areas.

Our booth attracted many a young visitor who were eager to learn more about Swiss public universities.

The Expo has an impressive estimated attendance figure of around 300,000 guests per day. Our swissnex China booth attracted many a young visitor who were intrigued by Switzerland and were eager to learn more about Swiss public universities.

swissnex China also had the great pleasure of meeting the Vice Mayor of Kunming and introduced the Mayor to the mission and diverse range of activities of swissnex in China.

We met the Vice Mayor of Kunming and introduced the Mayor to the mission and diverse range of activities of swissnex in China.

In summary, this was an excellent opportunity to promote swissnex China and Swiss public universities. Our special thanks to Consulate General of Switzerland in Chengdu again for inviting us to participate!

Swedish STINT Program Learns from the swissnex China Business Model

On May 11 2018, we had the great honor of hosting Dr. Andreas Gothenberg, Executive Director and Dr. Erik Forsberg, China Representative of STINT, The Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education, which is part of the Swedish Government. STINT promotes the internationalization of projects proposed by researchers, educators and leaderships at Swedish universities. The largest bilateral program for academic mobility is with China, therefore the Academic cooperation with China is central to STINT.

The two STINT representative visited swissnex China to learn from our business model based on public-private-partnership, namely how we connect the dots, build strong networks & communities and become a clear point of attraction for any Swiss institution seeking academic and innovation partnerships in China. Furthermore, we are delighted that Dr. Erik Forsberg decided to become the newest member representing Sweden in the Science & Technology Diplomatic Circle in Shanghai.

Our CEO Dr. Felix Moesner with Dr. Andreas Gothenberg, Executive Director and Dr. Erik Forsberg, China Representative of STINT

Visit to the University of Zurich

The swissnex annual meeting was held from 11-15 December 2017, various meetings and visits on topics of research, education and innovation were organized during the week, among which the visit to UZH on 14 December to learn about the latest research development there. 

UZH is known for its stand at the forefront of cutting-edge researches, and the visit highlighted its efforts on digital society. Welcomed by Prof. Christian Schwarzenegger, Vice President of UZH, the delegation had the pleasure to learn about the following nine research projects that are currently being conducted by different researchers at UZH: 

Prof. Michael Baudis, “Life Sciences Data” 

Prof. Baudis’s research focus is on the analysis of structural variations in cancer genomes by computational genomics, including bioinformatics and systems biology methods. His work centers around their collection of genomic tumor data, assembled from copy number screening experiments in cancer. More details: http://www.imls.uzh.ch/en/research/baudis.html 

Prof. Patricia Schlagenhauf, “ITIT-Illness tracking in travelers” 

Patricia Schlagenhauf is a Scientist and Professor at the University of Zürich, WHO Collaborating Centre for Travel Medicine, Switzerland and is active in research, teaching and travel clinic duties. She explained how digital tool can be used to collect data about illness and disease among travelers. More details: https://www.ebpi.uzh.ch/en/aboutus/departments.html

Prof. Anita Gohdes, “Politics in the Digital Age” 

Prof. Gohdes’s research focuses on political violence, state repression and the measurement of human rights. Her research project theoretically and empirically investigates how governments use digital communication technology to inform their strategies of violent repression. More details: https://www.ipz.uzh.ch/en/institut/mitarbeitende/staff/gohdes.html 

Dr. Amani Said, Science matters (UZH Startup) 

“Stories can wait, science cannot” - Being aware of the difficulties that scientist have been facing when publish articles, instead of publishing stories, Matters and Matters select publish single, validated observations, thus highlighting the fundamental unit of scientific progress – the observation. More details: https://www.sciencematters.io/ 

Prof. Abraham Bernstein, “digital Society Initiative” 

The digitalization is fundamentally changing science and society. This process challenges existing paradigms, enables novel approaches for research and teaching, and requires new competences in a rapidly changing societal reality. The Digital Society Initiative provides an academic platform for promoting critical, interdisciplinary reflection and innovation on all aspects of the digitalization of society and the sciences.