Press release: Göttingen and Nanjing celebrate 25 years of university partnership

Nr. 216/2009 - 30.10.2009

Georg-August-Universität in China – flourishing cooperation extended

Contacts in academia, collaborative research, and student exchanges all link the University of Göttingen with the University of Nanjing in the People’s Republic of China. From 23rd to 25th October, 2009, the two universities celebrated in Nanjing this flourishing cooperation, which goes back 25 years, as well as the founding 20 years ago of the joint Sino-German Institute for Legal Studies. A University delegation including leading figures of the University and its academic staff took part in the festivities.

The Universities took the opportunity of these anniversary celebrations to declare their mutual intentions to expand the cooperation yet further. University Presidents Prof. Dr. Kurt von Figura and Prof. Dr. Chen Jun signed four agreements in all, including two concerning the continuation of the joint institutes in the areas of law and intercultural German studies. The student exchange arrangements, which have existed up to now within the framework of four study programmes, are being opened up to all faculties. In addition, the new “Exzellenzprogramm Deutsch” will offer students in areas other than German studies the opportunity to learn the German language at various faculties in Nanjing.

The University of Göttingen had also invited former students and academic staff resident in China to a large-scale alumni meeting and the founding event of a Chinese Alumni Association. The new association numbers 90 founder members, and regional groups are to be set up in Peking, Nanjing, Xi’an, Guangzhou, Shenyang and Hongkong. The next annual general meeting will take place in the Chinese capital, Peking.

A three-day alumni seminar was held at the Institute of Legal Studies on the subject of “Sustainable Development – Perspectives of Chinese and German Law in Comparison”. Workshops also took place in physics, informatics, the geosciences and intercultural German studies. In the field of North American studies, Prof. Dr. Frank Kelleter and his Chinese colleague Prof. He Chengzhou are planning a research project comparing theories and methods in North America research as it is pursued in Germany and China.