Half-time at this year's China Week 2020

Today's China Week 2020, which was moderated by Vice President for Studies and Teaching Prof. Dr. Brenner, was dedicated in particular to the students. Just under 50 participants were connected online ten minutes before the official start of the event, with up to 68 participants joining in over the course of the event.

In order to sensitize the students to the "rather difficult topic of copyright in China", Dr. Georg Ebertshäuser gave the opening lecture on the topic of "Original, plagiarism and copy in China - some considerations using the example of Wang Xizhi's foreword to the collection from the Orchid Pavilion". In China, copies are primarily used to "preserve and conserve the original" and thus also express a certain appreciation of the original - an understanding of plagiarism that is not really different from the German one, as Prof. Dr. Brenner states.

After this very successful introduction, Prof. Dr. Michael Z. Hou, Head of the China Competence Center, spoke about exchange opportunities with the 13 Chinese partner universities, which are aimed at students as well as doctoral candidates, employees and professors. From five-month exchange semesters, internships, two-week summer and winter schools, research stays for doctoral students and short stays for employees are also possible. The China Competence Center not only helps with obtaining a visa and finding accommodation, but also covers a large part of the costs incurred, e.g. for flights and accommodation. Immediately afterwards, Prof. Dr. Rembe will present a highly topical cooperation project with Sichuan University. Just last week, the jointly submitted application for the Bachelor's degree course in Electrical Engineering was approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education. The special thing about this project is that the course is offered identically at both universities, so that an equal exchange of German and Chinese students is possible. Both the Chinese and German students will then receive a degree from both universities, which is an aspect that should not be neglected in view of the increasing demand for Chinese expertise in Germany.

Three students from Clausthal University of Technology, who have already been lucky enough to take advantage of an offer from the China Competence Center, then report on their experiences on site. According to Philipp Seidel, it is advisable to learn a few important phrases in Chinese beforehand, as otherwise "you may survive, but you won't really experience it". Thanks to the financial support of the China Competence Center, it was also possible to "live like a king". When asked by Prof. Dr. Hou whether he had also experienced anything bad, Seidel replied "Yes, I had to fly back - and I couldn't poach a canteen chef". Fabienne Fischer, who also spent a semester abroad in Chengdu, also encourages "People, if you are interested in a semester abroad in China, DO IT! It was the best time of my life, the people are great, the food is great and the China Competence Center really looks after you very well, you will never feel lost!".

Finally, the participants gained a little practical insight into Chinese culture through the following workshops. Dr. Lin Cai, Director of the Confucius Institute in Hanover, introduced them to Chinese calligraphy, while Martin Josuweit, who was connected online, encouraged them to "join in with Qiging-Qi". As the cooking class planned for today could not take place due to coronavirus, Dr. Hong Liu-Kiel gave a short talk on Chinese food culture instead, which led to a lively exchange among the participants in the chat. The day ended with the online quiz organized by Dr. Lara M. Gottfried and Dr. Hong Liu-Kiel, which attracted around 50 participants. In addition to questions on geography and population, knowledge of Chinese culture was also required. Based on the subsequent feedback from the students, it can be assumed that this third day of the event was "exciting and topical" for the students - and therefore also very successful.