Denmark to have University Centre in Beijing

Danish students, researchers and enterprises can now look forward to a Danish University Centre in China's capital, Beijing. Construction of the Centre will start already next year, and it is planned to be finished by 2013. This means that Denmark will be among the very first countries to establish research-based university educations in China.

This has just been agreed by the Danish Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Helge Sander, and the eight Danish universities, following thorough preparations that started precisely one year ago, when Helge Sander headed a major Danish delegation to China.

The Danish University Centre is to facilitate access to leading Chinese research environments and make it more flexible to exchange researchers and students between Denmark and China. At the same time the Centre will ensure that Danish enterprises in China get easier access to staff that also have an insight into Danish business environments and corporate culture.

– With the Danish University Centre in Beijing, Denmark takes a great step forward in utilising the globalisation seen in the area of knowledge. The University Centre will be a visible platform for Danish research and education in the world's most populous country, at the same time being of benefit to the more than 350 Danish enterprises already engaged in China, says Science Minister Helge Sander.

– I am pleased to see that all Danish universities give their support to the Centre. By combining our strengths we can get the size that it takes to compete successfully in China. The objective is to support the international activities of our universities by building strong collaborative relations with Chinese researchers, and to provide better facilities for Danish students who wish to study in China as part of their education, says Jens Oddershede, President, University of Southern Denmark, who is the spokesman of Danish Universities.

The Centre will be established in partnership with the Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, which is the cornerstone of the 116 government research institutes under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In this way, Danish researchers will get direct access to a network of leading research environments covering all China.

The main location of the Centre will be a new building, intended to represent Danish architecture and design. When the University Centre has been fully deployed, it will accommodate 100 researchers, 75 PhD students and 300 master's degree students, about one-half being from Denmark. In addition, employees of the more than 350 Danish enterprises in China may be offered supplementary education at the Centre.

Science Minister Helge Sander can be contacted via Communications Manager Niels Hovmand on phone +45 33 92 97 37 or mobile +45 40 82 89 58.