Swiss French-Speaking Alumni Event at the Confucius Institute in the University of Geneva

By Confucius Institute at the University of Geneva

On the evening of October 8, 2019, the Confucius Institute at the University of Geneva hosted the fifth meeting of the Swiss French-speaking alumni in China.

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Gérald Béroud, President of the French-speaking section of the Swiss-Chinese Association, Béatrice Ferrari, Head of Bilateral Relations at the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, and swissnex China representative, Jeyanthy Geymeier, representative of the Alumni Association of Lausanne University, as well as Basile Zimmermann, Director of the Confucius Institute, welcomed the thirty participants to this event.

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After Basile Zimmermann welcomed everyone at the Confucius Institute, Ms Ferrari, Ms Geymeier, and Mr Beroud each said a few words of introduction.

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Afterwards, the sinologists Estelle Niklès van Osselt of the Fondation Baur in Geneva gave a presentation. She explained how she studied in China from 1993 until 2004, attending courses in Chinese universities and doing research in the fields of history of art and archeology. She shared her memories of fieldwork and first-hand research experience at the famous pottery center Jingdezhen. Ms Niklès also described how much China changed over these years, including how Chinese people think about themselves, but also how their technical environment changed. For instance, WeChat software is now used everywhere in the country, and Ms Niklès relies on it to keep in touch with her former classmates.

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Switzerland is one of the first country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, and in 2020 we will celebrate its 70 anniversary. Over the last 69 years, exchanges between the two countries with regard to education, technology, exchanges and collaborations, have resulted in many successes. In this process, the contribution of alumni have proved extraordinarily fruitful.

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This event received the support of the Education Section at the Chinese Embassy, swissnex China, the French-speaking section of the Swiss-Chinese Association, the Alumni Association at Lausanne University, as well as the Department of East-Asian studies and the Confucius Institute in the University of Geneva. 

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10月8日晚,瑞士日内瓦大学孔子学院举办第五届瑞士法语区留华校友联谊活动。

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        瑞中协会法语区分会会长白鹄(Gérald Béroud)先生、瑞士联邦政府科技文化中心代表彼阿特丽丝.法拉利(Béatrice Ferrari)女士、洛桑大学校友会代表泽燕西.歌梅尔(Jeyanthy Geymeier)女士、孔院外方院长金亦然(Basile Zimmermann)先生以及30多位曾在中国留学的瑞士友人参加了活动。

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         活动开始,金亦然院长首先致欢迎词。法拉利女士、歌梅尔女士和白鹄先生分别代表各自的组织发表了讲话。

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        随后,瑞士鲍氏东方艺术馆(Fondation Baur Musée des Arts d'Extrême-Orient)策展人、汉学家李秋星(Estelle Niklès van Osselt)向各位留华校友分享了自己从1993至2004年间在中国进行的艺术和考古方面的访问、交流和研究工作及其心得体会。其中,她所展示的景德镇历代瓷器装烧图以及自己所做的相关的笔记引起了在场听众极大的兴趣。李秋星还跟大家谈到了中国这些年的发展和变化,包括人们的思想观念和技术文化的变迁。她觉得,微信群是一个非常方便而且有用的交流平台,在微信群里,她可以跟中国的同行分享各自的工作成果和共同感兴趣的东西,这让她感到非常高兴。

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       作为和中国最早建交的国家之一,中瑞在2020年将迎来两国建交70周年。在过去的69年间,中瑞两国在教育、科技和文化领域积极互联沟通、精诚合作,取得了丰硕的成果,这其中,曾经在中国留学的瑞士各界友人发挥了重大的作用,做出了不可磨灭的贡献。

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         此次活动获得了中国驻瑞士大使馆文教科处、瑞士联邦政府科技文化中心、瑞中协会法语区分会、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大力支持。

SWISS ALUMNI CHINA 2019 – Adding value and Connecting in Shanghai

By Gabriel Bishop, Junior Project Manager for Academic Relations

More than 3000 Alumni from about 25 Swiss Universities are currently based in China. Every year, swissnex China – officially representing all Swiss Public Universities in China – holds a gathering and offers a platform for this large community to connect.

SWISS ALUMNI CHINA 2019 took place on May 24 on the roof of the Museum of Contemporary Art, in the heart of Shanghai. This year’s edition was the biggest so far: over 270 guests from 23 Universities registered for the event, some of them travelling all the way from Beijing, Hong Kong, Taipei, Chengdu, as well as other cities for the occasion!

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The night was once again the opportunity to share some fond memories from the times studying in Switzerland but also to engage with new members of the community. Indeed, the aim of the evening was to provide a quality setting for the Alumni to connect and strengthen the ties between them.


For this purpose, the networking reception was complemented with a job fair activity, offering a high-in-demand platform for exchanging job perspectives. swissnex China further gave the floor to the active Alumni Chapters in Shanghai. EHL, EPFL, ETH Zurich, HEC Lausanne and UZH shared the latest news and presented their activities. This was also a chance for the Alumni from the other universities to gather, thus paving the way for new chapters to be created. Our hope is that UniGE will set the pace and launch their chapter soon.

Dr. Felix Moesner, Science Consul & CEO at swissnex China, with the Chapters’ representatives.

Dr. Felix Moesner, Science Consul & CEO at swissnex China, with the Chapters’ representatives.

The success of SWISS ALUMNI CHINA reflects the excellence of Swiss Higher Education. It is always a pleasure to reunite with the exquisite group that the Swiss Alumni community is. The swissnex China Team would like to give a special thank to the chapters and to our generous sponsors, Lindt, Orange Garten, Ricola and swissmooh!

We look forward to seeing all of you again at SWISS ALUMNI CHINA 2020!!!

What the Alumni had to say:

"Great event, it brings me back to all the wonderful memories I have from when I studied in Switzerland"

"Brilliant event! Old connections met again through the night and I made new friends in the city"

"It is my first time attending the Swiss Alumni gathering and I am sure there will be many more in the future! Got to know nice people, which is the most valuable thing. Thanks a lot for the organization!"

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Swiss French-Speaking Alumni Event at the Confucius Institute in the University of Geneva

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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。

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”。

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。

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。