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7 PROGRAMMES YOU CAN STUDY IN CHINA

The Sino-Danish Center in Beijing offers seven Master’s degree programmes in English. This article offers an overview of the programmes and accounts from Danish students who have studied in China.

2014.05.05 | Andreas G. Jensby

The Sino-Danish Center for Education and Research (SDC) is a strategic research and educational collaboration between eight Danish universities, the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS).

The SDC offers seven Master’s degree programmes in English within the natural sciences and social sciences:

Facts about the degree programmes

The primary goal of these programmes is to provide unique educational opportunities to students and produce graduates who are especially attractive to companies and organisations in Denmark and China. The seven programmes:

  • are two-year Master’s programmes
  • admit up to 15 Danish and 15 Chinese students annually. As of 2014, 96 Danish and 154 Chinese students are affiliated with the centre
  • are taught in English by researchers from both Denmark and China
  • incorporate Danish and Chinese companies through case work and various projects
  • enable the Danish students to do a double degree from a Danish university and UCAS

The students’ accounts:

Tanja Krawack, Public Management & Social Development, 4th semester:

“I went to China because I was seeking new challenges and foreign skies, and I chose China because I’m fascinated with Chinese society in general, and I wanted to study it further. I did my internship with a Chinese company, because I wanted to experience the culture there, and I have certainly learned that it’s very different from what we have in Denmark. In my studies, I especially focused on the challenges associated with implementing more environmentally friendly company solutions in China.”  

Mette Hansen, Water & Environment, 4th semester:

“I chose to study Water & Environment in Beijing, because the programme contained a lot of exciting courses, and because China is facing major challenges in terms of water supply and the environment. During the first years of your studies you study the relevant theories and methods, and then, in the second year, you proceed to apply the knowledge you’ve acquired to real life cases. Throughout the last semester, the students get the opportunity to specialise in a specific area of research through various projects and the Master’s thesis. The programme imparts a broad understanding of issues related to water supply and the environment in China and gives the students thorough insight into the challenges that China is facing. The programme also yields a clear understanding of the extent to which problems with water supply and the environment are handled differently in China compared with Denmark. Studying with the Chinese has been a challenging but nonetheless useful and rewarding experience, and it has taught me a lot about Chinese culture.”

Julie Engelsborg Karlsen, Public Management & Social Development, 4th semester:

“I chose the SDC, because I was attracted to the idea of coming to China. I went on an exchange to Hong Kong on my Bachelor’s programme, and I thought it was difficult to return home to our nice little country Denmark. I missed the unpredictability and the everyday excitement, and I needed something other than purely academic challenges. I was also attracted to the idea of being one of the first students at the SDC, and it gave me the opportunity to influence the collaboration from the very outset. I chose to study Public Management & Social Development, because I thought it sounded exciting; studying the development of social welfare from an international and a Danish-Chinese perspective. I’m currently doing an internship at OW Bunker in Shanghai, where I work with marketing.”

Jan Ole Pedersen, Neuroscience & Neuroimaging, 4th semester:

“I chose to study at the SDC to challenge myself in ways that I can’t do in Denmark and to get an experience of a lifetime. I study Neuroscience & Neuroimaging, and in my Master’s thesis I’m working with developing hardware that can be applied in neuroscience. In technical terms, it’s about RF coil for MRI. I did my thesis in collaboration with the Chinese Institute of Biophysics, UCAS, Beijing and two Danish supervisors from the Technical University of Denmark.”

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