Nordic Centre, Fudan University

The Nordic Centre was happy to host a visit by the new Executive Director Anders Sloth Nielsen of Innovation Centre Denmark, Shanghai and discuss many new opportunities for collaboration.

This week Tuesday, we had the pleasure to host a visit by Rysensteen Gymnasium from Copenhagen. The students are all studying Chinese and were visiting China to examine the well-being of young people in China and Denmark. The Nordic Centre team was also more happy to be interviewed by the students for their group work on various topics related to the differences of the Nordic and Chinese societies.

Last week, as part of his official visit to China, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre visited Fudan University and the Nordic Centre. After delivering a lecture and meeting with students at Fudan’s Guanghua Building, the Prime Minister arrived at the Nordic Centre with his delegation for a brief but important visit. This was the second time Jonas Gahr Støre visited Fudan. His first visit was 29 years ago in 1995 as a member of the delegation of Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland. It was the year the Nordic Centre was established. Next year, the Nordic Centre will celebrate its 30th anniversary. Images: Norwegian Consulate General in Shanghai, Fudan University

The Nordic Centre summer course Business and Innovation in China took place in Shanghai over an intensive two-week period from July 1st to July 12th, bringing together a record number of students from the five Nordic countries. The summer course Business and Innovation in China has been a staple of the Nordic Centre education portfolio for several years. In 2023, we were thrilled to see the return of the summer course to its fully on-site mode, and this year, we welcomed more students than any previous year, with 35 students from 13 universities – and this number would have been significantly bigger if we had the capacity to accept all interested students (see the end of the post for a full list of participating universities). As always, with the aim of providing insights into the exciting and ever-changing business world in China, the course consisted of various activities – company visits, academic lectures at the Nordic Centre, various cultural activities as well as an overnight trip to the nearby city of Suzhou. During the two-week course, the students visited companies such as Volvo, ByteDance and EY, among others, and heard insightful presentations by experts from different fields. They also had a chance to connect with the Nordic consulates in Shanghai at the highest level, at an event attended by several Heads of Missions and other representatives. As an integral part of the course, the students worked on their very own business ideas, which they pitched on the last day of the course – and while there was only one winner, all the students did a great job presenting their innovative ideas. On the more cultural side of things, the students tried out dragon and lion dance, and of course learned some basic Mandarin Chinese as well. Apart from various activities in Shanghai, we also traveled to Suzhou to experience a different, more traditional side of China. The popularity and success of this year’s course again proves that is likely to remain an integral part of the Nordic Centre activities in the future as well. If you want to know more, and perhaps be part of next year’s course, don’t hesitate to contact us! On this year's Business and Innovation in China summer course, we had the pleasure to welcome students from the following universities: Denmark: Aalborg University, Aarhus University, University of Copenhagen, University of Southern Denmark Norway: BI Norwegian Business School, NHH Norwegian School of Economics, University of Oslo Finland: University of Eastern Finland, University of Turku Sweden: Lund University, University of Gothenburg, Stockholm University Iceland: University of Iceland Our main instructor was again Dmitrij Slepniov from Aalborg University Business School.

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Last week we arranged a seminar on Gender Studies at the Nordic Centre! As the Nordic Centre aims to promote Sino-Nordic academic relations, we arranged this seminar to give PhD students from both Fudan University and Nordic universities, working on the topic of gender issues, a platform for presenting their thesis and thoughts on this topic. The seminar became a space for comparing, discussing, and learning about gender issues in a Nordic and Chinese context. The presenters: Zhao Lisheng 赵莉生 from Fudan University, School of International Affairs and Public Relations: How Female Legislators Represent Women - Research on the Chinese National People’s Congress. Sara Helene Dybesland from the European University Institute and University of Oslo, Department of Political Science: Miss Represented or Misrepresented? Gender Biased Priority Responsiveness in the Norwegian Parliament. Zeng Haoxin 曾浩鑫 from Fudan University, School of Social Development and Public Policy: The Development of Online Women Communities in China. Wan Yangyang 万鸯鸯 from Fudan University, School of Social Development and Public Policy: Parenting in the Fields - Child Domestic Work and Family Practices in Rural China.

Earlier this week, the Nordic Centre hosted a meeting with the four Nordic Consulates General. The four Nordic Deputy Consuls General, from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, along with other staff members met with the Nordic Centre Programme Manager and staff to discuss future collaboration. The meeting was also joined by Deputy Director of Fudan’s Office of Global Partnerships. The discussion was focused most of all on collaboration during the upcoming Nordic Centre summer course “Business and Innovation in China” – with almost 40 Nordic students traveling to Shanghai – but also other long term collaborative projects were discussed. Ever since the establishment of the Nordic Centre in 1995, the Nordic Consulates General in Shanghai have been important partners and supporters of the Nordic Centre, and this week’s meeting was an excellent start for concrete future collaboration. #NordicCentreFudan #NordicCollaboration

Greetings from the Nordic Centre! This week we arranged an afternoon meeting – or as it’s often called in the Nordics, fika – with the Nordic Centre fellows and our visiting scholars. As the Nordic Centre works to enhance further collaboration between Nordic and Chinese scholars, such meetings are particularly valuable. While informal, we believe they are effective in encouraging cooperation between our Nordic member universities and Fudan University, as well as promoting interdisciplinary relations. During the meeting, our visiting scholars had the chance to connect with Fudan scholars working within several fields, including environmental issues, human rights, gender studies, and urban development. The Nordic Centre currently hosts visiting scholars from six different universities in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. For more information about opportunities at the Nordic Centre for researchers at our member universities, you can see our website: https://lnkd.in/grHWKv5S

Greetings from the Nordic Centre! In the year of 2024, we offer a number of activities and opportunities for both students and scholars! Check out the latest Nordic Centre Newsletter for more information about our upcoming events, research funding and courses!