Education

%China offers TU Delft new research topics%

Chinese universities are interested in Dutch expertise in water resource engineering and management. TU Delft is interested in testing new techniques on a larger scale.

Now, the two sides have joined forces in a Dutch-Chinese project worth 5-million guilders.

%To facilitate joint research projects with Chinese universities, you must start by updating the Chinese educational programs,” says Cees Timmers, of CICAT, TU Delft%s management center for international cooperation. %In order to discuss new techniques during research projects, Chinese students and staff members must know what it’s all about. There%re so many new developments in water resources engineering and management.”

China faces huge flood control problems, as witnessed when the Yangtze River flooded in 1998. %Dikes broke, reeking havoc on the region%s rich farmlands and large population centers,” says Professor Suo Lisheng, from Hohai University, a technical university in Nanjing, China. %The Chinese government, therefore, allocated large budgets to improve the dikes. And they want to use new technologies.”

The current joint Dutch-Chinese project between universities and R & D institutes from both countries, focuses on education and applied research, with emphasis on the integrated management of the Yellow River basin, and dike construction and flood forecasting for the Yangtze River.

The project is being financed by the Netherlands Embassy in China, for 3.2 million guilders. Delft Cluster, a network of water-related institutes in Delft, and various Chinese universities, research institutes and river commissions will also contribute two million guilders.

The project began with two workshops, in which Chinese R&D-institutes, various professional organizations, and TU Delft professors assessed the Chinese courses.

%As a result, we’re currently updating our courses,” says Suo, who visited TU Delft last week, accompanied by project coordinator, Guo Jichao. %We’re now making the courses less theoretical and more practice-oriented. We’ll use more case studies, which isn’t so common yet in China. We also need to pay more attention to river management, which means taking all aspects into account, such as environmental, ecological, legislative and regulatory, and the price of water supply. This integrative approach is new for China.” Around these subjects, new courses will be developed. Therefore, fifteen Chinese staff members spent the last three months at TU Delft, working on new course materials.

Dike

%We’re now preparing the research projects,” says Timmers, who, with his two Chinese colleagues, was sequestered away in a cramped room for two days, hammering out the project’s details. %Management of such a complex project is a time-consuming but interesting activity.”

Timmers emphasizes that the project is equally interesting for TU Delft, because %our new technologies are based on past Dutch experiences, but we still must see whether they’re applicable to Chinese situations, where projects have a large scale unknown in Holland. There are also many ongoing projects where new technologies we develop could be implemented.”

Timmers adds that Chinese engineers are currently discussing the use of geo-textiles in dike constructions. %However, it remains to be seen whether it’s a technically sound and cost-effective solution for China,” he says.

As part of this joint project, five PhD students started their research projects this week at TU Delft. Their research will be carried out in Delft and China.

Timmers and Sho hope their project is the start of a long, fruitful partnership. Sho: %The project’s attracting lots of attention in China, especially from the Ministry of Water Resources. We’re now writing a proposal to request additional funding from them.”

TU Delft and Hohai University, however, already enjoy a shared history. %The former president of our university, Yen Kai, graduated form Delft in 1936,” says Suo. %Last year, when TU Delft’s Rector Wakker visited our university, Yen Kai, who’s 88 years old, could still answer his questions in Dutch.” (MS)

Chinese universities are interested in Dutch expertise in water resource engineering and management. TU Delft is interested in testing new techniques on a larger scale. Now, the two sides have joined forces in a Dutch-Chinese project worth 5-million guilders.

%To facilitate joint research projects with Chinese universities, you must start by updating the Chinese educational programs,” says Cees Timmers, of CICAT, TU Delft%s management center for international cooperation. %In order to discuss new techniques during research projects, Chinese students and staff members must know what it’s all about. There%re so many new developments in water resources engineering and management.”

China faces huge flood control problems, as witnessed when the Yangtze River flooded in 1998. %Dikes broke, reeking havoc on the region%s rich farmlands and large population centers,” says Professor Suo Lisheng, from Hohai University, a technical university in Nanjing, China. %The Chinese government, therefore, allocated large budgets to improve the dikes. And they want to use new technologies.”

The current joint Dutch-Chinese project between universities and R & D institutes from both countries, focuses on education and applied research, with emphasis on the integrated management of the Yellow River basin, and dike construction and flood forecasting for the Yangtze River.

The project is being financed by the Netherlands Embassy in China, for 3.2 million guilders. Delft Cluster, a network of water-related institutes in Delft, and various Chinese universities, research institutes and river commissions will also contribute two million guilders.

The project began with two workshops, in which Chinese R&D-institutes, various professional organizations, and TU Delft professors assessed the Chinese courses.

%As a result, we’re currently updating our courses,” says Suo, who visited TU Delft last week, accompanied by project coordinator, Guo Jichao. %We’re now making the courses less theoretical and more practice-oriented. We’ll use more case studies, which isn’t so common yet in China. We also need to pay more attention to river management, which means taking all aspects into account, such as environmental, ecological, legislative and regulatory, and the price of water supply. This integrative approach is new for China.” Around these subjects, new courses will be developed. Therefore, fifteen Chinese staff members spent the last three months at TU Delft, working on new course materials.

Dike

%We’re now preparing the research projects,” says Timmers, who, with his two Chinese colleagues, was sequestered away in a cramped room for two days, hammering out the project’s details. %Management of such a complex project is a time-consuming but interesting activity.”

Timmers emphasizes that the project is equally interesting for TU Delft, because %our new technologies are based on past Dutch experiences, but we still must see whether they’re applicable to Chinese situations, where projects have a large scale unknown in Holland. There are also many ongoing projects where new technologies we develop could be implemented.”

Timmers adds that Chinese engineers are currently discussing the use of geo-textiles in dike constructions. %However, it remains to be seen whether it’s a technically sound and cost-effective solution for China,” he says.

As part of this joint project, five PhD students started their research projects this week at TU Delft. Their research will be carried out in Delft and China.

Timmers and Sho hope their project is the start of a long, fruitful partnership. Sho: %The project’s attracting lots of attention in China, especially from the Ministry of Water Resources. We’re now writing a proposal to request additional funding from them.”

TU Delft and Hohai University, however, already enjoy a shared history. %The former president of our university, Yen Kai, graduated form Delft in 1936,” says Suo. %Last year, when TU Delft’s Rector Wakker visited our university, Yen Kai, who’s 88 years old, could still answer his questions in Dutch.” (MS)

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