From July 27 to August 25, 20 SZTU undergraduates and 20 BFH bachelor students jointly participated in the 2019 Sino-Swiss Summer School, a 4-week highly interactive program organized collaboratively by Shenzhen Technology University (SZTU) and Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) in Switzerland. Students enrolled in the program spent 2 weeks in Switzerland and another 2 weeks in China. 40 Swiss and Chinese students grasped this marvellous opportunity to develop academic skills, make friends with like-minded international students, and to explore different culture in both countries.

SZTU and BFH students and teachers are visiting Biel campus at BFH. [Photo by International Cooperation & Student Affairs Office]

It is the very first summer school that SZTU jointly arranged with an international partner university, in which students from both universities actively involved. Both SZTU and BFH hope to keep this meaningful summer school program as a tradition so that more and more Swiss and Chinese students will mutually benefit from the unique experience.

Students are taking “Economic Aspects of New Energy Technologies” course. [Photo by International Cooperation & Student Affairs Office]

Embraced by the hearty hospitality, 40 SZTU and BFH students firstly attended the 2-week program in Switzerland, which is mainly made of courses and workshops in the area of new energy technology, such as storage and smart grids, physics fundamentals of photovoltaics and batteries, applied photovoltaic, etc. Participants took courses taught by BFH faculty members and completed team-based projects. Interactive classes provided students opportunities to learn new ideas from each other. They deepened the understanding of various subjects and sharpened their academic skills comprehensively through practical experiments.

In addition, students gained valuable insights by the application of new energy technology through on-site visits of well-known clean energy power facilities and research station in Swiss, such as Mont Soleil photovoltaic and wind power station, Grimsel hydropower plant and Jungfraujoch International Research Station.

Students are having experiments in labs. [Photo by International Cooperation & Student Affairs Office]

Students visit Jungfraujoch International Research Station. [Photo by International Cooperation & Student Affairs Office]

What’s more, SZTU students got the chance to emerge themselves into the charismatic charms of Lucern river, Rigi mountain, Interlaken city and to indulge in the historic buildings in old town of Bern.

After the program in Switzerland, 40 SZTU and BFH students continued the trip in China where they explored for another 2 weeks. During the 2-week stay at SZTU, participants had lectures to explore in-depth new energies and new materials topics and gained hands-on experiences in various research labs. They also paid several site visits to well- known enterprises in Shenzhen such as Hanergy Mobile Energy Company, BYD Company, and Huawei Technology Company, etc. Last but not least, they enjoyed lots of cultural exchanges and activities in Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong Province, as well as Shenzhen, a technological hub in China.

Students from SZTU and BFH visit BYD Company. [Photo by International Cooperation & Student Affairs Office]

The Sino-Swiss Summer School provides both Swiss and Chinese students an excellent chance to gain diverse perspective, enrich their academic education, broaden their horizons, cultivate intercultural social skills, and to make new friends.

Students are visiting Canton Tower in Guangzhou. [Photo by International Cooperation & Student Affairs Office]

Sven De Gasparo from BFH said, “The summer school in SZTU was a really wonderful experience. Interesting keynotes, experiments, visits and excursions have brought a lot of diversity, while keeping it on different topics. By far the favorite part was the visit of the Splendid China Folk Village. Even the weather was not the best, I could learn and see a lot of the Chinese culture. I hope future summer schools will be held similar to this one, as the warm welcome and relaxed atmosphere made the stay a wonderful experience.”

Farewell Party at SZTU [Photo by International Cooperation & Student Affairs Office]

Karthikan Manogaran from BFH said, “The summer school is a great project that I would recommend to every student. The combination with lessons and excursions make the whole project varied. My favorite part was visiting and eating together.”

Some students pay a visit to Huawei Technology Company. [Photo by International Cooperation & Student Affairs Office]

Sok-Rithy Phy from BFH said, “I think the summer school has great benefits for all students. For us the experience to work with Chinese mindsets and learning the differences in culture will give us a great advantage in the future. My favorite arrangements where the one we cooked for ourselves and the BBQs. Also the visit to different companies especially BYD.”

Swiss and Chinese students enjoy Chinese hot pot.  [Photo by International Cooperation & Student Affairs Office]