This spring, a high-ranking delegation from DānDōng city and its international port DōngGăng in Liáoníng province, northeast China, visited Media University Cologne – and only six months later, the return visit took place. The regional broadcaster reported on the official reception of Media University’s President Prof. Dr. Klaus-Dieter Schulz in DōngGăng’s city hall, on his first day after arrival.
The Northeastern province Liáoníng offers unrivalled cultural wealth and economic potential. Prof. Dr. Klaus-Dieter Schulz was overwhelmed by the warm reception and genuine respect for our country he was met with in this particularly unique region. He was impressed with the priority that is placed on education as a key to sustainable civil and economic development:
“The openness and sympathy, which we were welcomed with, was really impressing. All members of universities and administration we met stressed their high regard of Germany and particularly the standards of eduaction our country is known for. The esteem is mutual – we always instantly agreed upon the benefits of learning from each other.”
The journey was organized by Feng Aimin, Putonghua lecturer at Media University and head of Academy Zhong in Cologne, in cooperation with Jiang Ling, head of Abacus Academy in DōngGăng. With their support, Media University was able to establish new valuable connections with educational institutions and political officials, not only in China‘s northeast, but also south of Běijīng, in the heartland of ancient Chinese culture, in the Hénán and Héběi provinces.
The goal of the reciprocal visits to Germany and China was to further the mutual knowledge of common and different features of both educational systems in order to better understand respective strengths and potentials. While the main focus lay on higher education, each party also visited vocational schools, high schools, and even primary schools and kindergartens as part of the overall educational system. A holisitic view on all integral parts of the educational system helped to deepen mutual insights.
From a German perspective, it is impressive to see the outstanding importance that is assigned to educational standards in China. Contrary to common prejudice, discipline and focus is supplemented with nurturing, and the development of creative potential encouraged, too. Fittingly, our chinese partners were especially interested in questions of didactic methodology, e. g. combining academic studies with vocational training, as it is offered in Media University’s dual programs, which are unique in the field of media, communication, and management.
Media University’s new academic partners are (in alphabetical order):
Ānyáng (Hénán): Ānyáng Normal University
DānDōng (Liáoníng): Eastern Liáoníng University
Hándān (Héběi): Hándān Polytechnical College
Xíngtái (Héběi): Xíngtái University
Zhèngzhōu (Hénán): Zhèngzhōu Normal University
Zhèngzhōu (Hénán): Zhōngyuán University of Information Technology & Business
These universities offer Media University students the opportunity to spend a semester abroad, to gain works as interns, or attend workshops (International Office). Vice versa, Media University strengthens its activities to attract students from China and from regions all over the world to come to Berlin, Cologne, or Frankfurt in order to attend their M.A. programs, which are taught in English. That even B.A. programs in German can be successfully attended by foreign students is proven by Boyun Wang, who is enroled in Media University‘s Media and Event Management program. We are both happy and proud that as of today, more than 30 nations are represented at Media University of Applied Sciences.
