Community Collaboration

Student Exchange Program between Chengdu and Würburg, 2024

As a lecturer at Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu, I successfully initiated, negotiated, and implemented a partnership with the University of Würzburg in 2024 to establish a student exchange program. This initiative significantly enhances the appeal of our academic program to prospective students while enriching the educational experience for our current students. We will send the first batch of students in the winter term of 2024/2025. This program fosters meaningful academic exchanges and strengthens people-to-people connections between Germany and China, promoting cross-cultural understanding and collaboration.

Information about the program are available in German and Chinese here.

Workshops on the German VET system since 2022

Since January 2022, I have organized and held several workshops and lectures on the German vocational training system for Chinese vocational teachers in schools all over China (photos).

• School of Mechanical Engineering of Southwest Jiaotong University (06. and 08.11.2023)
• Chongqing Wanzhou Vocational Education Center (27.-29.06.2023, together with SinaLingua, Shanghai
• Chongqing College of Architecture and Technology (14.-15.04.2023)
• Chengdu Industry & Trade College (25.-26.02.2023)
• Chengdu Vocational and Technical College of Industry (29.11.2022)
• Huaihai Technician Institute in Suqian (10.-14.01.2022, together with SinaLingua, Shanghai)

Engaging in Cross-Cultural Education and Collaboration

I am dedicated to enhancing cross-cultural education and promoting the German language. I do this through various initiatives. In addition to this, I deliver lectures on topics related to German studies. I also facilitate discussions on innovative teaching methods. I actively engage with students and educators. I do this to foster academic collaboration between Germany and China. I also participate in community outreach and cultural events. Through these efforts, I enrich the educational experience. I also strengthen international ties.

2024	Talk on Vocational Training and German Language Teaching: Points of Contact at the vocational training school in the Sino-German (Pujiang) Industrial New City, Chengdu, September 13.
	Visit of the German Language and Literature students to the vocational training school in the Sino-German (Pujiang) Industrial New City, together with the Consulate General of Germany in Chengdu, which produced a video of our visit, Chengdu, June 13.
	Panelist in the panel discussion on the implications of AI for German studies at the Asian German Studies Conference, Qingdao, August 26-28.
	Chengdu and Chongqing read Erich Kästner On the occasion of the 125th birthday of the German writer and publicist Erich Kästner, university students of German language and literature visited four local high schools to familiarize the pupils learning German with Kästner’s life and work, and to help them practice reading and listening in German as a foreign language. Together with Sabrina Stock. Chengdu/Chongqing, June/July 2024 (video Chengdu, video Chongqing).
2023	Presentation on Startup and Entrepreneurship in Germany for technical students at the Chengdu Industrial Vocational Technical School, Chengdu, September 26.
	Talk about the economics of foreign languages and the employability of German language skills at the DSD and DAAD alumni meeting organized by the Consulate General of Germany and the Central Agency for German Schools Abroad, Chengdu, September 21.
	Q&A on learning German as a foreign language at a film screening by the Goethe Institute Chongqing and the German Consulate General at the Austrian cultural centre Edelweiß in Chengdu, March 05.
Since 2023	Jury Duty at the Youth Debates regional final Jury member at the Youth Debates regional final (“Jugend debattiert” Regionalfinale) hosted by the German Central Agency for German Schools Abroad (“Zentralstelle für das Auslandsschulwesen”), Chengdu, April 23, 2023 and March 10, 2024 (photos 2023).
2022/2023	Short documentary image film about the DAAD lectureship at the Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, commissioned by the DAAD.
Since 0ct 2022	DaF-Sofa (German as a Foreign Language Lounge) A series of one-hour online discussions with two invited German and Chinese language scholars discussing core didactic concepts and innovative teaching approaches, together with Anna-Maria Linhard (flyer).
Since 2021/2022	Lectures on studying abroad I have given multiple lectures on studying abroad in Germany for Chinese university students (slides) and the role of the DAAD in China (slides).
Since Oct 2021	Ein Blick zurück nach vorn (Looking Back Forward) A series of online lectures by alumni about their experiences studying abroad and finding jobs after graduation, and an online meeting where Chinese students of German and German students of Chinese exchange ideas, plans, and interests (project website).