On Saturday, April 26, 2014, HRH Queen Margrethe of Denmark symbolically turned the first sod for the Sino-Danish Center for Education and Research’s (SDC) new building in Beijing. The center will provide the framework for a closer working relationship between Danish and Chinese research and teaching environments.

SDC is a partnership involving the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science, DTU and the seven other Danish universities, the University of the Chinese Academy of Science (UCAS) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The Danish Industry Foundation has donated DKK99 million (~US$18.5 million) to the new SDC building – to be named Industriens Fonds Hus (House of the Danish Industry Foundation) – which will constitute a strong visual hallmark for the center’s academic activities, as well as a hub and a meeting point for students, researchers and businesses from both China and Denmark.

SDC currently teaches MSc programs in bioenergy, environment studies, neuroscience, biotechnology, social studies and innovation. One of the courses, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Biomass Based Energy, is taught at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).

"UCAS, our Chinese partner, has established a very attractive and functional campus, and Industriens Fonds Hus will be a fine addition to it. We’re looking forward to seeing SDC’s activities grow and develop in the new building,” says Martin Bendsøe, Senior Vice President and Dean of DTU.

Since SDC opened its doors to undergraduates in 2012, around 250 MSc students from both China and Denmark have commenced their studies at the university.

Over the course of 2013, a total of 275 Danish researchers and lecturers spent a period corresponding to 27 full-time equivalents in China, teaching on the MSc courses and participating in research activities alongside their Chinese colleagues. In addition, there more than 50 PhD students from Denmark alone spending a minimum of six months in China. (Asian Scientist)