Education

Chinese parents push their children to succeed academically

In education, as in business, establishing closer relations with China is the name of today’s global game. As China moves toward a market economy, European universities are increasingly eager to attract talented Chinese students like Qing Xu, a Ph.D

. candidate at TU Delft’s Faculty of Architecture.

Brain-pool

From a top floor office with a commanding view of Rotterdam’s skyline, Qing Xu takes an appropriately long view of his country’s future development.

“China’s gradually becoming a freer society. But remember, our civilization is thousands of years old, so time must be viewed in that context,” Xu says. “As a social science student, the fact that I’m studying here at all is testimony to the opening up of Chinese society, because until recently, only technical students where encouraged to study abroad.”

Xu, whose Ph.D. in Real Estate Risk Analysis involves analyzing real estate as a viable investment for multinational corporate investors, is one of approximately 1,000 Chinese students currently studying in the Netherlands. Intelligent and personable, with a firm command of English, Xu is a new breed of Chinese student, which TU Delft and Dutch multinationals hope to attract to these shores in greater numbers.

The Netherlands, however, lags far behind the United States, where hundreds of thousands of Chinese study annually. To help close this gap, universities and companies in Europe and China are actively promoting European higher education in China.

A further enticement for Chinese students is that European university tuition fees are relatively low compared to the US, where, for example, a four-year course at Harvard costs $130,000. Moreover, as China moves from hardcore communism to enlightened socialism, Europe offers certain social advantages. “Western Europe, with its social democratic tradition, is a model for modern China and therefore a better environment for Chinese students generally,” Xu believes.

Deposit

Although China has yet to embrace democracy, the fundamental importance of education in Chinese society will ensure that China’s brain-pool never runs dry. “All Chinese citizens are guaranteed the right to free education from primary school to high school,” Xu says. “Consequently, Chinese parents push their children to succeed academically. “If European universities are keen to attract Chinese students, so too is the Chinese government eager to send students abroad, knowing that the majority will eventually return to use their knowledge and skills in China. When a student’s foreign study is sponsored by the Chinese government, the student must deposit fl.30,000 in the bank prior to departure. Should the student then decide to remain abroad after graduating, this sum reverts to the Chinese government and is used to finance another student.

Most Chinese students studying abroad are self-financing, however, often through exchange programs like that between TU Delft and its sister university, Tsinghua (Beijing), which is China’s leading technical university.

“There are still many poor people in China,” Xu says, “but today there are approximately 15 million very wealthy people in China who can easily afford to send their sons and daughters abroad to study at leading universities like TU Delft.” Delft, with its relatively large Chinese student community, has an edge over other universities in attracting Chinese students. (DM)

In education, as in business, establishing closer relations with China is the name of today’s global game. As China moves toward a market economy, European universities are increasingly eager to attract talented Chinese students like Qing Xu, a Ph.D. candidate at TU Delft’s Faculty of Architecture.

Brain-pool

From a top floor office with a commanding view of Rotterdam’s skyline, Qing Xu takes an appropriately long view of his country’s future development.

“China’s gradually becoming a freer society. But remember, our civilization is thousands of years old, so time must be viewed in that context,” Xu says. “As a social science student, the fact that I’m studying here at all is testimony to the opening up of Chinese society, because until recently, only technical students where encouraged to study abroad.”

Xu, whose Ph.D. in Real Estate Risk Analysis involves analyzing real estate as a viable investment for multinational corporate investors, is one of approximately 1,000 Chinese students currently studying in the Netherlands. Intelligent and personable, with a firm command of English, Xu is a new breed of Chinese student, which TU Delft and Dutch multinationals hope to attract to these shores in greater numbers.

The Netherlands, however, lags far behind the United States, where hundreds of thousands of Chinese study annually. To help close this gap, universities and companies in Europe and China are actively promoting European higher education in China.

A further enticement for Chinese students is that European university tuition fees are relatively low compared to the US, where, for example, a four-year course at Harvard costs $130,000. Moreover, as China moves from hardcore communism to enlightened socialism, Europe offers certain social advantages. “Western Europe, with its social democratic tradition, is a model for modern China and therefore a better environment for Chinese students generally,” Xu believes.

Deposit

Although China has yet to embrace democracy, the fundamental importance of education in Chinese society will ensure that China’s brain-pool never runs dry. “All Chinese citizens are guaranteed the right to free education from primary school to high school,” Xu says. “Consequently, Chinese parents push their children to succeed academically. “If European universities are keen to attract Chinese students, so too is the Chinese government eager to send students abroad, knowing that the majority will eventually return to use their knowledge and skills in China. When a student’s foreign study is sponsored by the Chinese government, the student must deposit fl.30,000 in the bank prior to departure. Should the student then decide to remain abroad after graduating, this sum reverts to the Chinese government and is used to finance another student.

Most Chinese students studying abroad are self-financing, however, often through exchange programs like that between TU Delft and its sister university, Tsinghua (Beijing), which is China’s leading technical university.

“There are still many poor people in China,” Xu says, “but today there are approximately 15 million very wealthy people in China who can easily afford to send their sons and daughters abroad to study at leading universities like TU Delft.” Delft, with its relatively large Chinese student community, has an edge over other universities in attracting Chinese students. (DM)

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