On March 25th, the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Jet Bussemaker inaugurated the first Xperience Holland Day at Tsinghua University in Beijing during her three day visit to China.
Organised by the Netherlands Embassy, Nuffic-Neso office in Beijing and Tsinghua University, the Xperience Holland Day is a series of activities at the Tsinghua campus ranging from Study in Holland information booths, Dutch coffee and snacks to the screening of Dutch films and documentaries.
During the opening ceremony, Tsinghua President Chen Jining gave a warm welcome to the Dutch delegation followed by the opening speech by Minister Bussemaker. She made the announcement that 10 scholarships would be made available for Dutch and Chinese students to study at Tsinghua University and 4 Dutch universities (Radboud, Twente, Tilburg and Utrecht Universities), which was facilitated by NOST.
Famous Dutch artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde closed the ceremony with an inspiring keynote speech about his art projects using innovative technology which left the audience in total awe.
At the Xperience Holland lunch, the Minister had the opportunity to learn about the experiences of these Tsinghua lecturers, Tsinghua students and Dutch students at Tsinghua who actively helped promoting the event.
During this unique event, hundreds of Tsinghua students and professors had the opportunity to learn more about higher education and research in Holland as well as to experience the culture and people of Holland on their own campus. The programme consisted of the following elements:
- Study in Holland House organized by Nuffic-Neso China and Dutch universities
- Dutch films screening organized by the cultural section of the embassy
- Dutch culture corner organized by the Dutch association in Beijing (NVP)
- Dutch language crash course organized by Dutch teachers Padma Bansie and Li Xiaoxiao (BFSU)
In the past, Dutch universities have developed close academic links with Tsinghua University through establishing student exchange, joint degree programmes and research cooperation. During the day, representatives from these Dutch universities showcased their cooperation activities to encourage further exchange with Holland. Many Dutch alumni who are currently teaching or studying at the university also shared their experience in the Netherlands with Tsinghua students.
More information can be found on the Holland Day Brochure.
