A professor wants to build emotional bridges
Students and academics from the Far East have long since been a fixture on the campus of the university in Magdeburg. Of the approx. 6,400 full time and exchange students, 270 originate from over 50 different countries. The biggest proportion: 130 young students from China. The Professor assures us that they feel at home in the city on the river Elbe. He has now held a professorship for automation technology in Saxony-Anhalt for ten years. And in 2011 he was appointed dean of the department of engineering and industrial design in Saxony-Anhalt's state capital.
One of the research projects that the scientist is accompanying has close links to his homeland. Nanjing is currently developing a high-tech city district. Among others, the project involves intelligent power networks, explains Ding. With their help, stable supply systems will be available in the future which adjust to different consumption times and assist with the optimal application of the available electrical energy. "We want to help make technologies usable for the creation of value added," he ensures. This may include intelligent electricity tariffs as well as interesting storage options in the event of the oversupply of energy.
The professor views another focal point of the research to be the computer supported modelling and calculation of safety systems, such as for nuclear power plants. Even if Germany is set to exit the world of nuclear power in 2020, the high German safety standards will still have to be maintained over the next ten years. This is something the safety expert will be working hard to maintain - he is also a member of the Electrical Committee of the Reactor Safety Committee of the German Federal Government. He views Germany as being role model for developing countries with a big hunger for energy such as China, which will be relying on nuclear technology over the decades to come. The tragic nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan, demonstrated that potential hazards aren't limited to within national borders. In addition, modified safety analysis applications can also be used in the country's chemicals industry.
Every now and then the university professor finds himself sharing the laboratory with a young doctoral student from his homeland. Chunlei Gu studied electrical engineering and is now preparing his dissertation at the Otto-von-Guericke-University, Magdeburg, where he is also working as a research assistant. His post is being funded by the German Federal Ministry of Finance. To be able to implement every aspect of his research project he has close contact with Professor Ding's department.
Chunlei Gu doesn't only praise the good teaching atmosphere. He also feels increasingly at home in Magdeburg itself, having recently married the love of his live in the city. His wife studies at the university. Both are well integrated into German society. And they even have substitute grandparents! Two married couples have offered them friendly hospitality. They celebrate Christmas together helping them to develop an understanding of their different countries. All of which helps them to build bridges between their regions and their nations, explains Professor Ding with satisfaction.
Author/Photo: Klaus-Peter Voigt
Contact:
Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal
Breitscheidstraße 2
39114 Magdeburg
ph: +49 391 8864806
Personal contact:
Prof. Dr. Eng. Yongjian Ding
E-Mail: yongjian.ding.ignore@hs-magdeburg.de
Web: www.hs-magdeburg.de