Scientific exchange between Hunan and Schaffhausen
July 11, 2019
The Chinese province of Hunan and the Swiss Canton of Schaffhausen formed a partnership in February 2018 – thanks in part to the work of Generis. June 2019 saw the first scientific exchanges, which are set to be followed by further collaborations.
In autumn 2017, Generis drew on its extensive network in China to facilitate a first meeting of environmental scientists from the Canton of Schaffhausen and their counterparts in the Chinese province of Hunan. In June 2019, a delegation of six senior scientists from the Hunan Agriculture University visited the Inter-cantonal Laboratory in the Canton of Schaffhausen, a specialist facility responsible for monitoring a range of food and environmental factors. During a week of discussions, the scientists exchanged information on environmental issues ranging from drinking water supply to waste water treatment and the online monitoring of water courses.
Going forward, cooperation between Hunan Agriculture University and the Inter-cantonal Laboratory will increase in these key areas and further exchanges will be scheduled. Future collaboration will also include joint projects with other Swiss institutions such as the Swiss Future Farm, which the delegation also visited during this first mission.
Generis played a significant role in ensuring the first exchanges were a success. Having initially brokered contact between the Chinese and Swiss stakeholders as part of its business development remit, Generis then lobbied senior contacts in the Science & Research Department of Hunan province as well as in Hunan’s Foreign Affairs Department to support a programme of scientific exchange after early efforts by the Hunan Agriculture University had been knocked back. Generis also provided two Chinese members of staff with expertise in environmental issues to accompany the delegation from Hunan and act as interpreters during the study visit to Switzerland.
