Is Your University a Part of Your DNA?

Being an interviewer is one of the most exciting roles I’ve ever taken on. I get many opportunities to meet and interview inspiring people working in the academic community across the world. We conduct interviews with universities in English. Having English as a common language allows us to expand the scope of the magazine and feature best practices from universities worldwide. My English-speaking abilities are less than perfect and interviewees don’t always speak fluent English, thus making it difficult to get quality output in a country where English is not the lingua franca. However, during my interview with members of the Office of Global Engagement at Zhejiang University, I was rather impressed by how fluent in English everyone was.

I was also surprised by the high ratio of female-to-male employees and the fact that they have incorporated humanities and social sciences into the university strategy. To be honest, I thought that Chinese universities are male-dominated and leaned heavily towards science.

I thought that most of the management members participating in the interviews would be men, but I realized I was wrong when I met Professor HE Lianzhen, Ms. LI Min, and the members of the Office of Global Communication. One of ZJU’s most important agendas, internationalization, was being driven by a mostly female staff with a mixed background in the humanities and science.

We felt a spark with everyone we interviewed and I was amazed by their energy as they narrated the stories behind their work. It was clear that these professionals are very passionate about Zhejiang University, happy to be part of the institution, and enthusiastic about contributing to the growth of the university. It’s not just a job but a part of their identity. It must be a great feeling to play an important role in the tremendous growth of one China’s top universities.

A successful organization needs a great leader who can drive the vision and a strong team that understands the leader’s vision and executes the plan with passion. Zhejiang University has both. Chinese universities are growing not simply because of government funding; they are taking responsibility for their own growth.

This article is part of ScienceTalks Magazine issue Riding the Big Wave of China’s Academic Internationalization.