VZCZCXRO2992
RR RUEHCN RUEHVC
DE RUEHGH #0570/01 3580251
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 230251Z DEC 08
FM AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7461
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 8075

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SHANGHAI 000570 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE ALSO FOR ECA, OES 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SCUL CVIS KIPR ECON TBIO TRGY SENV CH
SUBJECT: ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY - A LOCAL UNIVERSITY WITH A GLOBAL 
FOOTPRINT 
 
SHANGHAI 00000570  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) During a November 17-18 visit to Hangzhou, the Consul 
General (CG) met Zhejiang University President Yang Wei and 
discussed the university's international network, strategies to 
promote international student exchanges, collaborative research, 
scientific innovation and visa issues.  Zhejiang University 
fosters international collaboration through four international 
networks: the Association of Pacific Ring Universities, the 
International Association of Universities (IAU), the Worldwide 
Universities Network (WUN), and an "entrepreneur" network.  The 
university also pursues a "3-S" strategy to give international 
exposure to its students, which includes a summer program, a 
"sandwich" program and a scholarship program.  However, many of 
the university's technical students encounter long waits for 
visa approvals (due to processing times on Security Advisory 
Opinions).  Yang emphasized that the university attaches great 
importance to collaborative research and is part of the Central 
Government's long-term development plan in science and 
technology.  Zhejiang University also has a unique approach to 
encourage patent filings and is one of the top universities in 
China for filing patents.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Yang emphasized his strong support for international 
education, saying that he himself was among the first group of 
Chinese students to study in the United States after the 
Cultural Revolution.  He attended Brown University in 1981 and 
has maintained close ties with that university.  The President 
of Brown University visited Zhejiang University earlier in 2008. 
 Yang planned to travel to Indiana University, Northwestern and 
University of Illinois in 2009 to meet regarding an 
"entrepreneur" exchange program and hopes to visit California 
Institute of Technology, where his son currently studies.  Yang 
also voiced appreciation for the Consulate's support and 
collaboration, saying he hoped to attract more American 
students.  Currently there are 97 U.S. students studying at the 
university. 
 
Anchored to the World through International Networks 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) According to Yang, Zhejiang University works through 
four international networks to bolster its international 
cooperation.  The first is the Association of Pacific Ring 
Universities, a consortium of 35 universities from 16 economies 
in the Pacific Rim aimed at fostering cooperation in teaching 
and research.  Besides Zhejiang University, there are five other 
academic institutions in China that are members of the 
association.  In 2007, Zhejiang University hosted the meeting of 
member universities' presidents and in 2009, it will host a 
summit of the respective universities' business school deans. 
Zhejiang University is also a member of the International 
Association of Universities (IAU), a UNESCO-based, worldwide 
association of higher education institutions focused on building 
collaboration.  Yang noted that he was recently chosen to be on 
the IAU's administrative board.  Zhejiang University is also 
part of the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), which supports 
innovation in research, and education through collaboration, 
exchanges and eLearning.  To augment its business program, the 
university is also part of an "entrepreneur" network. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) In addition to working through established 
international networks, Zhejiang University has also signed 
agreements with 140 individual universities around the world on 
cooperative exchange.  Yang further explained that the 
university has three levels of international contacts: the 
university-level (official programs through the four networks), 
the institutional-level (exchanges at the department level) and 
individual-level (for development of teaching faculty).  The 
university is striving to systematize each type of international 
exchange into one overarching program. 
 
3-S Strategy 
------------ 
 
¶5.  (SBU) To ensure its students have a full range of 
international opportunities, Zhejiang University pursues a "3-S" 
strategy, which includes a summer program, a "sandwich" program 
and a scholarship program.  Yang explained that in 2008, 
approximately 900 Zhejiang University's undergraduates went 
either to the United States or United Kingdom to study for the 
summer. Yang hoped this number would increase to 20 percent 
within the next few years.  Under the program, half of the 
students' expenses are covered by the university and the other 
half by the student.  The "sandwich" program combines studying 
 
SHANGHAI 00000570  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
in Zhejiang University as well as abroad through a "4 plus 1 
program," meaning 4 years of study in Zhejiang University for a 
BA degree, and 1 year abroad for an MA degree.  The "4 plus 1 
plus 3 program" means 4 years in Zhejiang University for a BA, 
then 1 year abroad for an MA and 3 years back in China for a 
PhD.  The scholarship program entails the university sponsoring 
roughly 150 students annually to study abroad.  In addition, the 
university regularly sends abroad about ten percent of its 1,600 
PhD students under a joint supervision program with exchange 
universities.  Some students even receive their degrees from the 
hosting university abroad. 
 
Collaborative Research and Innovation 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Responding to a question on collaborative research, 
Yang said the university places a "large emphasis" on 
collaborative research, particularly in the environmental 
fields.  The university is part of the Central Government's long 
term development plan in science and technology.  All five of 
Zhejiang University's schools are participating in 
government-sponsored research on 16 subjects, including water 
pollution, emissions, and energy consumption, inter alia.  The 
Central Government has provided RMB 300 million (USD 44 million) 
to fund the research.  To further its research in these areas, 
Zhejiang University has established a "science bridge," a 
collaboration program with the University of Nottingham in the 
UK.  Yang also claimed the university is number one in 
technology transfer and holds the most patents among China's 
universities.  The university actively encourages faculty and 
students to file patents, and in 2007, the university was 
granted over 1,000 patents.  According to Yang, the university 
jointly owns the patent, and in conjunction with the rights 
holder, actively searches for investors to help commercialize 
the patent.  If the patent development is successful, the 
university collects one third of the profits.  (Comment:  The 
concept of joint ownership of the patent is unique among Chinese 
universities and serves to promote the filing of patents by the 
inventor.  This is likely one of the reasons why Zhejiang 
University is among the top universities for patent filings. 
End comment.) 
 
Issues with U.S. Visas 
----------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In discussing the university's exchange programs, Yang 
noted that many of the students and faculty engaged in fields 
such as engineering, chemistry, biology encounter visa problems 
when going to study in the United States.  Many end up waiting 
for up to 8 months for approval, he claimed, due to stateside 
name check requirements prior to visa issuance by the Consulate. 
 Yang said that this delay disrupts the exchanges and hoped the 
Consulate could resolve the issue.  (Note: Current waiting time 
for a security advisory opinion at the Consulate is roughly 8 
weeks and growing.) 
 
Background on Zhejiang University 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) Known as the "Cambridge of the East," Zhejiang 
University has five separate campuses in Zhejiang Province's 
capital of Hangzhou.  Beginning as Quishi Academy in 1897, 
Zhejiang University has weathered the political turmoil of 
twentieth century China and emerged as one of the nation's 
largest and most respected comprehensive universities.  As 
theories of tertiary education management changed in China over 
the past 100 years, Zhejiang University was alternatively split 
off into different universities and recombined back into a 
single institution several times.  Finally, however, in 1998, 
the original Zhejiang University merged with Hangzhou 
University, Zhejiang Agricultural University, and Zhejiang 
Medical University to form the institution that exists today. 
 
¶9.  (U) Under the direct administration of China's Ministry of 
Education, Zhejiang University is a key comprehensive university 
whose fields of study cover eleven branches of learning, namely 
philosophy, literature, history, education, science, economics, 
law, management, engineering, agriculture and medicine.  The 
university now has 112 majors for undergraduate studies, and it 
is entitled to confer masters degrees in 317 programs and 
doctoral degrees in 283 programs.  Under its administration 
there are 14 National Key Laboratories, 2 National Engineering 
Research Centers and 3 National Engineering Technology Centers. 
It also has established 35 specialties and 43 post-doctor 
stations.  The university's six campuses are home to a total of 
42,278 students, including 26,504 undergraduates, 10,780 
 
SHANGHAI 00000570  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
postgraduates working for master's degrees and 4,994 Ph.D. 
candidates.  Supporting the students are a total of 8,464 
faculty and staff members - including 13 members of the Chinese 
Academy of Sciences, 13 members of the Chinese Academy of 
Engineering, 873 professors and 1,296 associate professors. 
 
¶10.  (U) Zhejiang University has a reputation as a world-class 
research center, with 12 national key laboratories, seven 
national research centers, and over 250 other research 
institutes, the university is a major contributor to scientific 
progress of all kinds.  Some of the more notable research 
centers include the James D. Watson Institute of Genome 
Sciences, the Research Center of Intelligent Transportation 
Systems, and the National Engineering Research Center for Coal 
Water Slurry. 
 
¶11.  (U) Zhejiang University is a major partner with several 
universities in the United States - the most prominent partners 
include Cornell University, UCLA, UC Davis, Indiana University, 
the University of Washington, North Carolina State University, 
California State University at Chico, and Purdue University. 
CAMP