As DutchDFA aims to sustainably enhance the international position of Dutch design, fashion and architecture in China, students and teachers of Twente University have already started their own exchange program.
Since April 10 students of the Beijing Jiaotong University have been living in Enschede to study Industrial Design. Come September Dutch students will travel to Beijing to study Art Design & Architecture.
East meets West
After two and a half months of colaboration between East and West there are some interesting results to show. The Dutch electronics company Philips proposed a design project for the cross-cultural design teams to develop. The first course, `Design and Emotion,' focused on designing a product (in this case the Wake-Up Light) for a particular global market (in this case the Chinese market). The IDE students visited Philips to gain valuable feedback on how to improve their design from experts employed by the company. Then there's the courses, all taught in English, `Past Futures' and `Evolutionary Product Development.' Most interesting result of this last EPD-light course is the electrical toothbrush set for a traditional wedding.
Chinese culture course
Originally from Hilversum, Anneke Bakker, a 24 year old industrial design student, says the Dutch and Chinese students have been writing back and forth on the social network Facebook for the past month before their face-to-face encounter at the airport. `We took a Chinese culture course in preparation for their arrival and learned if we give a handshake to a Chinese student then it's better not to grip their hands too tightly, as they don't consider this a sign of confidence. Still, we can shake their hands but not too strongly,' says Bakker.
Additionally, the course taught Dutch students other cultural differences such as avoiding the Dutch habit of greeting someone with three kisses, or as in China, where students are not permitted to wear open shoes like flip flops inside a classroom. Likewise, most Dutch students are free to ask professors questions during lessons, whereas in China, when a student asks a question, it would indicate the professor's explanation of the material was not good.
The students blog shows more cultural exposés: "
The word “Independence” describes the Dutch society best. However, this is not always positive. For example the high percentage of loneliness in the Netherlands. Furthermore, she explained why the Dutch children do not listen well and are always make the most noise in restaurants. Next to this, some advice was given how to start a conversation with a Dutch person, “just complain”, for example about the weather or that the bus is five minutes to late."
Educational differences
"The Chinese students are educated in architecture or graphic design, while the Dutch students are industrial designers. Because of our different academic backgrounds and cultures, I hope we will be able to learn a lot from each other and broaden our mutual views on designing for our future professions," says Rick Schotman, a Dutch master's student who will travel with nine other fellow students to Beijing to participate in the reciprocal exchange program in September. Once in China at the university, the ten Dutch students will take part in a series of three courses, one on the history and theories behind traditional Chinese architecture, followed by two courses, `Product Design for the Chinese Company' and `Urban Design Projects.' The BJTU, formerly known as Northern Jiaotong University, is highly noted as being one of the earliest universities authorized by the Chinese government, after the implementation of its open-up policy in 1978, to enroll overseas students. Two of the BJTU's professors, Xiao Yi and Gong Chang, accompanied the students on their trip.
Via: UT nieuws
Author: Robbin Engels
Thanks to: Arthur Eger
