Sino-Swiss Academic Exchanges Opened New Realms for Alpine Ecology Research

---- Sino-Swiss Postgraduate Summer School Program of Alpine Ecology in Haibei Station on 28 June-9 July 2010

The Summer School Program originated from a joint investigation in Tibetan alpine grassland conducted by Prof. Bernhard Schmid from the University of Zurich and Prof. Jinsheng He from the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences in July of 2009. Prof. Schmid was deeply attracted by the vast Tibetan grassland when on the train from Lhasa to Xining, China. After the visit to the Haibei Alpine Ecosystem Research Station, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Prof. Schmid very much appreciated the on-going projects in the station and meant to hold a bilateral postgraduate summer school in Haibei, 2010.

The summer school was successfully hosted by the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, CAS on 28 June -9 July 2010 in the Haibei Station as scheduled in 2009, which involved 11 professors and postgraduates from the University of Zurich, and another 11 from the Beijing University and the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, CAS.

During the program, the students conducted investigations in the field of the Haibei Alpine Ecosystem Research Station located in typical alpine grassland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which stimulated them to take different research interests in ecology. By the way of taking courses and hand-in-hand teams, students learnt from each other and got greatly improved in the studies of the distribution characteristics of Potentilla fruticosa shrubs, the effect of ant nests on the surrounding plant diversity, etc., and meanwhile, the young scholars had a better understanding of the environments of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and got academic sparks for the upcoming cooperation.

As the closing ceremony, a “Science Night” seminar was held in Xining by the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, CAS in the evening of 8 July. The seminar was composed of three academic lectures given by Dr. Pascal A. Niklaus, Simon L. Zeller, and Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schmid from Switzerland. There were totally 52 researchers and students attended the seminar. After that, a special birthday party was held by the Foreign Affairs Office of the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, CAS for Mrs. Schmid which warmly highlighted the relationship between overseas and Chinese scholars.  

The summer school program has opened up new realms for Sino-Swiss international academic exchanges of alpine ecology research, and as scheduled, another bilateral summer school will be held in coming year of 2011 in the Alps Station, Switzerland.

Photo1 Director Dr. Huaigang Zhang, NWIPB, CAS and Prof. Bernhard Schmid, UoZ

Photo 4 SCIENCE NIGHT Seminar

Photo 3 Field work in Haibei Station

Photo 5 Birthday Party for Mrs. Schmid