Alumni Chapter China

The Wageningen Alumni Chapter China is established to engage alumni in China with one another and with Wageningen University & Research (WUR). Enthusiastic Wageningen Alumni are actively involved in making the Wageningen Alumni Chapter China possible and continue to be active in the Supervisory Board and Executive Board.

At the launch of the Alumni Chapter China in 2014, prof. dr. Louise O. Fresco (president of the Executive Board of WUR) stressed the importance of continuing the dialogue with alumni in China and elsewhere. "An alumni chapter provides very good means to re-establish the relationships now and in the future". Two official Regional Alumni Chapters China have been launched in Nanjing and Wuhan in presence of prof. dr. Arthur Mol, Rector Magnificus/vice-president of WUR in 2019.

Board members

The following people are board members of the Alumni Chapter China:

Supervisory Board President Mr. HAN Bei Zhong - China Agricultural University (2nd term, until 31-12-2021)

Supervisory Board Vice-PresidentMr. HUANG Sanwen - Professor; Deputy Director General Agricultural Genome Institute at Shenzhen Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS)(2nd term, until 31-12-2021)

Supervisory Board (2019 - 2021)Ms. LUO Weihong - SB member (2nd term, until 31-12-2021)Mr. Jan Cortenbach - SB member (2nd term, until 31-12-2021)Mr. LIU Chunming - SB member (1st term, untill 31-12-2021) Mr. ZHANG Cheng - SB member (1st term, untill 31-12-2021) Mr. LI Tao - SB member (1st term, untill 31-12-2021) Mr. HUANG Rui Qing - SB member (1st term, untill 31-12-2021)

Supervisory Board-Honorary Member Mr. Wouter Verhey - Agricultural Counselor for the Netherlands Mr. DING Shenglin - Director WUR Office China

Executive Board-SecretaryMs. YAN Jie - Project Manager, WUR China OfficeRegional Alumni ChaptersChair Regional Alumni Chapter Nanjing: Ms. LUO Weihong (per 10-11-2019)Chair Regional Alumni Chapter Wuhan: Mr. CHENG Xieshe(per 11-11-2019)

Summary of the installation of the supervisory board

On Sunday March 17th, 2019 the new Supervisory Board of the Wageningen Alumni Chapter China was installed during a celebration dinner at the Sishitongtang restaurant at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS). The occasion took place during visit of WUR member of the board, Ernst van den Ende to China. All Supervisory Board members signed the agreement to partake in the Wageningen Alumni Chapter China Supervisory Board for the term 2019-2021 (3 years). To congratulate them on this occasion, Ernst van den Ende handed them the unique University Fiver Coin which was especially designed for the celebration of 100-years WUR in 2018.

The Supervisory Board 2019-2021 consists of the following board members:

Mr. HAN Beizhong, SB president (1st re-election) Mr. HUANG Sanwen, SB vice-president (1st re-election) Ms. LUO Weihong, SB member (1st re-election) Mr. Jan Cortenbach, SB member (1st re-election) Mr. LIU Chunming, SB member (1st term) Mr. ZHANG Cheng, SB member (1st term) Mr. LI Tao, SB member (1st term) Mr. HUANG Rui Qing (1st term)

Honorary Board members:

Mr. Wouter Verhey, Agricultural Counselor for the Netherlands Mr. DING Shenglin, Director WUR Office China

After a round of introduction and a look back at the successful celebration of the WUR centennial in China the SB members discussed the intention to expand the Wageningen Alumni Chapter China by setting up different Regional Sub Chapters throughout the country, starting in Nanjing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and the Wuhan region. Further ideas about the alumni chapter were exchanged. WUR alumni relations officer, Denise Spiekerman, thanked all the new and re-elected board members for their willingness to actively partake in the Wageningen Alumni Chapter China and expressed the support of the chapter by the NL alumni office.

Other guests attending the dinner were WUR alumni: Henk Stigter (Agricultural Counselor to the Netherlands for Veterinary & Phytosanitary Affairs), Xiaoyong Zhang (WUR China Strategy) and Yutong Qiu (Business Developer Plant Sciences Group).

Unfortunately, LOU Weihong, HUANG Sanwen and Jan Cortenbach were not able to attend the dinner on March 17th, but signed the agreement later during the week when Denise Spiekerman met with them at different locations.

Article: "Hundreds of alumni united in China"

Plans were forged during a tour of China by a Wageningen delegation for regional networks for the many Chinese alumni in this huge country.

China has around 2000 alumni, making it Wageningen’s largest foreign alumni network. That large number plus the country’s enormous size mean that regional networks are needed, explains Denise Spiekerman of the Wageningen alumni office. In March, she travelled to China with a delegation that included Plant Sciences director Ernst van den Ende, with the aim of strengthening relations with alumni. ‘China is a large country and our alumni are in a lot of different regions. Setting up regional networks will let alumni become involved in activities locally,’ adds Beizhong Han, chair of the supervisory board of the Wageningen Alumni Chapter China and a professor at the China Agricultural University in Beijing. China is the first country to get such regional subchapters, says Spiekerman.

They will be set up in the course of this year in Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou, and possibly Wuhan too. At gatherings in Shanghai and Guangzhou, Spiekerman got a variety of enthusiastic responses from alumni who wanted to help set up the regional networks. The Wageningen delegation visited Beijing and Nanjing as well. In addition to Van den Ende and Spiekerman, the delegation included China account manager Xiaoyong Zhang and business developer Yutong Qiu. Zhang is responsible for relations between Wageningen and China, and Qiu is developing new projects with Chinese partners for the Plant Sciences Group. During its tour, the delegation also promoted the Urban Greenhouse Student Challenge, which is due to start in October and will be based at a location in China. Alumni in China often communicate with one another through WeChat. WUR has its own WeChat account: 瓦赫宁根科技.

Wageningen World #2, 2019

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