Double diploma: Polish-Chinese studies

– The founder of the studies is Professor Jerzy Sobota, who has been collaborating with China for a long time. He has found studies of a similar profile and programme, and a staff who was willing to collaborate – Jerzy Potyrała, the Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Geodesy, speaks about the genesis of the studies at the Institute of Landscape Architecture with a specialization in Chinese and Polish traditions in shaping of the landscape – Of course we felt a bit anxious, but we had to take a risk. The preparations, talks, and visits lasted for a few years but today we know that it was a good decision and we are proud of it.

During the ceremony celebrating the 65^th anniversary of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Geodesy, the first graduates of studies conducted in English, partly in Poland and partly in China, received their diplomas of graduating from two universities: the University of Environmental and Life Sciences in Wrocław and Hunan Agricultural University in Changsha.

However, before that the students and the universities had to go through the master exams on both continents. – It was not easy, the closer to the exams the more complicated the situation was. The Chinese forced their procedures and we did ours. And our master exams and their master exams are totally different. In China it is an open event, all of them are together, a group of students and a commission which reads the theses a bit or just looks at them. For our students in comparison to our official Polish exam, it was absolutely exotic – says Dean Potyrała.

Nevertheless, problems concerning traditions and also  formal issues (numerous documents that had to be collected by both faculty offices fulfilling conditions on both sides) were overcome and the Chinese in China but in front of examiners from the University of Environmental and Life Sciences in Wrocław, and the Poles in Wrocław but in front of lecturers from China sitting on the commission, defended their theses. The topics  concerned, among others, modern tendencies in designing public landscapes in European cities, therapeutic gardens in China and in Poland, water in cities and landscape aspects regarding inactive quarries.

Every year 20 people start  studies with this specialization, and the group consists of 10 Chinese and 10 Poles. During the first semester all of them study in Poland, during the second  the Chinese have their student training in Poland and the Poles in China, the third semester – all of them study in China, and during the fourth everyone in their own country. Although this may change: - we already have four applications from our students who are in China at the moment, and  want to stay there for another semester. And we do not see any problem with that because the programme is the same regardless of where it is taught.

The programme includes such classes as: History and theory of space shaping in Europe, Cartography and spatial information systems, Chinese traditional landscape engineering and technology, The construction, protection and recovery of rural landscape in China, The construction and protection of Chinese historical and cultural city landscapes.

A delegation from Hunan Agricultural University took part in the celebrations of the 65^th anniversary of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Geodesy, where the first graduates of the Polish-Chinese specialization received their diplomas from the deans of both universities. Anna Stępień, one of our students, also received a special award from prof. Fu Shaohui, the President of the Hunan Agricultural University: it was a diploma and a financial award for the best result in the group. Three of the graduates will soon go back to China because they have already received jobs there.

Katarzyna Kadulska, one of the graduates, just after returning from China wrote about what encouraged her to take up such studies: - Curiosity, and a will to experience something new and exciting! When I learnt about the possibility of such studies in China for the first time I was thrilled. The possibility of experiencing such unknown things, and within the scope of studies – that doesn’t happen too often. But there was also fear of such a long distance and time. The thought of spending the whole year on another continent makes you think and requires many sacrifices, and most of all – what we know now after returning home – we needed to deal with homesickness – wrote our student.

Ms Kadulska also added that the few first weeks of staying in China were unforgettable – an incessant feeling of excitement, curiosity and adventure. And about the studies she said – An incredible advantage of studying at the specialization of Chinese and Polish traditions in shaping  the landscape was the possibility of expanding our horizons regarding the landscape architecture in terms of solving design problems. The Chinese mentality in this respect is very different from ours and thus we could exchange our experiences.

Another group of Polish students from our university studying in China writes about their studies on regular basis on a blog – “We are studying in China”. They are describing their classes and daily life, what surprises them and what they could never experience in Poland.

A month before their return to Poland they summarized their classes in such a way:

What did the classes in China look like? The class timetable changed from week to week, and every week we had different classes. Our permanent place was room 624 where we could stay from early morning till late evening. We got the keys and we could have used the room freely. Our Chinese mates could have stayed there till  closing time, which is eleven p.m. because they do not have enough space in their student dormitory. It created an incredible atmosphere as there was always someone in the classroom and you never worked alone. During the classes of the construction protection and recovery of rural landscapes in China, which was conducted by Professor Long, we dealt with the topic of the DaoXan region located 400 kilometers away from Changsha. We worked in pairs on a project regarding a selected part. At the end we presented our ideas in front of the professor jury and they decided on three best projects which received financial rewards. It cannot be denied that it was a good motivation and everyone worked very hard.

On the blog you can also read about the financial side of the studies, Chinese fashion, food, entertainment or even a traditional Chinese wedding.

Dean Potyrała adds that Chinese students also are doing well abroad: - Sometimes it’s difficult to find them because they are traveling all the time. When they have a few free days they are traveling around Europe. – not only the knowledge gained during the studies will bring its benefits in the future: for them it is an incredible experience, they have seen a huge part of the world. And they know a lot more for sure e.g. about the tradition of the Chinese garden, and as they know more, they are more open to the world, contacts, they have more language fluency which will allow them to work in their profession wherever in the world.

mj