Celebrating 20 years of Sino-Dutch environmental research
HIGH-LEVEL VISIT image: Marc de Haan
Smarter construction, cleaner energy and greener cities: This week, we welcomed a high-level delegation at CML. A visit that marks 20 years of Sino-Dutch collaboration on themes that matter.
The delegation from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China visited Leiden’s Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML).
Two decades of successful collaboration
On Wednesday 26 November, a mixed delegation from the NWO and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) visited CML. The Chinese delegation was led by NSFC Vice President JIANG Song, who oversees an annual research budget of 5.1 billion US dollars.
The visit highlighted two decades of successful collaboration between CML and Chinese partners. Much of that work has been driven by the longstanding partnership between Distinguished Professor Arnold Tukker and Associate Professor HU Mingming, whose teams secured multiple joint grants from NWO and its Chinese counterparts MOST (Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China) and CAS (Chinese Academy of Sciences).
Sustainable construction, energy symbiosis and urban greening
Their research spans sustainable construction, energy symbiosis and urban greening. In 2005, Hu initiated CML’s first Sino-Dutch research through an EU Asia-Link grant, applying Industrial Ecology approaches to analyse China’s housing stock dynamics, forecasting an oscillation that is now being experienced. Following it, Tukker and the dean of Faculty of Construction Management, Chongqing University, China signed the research collaboration agreement in the field of sustainable construction.
This collaboration led to the Sino-Dutch Smart Industrial Parks (SIPs) project, where Tukker and Hu brought together researchers from Leiden University, TU Delft, Chongqing University and Tsinghua University to cut energy use through industrial symbiosis. They also co-lead the Multigreen project, which supports greener, climate-resilient cities in both countries (See video). The partnership continues through the FOREWARD project, where the Netherlands and China work jointly to improve their water systems.
A vibrant community of PhD students
Although Tukker could not attend, he is currently travelling in Asia following his recent appointment as Distinguished Professor at Nanjing University. CML Education Director Associate Professor Stefano Cucurachi received the delegation on behalf the institute and conveyed the institute’s gratitude to Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC). He noted that CML currently has 135 active PhD candidates, of which 25 are externally funded and 20 are from China, primarily supported by the CSC stipends, making a considerable contribution to CML’s research.
CSC PhD candidate YU Han shared her two-year journey in CML, highlighting how she boldly organised CML’s first Chinese New Year gala last January, which revealed many hidden talents of Chinese candidates beyond their research work. For her, CML is a fun and welcoming place. Dr. Valerio Barbarossa became the coordinator of the FOREWARD project a few months ago and shared his recent working experience with Chinese partners.
The environmental impact of new datacenters and drug production
The NSFC was curious to hear from the CML team what the future scientific trends are in environmental science and how they could improve their science funding programs, also with bilateral and multilateral calls. The CML shared their insights on the resource dimension of environmental sciences, the environmental impact of new datacenters and AI, and of drug production, on renewable energy sources. Asked about NSFC’s view on interdisciplinary research, NSFC told about their program on UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their newly established department for interdisciplinary research.
Tireless dedication ensures productive ties between both countries
From Leiden’s central office, China Advisor Annemarie Montulet and Senior Grant Advisor Anna Coyajee-van Rietschoten, who have worked tirelessly to enable two decades of successful Sino-Dutch collaboration at CML, joined the discussion with the delegation. They discussed the highlights, challenges and future opportunities of the joint NWO–NSFC research calls.
Vice Dean of the Faculty of Science Bart de Smit formally welcomed the visitors and presented them with traditional Leiden gifts, underscoring the warm and productive ties between both countries.