Hefei University's Olaf Rack and Thomas Weise attend International Expert Press Meeting

On September 7, 2019, a press meeting was held in the new and beautiful Chinese-German Incubator Building of Hefei University [合肥学院], during which international experts described their point of view on working and living in our city Hefei [合肥]. Hefei is the fastest-growing city in China and, during the past few years, has become one of most internationalized ones as well. Indeed, it ranks third in terms of popularity rated by foreign experts for two consecutive years. One reason why many foreigners would come here may be the rich academic landscape that has made Hefei a motor of innovation and which has also strongly influenced the local industry. Hefei has excellent universities, including, but not limited to, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) [中国科学技术大学], Anhui University [安徽大学], Hefei University of Technology [合肥工业大学], Anhui Agricultural University [安徽农业大学], Anhui Medical University [安徽医科大学], and, of course, our Hefei University [合肥学院]. The different unis in Hefei cover all fields of science and also all types of research: While USTC, e.g., is a world-leading institution in fundamental research and attracts top sciences, e.g., in physics, from all over the world, our Hefei University is strong in applied research and leading in the adaptation of the dual system of cooperative education to Chinese needs and has attracted many international experts with its Demonstration Base of Sino-German Educational Cooperation [中德教育合作示范基地]. In order to investigate why Hefei's popularity as a place for foreigners in China has become so high, reporters from several newspapers and media outlets therefore conducted several interviews with international experts in Hefei and also visited our Hefei Economic and Technological Development Area [经济技术开发区]. In the interviews conducted here, Olaf Rack (Industrial Design) and Thomas Weise (Computer Science, Optimization, Operations Research) from our university took part, together with Manfred Beuche (Sievert) and SEO Young Hwan (Anhui Wanlang Magneto Plastic). I think among all experts, a general consensus is that Hefei offers a very nice environment, excellent living and working conditions, that Hefei and our hosting institutions take excellent care of their guests and offer great support on all levels.