NTNU students are missing the train to the 21st century

Despite being lauded as Norway’s foremost university in science and technology, NTNU is ignoring the country’s single greatest growth opportunity by not creating new programs in Chinese language, culture and society. Rector Bovim, there is an elephant in the room and I implore you to do something. For years, we have read about the rise of China, the unprecedented achievements of growth and alleviation of poverty, the new global middle class. So, what is being done at NTNU for students and faculty to make the most of this opportunity? Almost nothing. And NTNU is alone in this, both the University of Oslo and the University of Bergen offer courses in Chinese language and politics.

So why does this matter? Whether you like it or not, every single student at this university is going to enter into a global economy already being redefined by China, and not a single one of us is ready for it.

Statistics are a beautiful thing, but large numbers can be difficult to conceptualize. The most this or fastest that - China is rapidly collecting superlatives and this article isn’t about listing them. Run a simple Google query and you can see for yourself. And while it’s easy to believe this to be a remote threat or a distant opportunity, China isn’t waiting on us to decide. Chinese state and private investments now have (increasingly controlling) stakes in multinational corporations in automotive, healthcare, finance, mining, computing, hotels, energy and others to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars a year.

These investments are often in fields of science and technology where NTNU has its own vested interests. If data is the new oil for Norway, our computer scientists need to be able to learn from the rapid pace of Chinese technology development. And through an increased presence in international organizations and a wholesale reinvention of trade in Asia through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese leadership under Xi Jinping is actively looking to assume a greater role internationally.

Some in Trondheim have taken note. One venture capital firm, NHack, operates out of China and has investments in local startups to help them produce or commercialize in the country. The Faculty of Engineering, Medicine, Architecture, Mathematics, Humanities and Natural Sciences all have cooperation agreements with Chinese peers. Yet this is not enough, and our poor understanding of their language, culture and society establishes a knowledge imbalance that will put Norwegian companies and politicians at a disadvantage in the coming decades.

China may very well be this country’s single greatest export growth opportunity, to say nothing of the cultural bridges that must be built. Almost every single degree offered at NTNU can benefit from an improved understanding of China. Rome may not have been built in a day, but an entire study program can very well begin with a single language course. We need Chinese studies at NTNU, we must start somewhere, and we must start now. Gunnar, fellow students, I implore you, make room at this university for programs that prepare our students for the 21st century.

If you too would like the university to offer courses, or to learn how your career prospects may be redefined by a knowledge of China, please visit our Facebook page «Chinese at NTNU» to help bring Chinese language, culture and society courses to NTNU.