Wan Gang visit: Finance Minister from Hanover and State Secretary from Berlin also attend the ceremony

"We are very much looking forward to the arrival of the minister, our friend Professor Wan Gang. In recognition of his special professional and personal ties with Clausthal University of Technology, the university has decided to appoint him as an honorary professor," says TU President Professor Thomas Hanschke. Clausthal University has maintained excellent relations with China for several decades. Around 500 of the TU's 5,000 students come from China, and there are successful bilateral collaborations, particularly in the fields of energy research, materials technology and Industry 4.0. According to Hanschke, the visit by the research minister and his delegation shows the highest appreciation of this intensive partnership.

Once a doctoral student at the Institute of Mechanical Engineering

Wan Gang, born in Shanghai in 1952, worked as a research assistant at the Clausthal Institute of Mechanical Engineering from 1985 to 1991. The automotive engineer obtained his doctorate with a dissertation in the field of drive technology. He then worked for a decade in research and development at Audi AG. In the meantime, he maintained contact with the TU as a lecturer. In 2001, Wan Gang returned to China and led the renowned Tongji University as President before being appointed Minister in 2007.

The bridge to his alma mater always remained. In 2005, Wan Gang visited Clausthal University of Technology and was awarded the Lower Saxony Cross of Merit on Ribbon by the then Minister President Christian Wulff. Delegations from Lower Saxony have subsequently traveled to China several times under the leadership of the respective state leader. Whether under Wulff, David McAllister or Stephan Weil: as TU President, Professor Hanschke was always present and strengthened the relationship with Wan Gang. When the "Association of Chinese Alumni of Clausthal University of Technology" was founded in Beijing last summer, Wan Gang took over the patronage.

TU is exemplary throughout Germany

Clausthal University of Technology is an example of successful German-Chinese cooperation in Germany. This theme will be a central aspect of the ceremony on April 10. Lower Saxony's Finance Minister Peter-Jürgen Schneider, the State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research Dr. Georg Schütte, Professor Dong Qi from the Chinese Embassy in Berlin as well as Professor Wan Gang and Professor Hanschke will speak about this in a moderated panel discussion. The event - more than 250 invited guests are expected in the auditorium - will be accompanied by music from Jieni Wan, among others. The pianist is the daughter of the Minister of Research. Dr. Harald Ludanek, Board Member for Development of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand, will give a specialist lecture.

On Monday, April 11, Professor Wan Gang himself will then speak on a topic from the automotive industry. His one-hour inaugural lecture (8 a.m., Audimax), to which students are welcome, will focus on electromobility. Fittingly, the Chinese delegation will then drive from the main university building to the Clausthal University of Technology Energy Campus in Goslar in a convoy of several electric vehicles. "After a tour there, the minister will continue his visit to Germany in the direction of Leipzig and Berlin," explains Professor Michael Z. Hou, the Clausthal University's China representative.

Contact:

Clausthal University of Technology
Press spokesperson
Christian Ernst
Phone: +49 5323 72-3904

E-Mail: christian.ernst@tu-clausthal.de