About SDC
SDC is a strategic, long-term partnership between all eight Danish universities, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS).
The collaboration brings together leading Danish and Chinese research and education environments to deliver joint activities in education, research, and PhD training.
SDC’s portfolio includes Danish–Chinese research collaboration within five selected research areas, seven affiliated Master’s programmes with an annual intake of approximately 150 students, and the training of a large number of PhD students.
Through this partnership, SDC aims to strengthen academic collaboration between Denmark and China, promote knowledge exchange, and support the mobility of students and researchers between the two countries.
The activities also contribute to building competencies and research insights that are relevant to industry and society in both Denmark and China.
SDC is located at UCAS’ Yanqihu Campus north of Beijing.
Joint Managerial Committee
The Joint Managerial Committee is the supreme decision making body of SDC and responsible for SDC's long-term development. Members are appointed for a period of five years.
The committee includes representatives from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Danish universities and the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science. The committee convenes once a year.
Zhou Qi , chairman
Vice President of CAS and President of UCAS
He Hongping,
Vice President of CAS
Wang Yanfen,
Executive Vice President of UCAS
Tan Weihong,
Director of Hangzhou Institute of Medicine, CAS
Professor Guo Zhengtang
Institute of Geology and Geophysics, CAS
Mikkel Leihardt, chairman.
Director General, Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science
Mikkel Haarder
Deputy Director, Confederation of Danish Industry
Rasmus Antoft
Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Aalborg University
Brian Bech Nielsen,
Rector, Aarhus University
Ole Skøtt
Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark
The Danish Board of SDC
The Danish Board consists of eight members representing all Danish universities.
Download minutes from the Danish SDC board meetings.
Download the rules of procedure for the Danish board of the SDC (in Danish).
Rasmus Antoft
Chair of the Board
Rector, Roskilde University
Kristine Kilså
Vice Dean for Education
Aarhus University
Jakob Fritz Hansen
Director, Office for Research, Advice and Innovation,
Technical University of Denmark
Poul Nielsen
Vice Dean for Education, University of Southern Denmark
Andreas de Neergaard
Associate Dean for Education, Faculty of SCIENCE,
University of Copenhagen
Georg Dam Steffensen
University Director, IT University of Copenhagen
Morten Frederiksen
Dean of Research, Innovation and Societal Impact, CBS
The partnership agreement
The agreement establishing the Sino-Danish Centre for Education and Research was officially signed 12 april 2010.
Partners
Within SDC, all eight Danish universities work together in a national collaboration that brings together academic expertise across the natural sciences and social sciences.
Through this partnership, the universities contribute teaching staff, research environments, and academic leadership to SDC’s education, research, and PhD activities.
Each Master’s programme is academically anchored at a Danish university, ensuring strong links to Danish research communities and consistent academic oversight. Danish researchers and PhD students are also actively involved in joint projects, supervision, and academic exchange, strengthening cross-university cooperation within Denmark.
The cross-university partnership reflects a shared Danish commitment to international academic collaboration.
By pooling their strengths, the Danish universities are able to offer a broader and more integrated platform for education, research, and knowledge exchange than any single institution could provide alone.
This Danish collaboration is closely integrated with the Chinese partner institutions. Programmes, research activities, and PhD training are developed and delivered through joint academic engagement, combining Danish and Chinese expertise in teaching, supervision, and research.
Together, the partners create a shared academic environment that supports high-quality education, research, and knowledge exchange.
Denmark
China
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is China’s largest research institution in science, technology and high-tech innovation. CAS comprises more than 100 research institutes located in all parts of China with a total of almost 70,000 staff members. Since its founding in 1949, CAS has been the most significant contributor to China’s scientific progress. Today, the organisation serves as China’s foremost science and technology advisory body to the Chinese government. Many CAS institutes play an important role in SDC’s educational activities, including Institute of Biophysics (Neuroscience and Neuroimaging); Institute of Chemistry (Nanoscience and Technology); Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology (Water and Environment); Beijing Institute of Genomics (Life Science Engineering and Informatics); and many more.
As SDC’s host institution in China, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) provides the academic and institutional framework for SDC’s activities. UCAS contributes teaching staff and research environments, and provides access to research facilities within the Chinese Academy of Sciences, ensuring close integration between education, research, and PhD training. UCAS was established in 1978 as the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and became an independent university in 2012, reflecting its development into a comprehensive research university with a strong focus on graduate education and scientific research. As of late 2024, UCAS enrols over 66,000 graduate students, including doctoral and Master’s candidates, alongside approximately 1,700 undergraduate students and around 1,800 international students from more than 90 countries.