As a newly employed PhD student, there are some conditions you need to familiarize yourself with, thus you should consult the guide Getting started as SDC PhD.

First of all, you need to apply for enrolment at UCAS within the first month of employment and instructions on how to apply are in the “Important information as newly employed SDC PhD student” e-mail” you received from SDC shortly after your employment.


UCAS’ PhD Educational Plan
Besides a number of specific requirements that will be addressed below, UCAS has a general Education Plan for International PhD-students that constitutes the framework of what is expected from an International PhD at UCAS.

The specific requirements that needs to be fulfilled in order to obtain the degree at UCAS are:

• Opening Speech


• Affiliation


• Mid-term assessment


• Academic reports and social activities


• Chinese Culture and Panorama


• Format requirements for the dissertation/thesis; header type, font size, font type etc.

Opening Speech
The purpose of the Opening Speech is to present your research plan based on previous studies in order to acquire input from experts within the research area. The Opening Speech must be completed within the second semester after enrollment at UCAS.
On UCAS’ website you can find general information about the Opening Speech and the relevant forms that needs be filled out in advance. Your Chinese co-supervisor can also be of assistance if you need clarification on matters regarding the Opening Speech.

Affiliation
Please consult UCAS’ website for the correct affiliation.

Mid-term assessment
International PhD students must complete the Mid-term assessment. The Mid-term assessment is a session, where the PhD student, the Danish main supervisor and the Chinese co-supervisor qualify the thesis research topic, main research progress and research plan.
The Mid-term assessment is described in the Education Plan for International PhD-students and it only applies for international PhD students enrolling at UCAS in 2022 and onwards.

Academic Reports and Social Practices
During the employment, PhD students must complete a number of academic reports i.e. give presentations or attend lectures at summits/seminars.

Furthermore, PhD students must carry out social practices i.e. administrative or volunteer activities.

The academic reports and social practices are assessed and approved by the Chinese supervisor. Consult the
Education Plan for International PhD-students.

Chinese Language and Panorama
It is a national requirement from the Ministry of Education in China that all international students must acquire basic knowledge of Chinese Language and Chinese Panorama.

UCAS conducts courses with a duration of 14-21 days for SDC PhD students twice a year, during the spring and autumn semester. Some PhD students may be exempted due to previous activities.

You can read about it in section 4 in the general Education Plan for International PhD-students. The specific dates are announced in advance via e-mail and in both the relevant WeChat- and Facebook-group.

Format requirements for the dissertation/thesis
The requirements for the layout of the dissertation/thesis are quite extensive and it is very important that you abide by them hence you need to be familiar with them as early as possible in the process. All format requirements are found here – please note that there is a word document (“11. UCAS Dissertation Guidelines.doc”) at the bottom of the page.

Visa
When traveling to China a valid visa is required. Application is done through the Chinese Visa Application Service and it is highly recommended to begin the application well in advance.

Insurance
It is solely the responsibility of the PhD students to make sure that they are sufficiently insured during a research stay. Please contact the Danish home university to find out if necessary insurance is in place. Please note that the insurance provided only covers research stays - not vacation.

COVID regulations
Most COVID-19 regulations in China have been abandoned, but local restrictions may occur in the future.
 
Expenses and Travel Costs
Expenses are not covered by the Danish SDC office. There are no economic transactions between the Danish SDC office and the PhD student. The funding from SDC is disbursed to the Danish university.

The PhD student must always settle their travel account with the university concerned, not with SDC. It is not possible to apply for additional funding from SDC.

Transportation
Public transportation and taxi fares in Beijing are the most common way to get around. Since Chinese taxi drivers rarely speak English, it is recommended to bring notes with relevant addresses written on them in Chinese, when moving around.

Accommodation
PhD students must arrange their stay by themselves and the costs of accommodation during the stay will be covered by the PhD student. The Chinese host institution may be helpful in securing accommodation.

Alternatively, one can rent an apartment, in which case it is necessary to contact a real estate agent upon arrival in Beijing. If you rent an apartment, you need to register at the local police station within 24 hours. They will issue a Temporary Residence Registration.
Usually, it is possible to find a place within a few days. Please note, that leases in China can be complicated, so it is important that the real estate agency helps you understand all terms and conditions before you sign a contract.

You can find relevant information about hotel accommodation here.

WeChat
It is practically impossible to reside in China for a longer period without using the dominant social media platform WeChat. It is used for payments, instant messaging, taxi fares and much more.

On WeChat there is an “SDC PhDs” group that is recommendable for PhD students to join. When you are in China, it is a quick and easy way to get in touch with fellow SDC PhD students. To join the group, ask the members of the SDC PhD's Facebook group to add you or contact the study administrator from the Beijing Office, Mark Hording (WeChat ID: markhording), and ask him to add you to the group.

Facebook
We recommended that you join the Facebook group, where you can reach out to fellow SDC PhD students. The group is meant as a forum for sharing information about how to find apartments, invite fellow PhD students to social events, symposiums etc. Please be advised that you can only logon to Facebook via a VPN-connection, when in China.

Find the SDC PhD's facebook group here.