The Lise-Meitner Research Group (LMRG) “China in the Global System of Science” launched a new research project at the MPIWG on November 1, 2023. The project “Knowledge for Academic Cooperation: Research-based and Action-Guiding China Expertise for German Science Organizations (Wi-Wi-Ko-China)” [in the German original: Wissen für Wissenschaftskooperationen: Forschungsbasierte und handlungsleitende China-Kompetenz für deutsche Wissenschaftsorganisationen] is a joint initiative with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). It is funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for the period of three years.

Wi-Wi-Ko-China is part of the BMBF’s funding line for the “Promotion of the Regional Expansion of China Expertise in Science (Regio-China)” and serves as the scientific accompanying project for ten regional network initiatives across Germany. The project synthesizes basic knowledge about China’s science system with experiences in German/European-Chinese research collaboration and aims to raise “China competence” among actors in German academia. In close cooperation with the regional Regio China projects, Wi-Wi-Ko-China harvests the experiences made by science organizations and researchers in their cooperative ventures with partners in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It maps competencies, determines future needs, and develops new approaches towards science cooperation.

In the LMRG, project coordinator Anna Katharina Strob and project leader Anna Lisa Ahlers are responsible for the scientific content of Wi-Wi-Ko-China as part of sub-project “A – Analysis (Collection and Synthesis of Knowledge About China)”. The colleagues of sub-project “B – Transfer (Application of Knowledge About China)” at the DAAD manage the joint project’s event program and secure the sustainable dissemination of its outputs. The results of Wi-Wi-Ko-China will be made accessible through publications, public outreach, and a digital platform.

The project team can be contacted at: wiwiko@daad.de.