Source: Office of International Cooperation & Exchange

Written by: Office of International Cooperation & Exchange

Translated by: Huang Xiuwei

Jean-Marie Bourgeois-Demersay, Dean of Sino-French Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, won Guangdong International Friendship Contribution Award recently in Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Guangzhou. This is the second time he receives award from Chinese government, after winning the title of "Honorary Citizen of Zhuhai" last year. This award is first established by Guangdong Provincial Government to encourage and honor foreign citizens who have made great contributions to the opening-up, economic construction and social development in Guangdong province.

With the efforts of the Chinese and French government, the Sino-French Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Technology was jointly set up by Sun Yat-sen University and five engineering schools in France led by the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (INPG), and formally operated in September 2010.

Working in Zhuhai in that year, Jean-Marie Bourgeois-Demersay devoted himself to the development of the Institute, bringing in the teaching mode of French engineering schools; making teaching plans, carrying out teaching arrangements, and seeking appropriate teachers according to the French mode of training engineers in nuclear engineering and related fields; adjusting teaching methods and schedules according to students' learning situation in order to adapt to Chinese students' learning processes. Meanwhile, in order to better communicate with related schools and enterprises in France, he traveled frequently between China and France, actively arranging the communication and bilateral visits between the Institute and schools as well as research institutions related to French nuclear energy and relevant fields, thus making positive contributions to the preparation of Sun Yat-sen University Sino-French Nuclear Engineering and Technology R & D Center.

In 1986, Jean-Marie Bourgeois-Demersay, who was still a college student, spent the entire two months of summer holiday traveling around China. "At that time China was very different from now. It was hard to see so many tall buildings, and everything was mysterious and fascinating. I went to a lot of places, including Guangdong, Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, Guangxi and Tibet, traveling along the way." Speaking of the first time coming to China, Jean-Marie Bourgeois-Demersay showed excitement on his face, "At that time I always felt that two months were really too short, and it was far from enough for me to explore and understand China."

In 1991, Jean-Marie Bourgeois-Demersay came to China again, and engaged in work related to the field of telecommunications in a French company in Beijing. Later, he worked and lived in South Africa, the Middle East, and etc. Now, he has come back to China. "I like China, like Chinese culture, like Chinese friendliness and like my current job," he said.

In 2010, Jean-Marie Bourgeois-Demersay, who served as Vice President of the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (INPG), was appointed Dean of Sino-French Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, and officially moved to Zhuhai, Guangdong to take charge of teaching administration of the Institute. Born in Paris, he even moved his whole family from France to China in order to do this job better. Jean-Marie Bourgeois-Demersay described his crucial responsibility in such a way: "We shall cultivate a group of outstanding Chinese nuclear talents."