Evonik-SJTU PhD Fund Award, as an important part of the second round of strategic cooperation between Evonik Industries AG and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, aims to select excellent doctoral students from the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (SCCE) and the School of Materials Science and Engineering (SMSE) to visit Evonik and prestigious universities in Germany.

Compared with 2016, the funding scale of 2017 Evonik-SJTU PhD Fund expanded. Through strict resume screening and panel interview, 8 PhD students from SCCE and SMSE were selected. After six months of preparation, the winners started the two-week trip to Germany on June 4th ,2018.

The trip could be divided into two parts: feeling the university and visiting the enterprises. In Technical University of Munich, the students are immersed in the strong academic atmosphere of TUM. They had courses with German students, made in-depth communication with different research groups and visited laboratories including the Catalysis Research Center and the Biochemistry Research Center.

After experiencing TUM, the students visited Marl site, Creavis, Hanau site and Darmstadt site. The whole team were deeply impressed by the innovation ability and industry leadership of Evonik.

The visit coincided with ACHEMA, a world-level exhibition of chemical engineering, environmental protection and biotechnology held every 3 years. During the exhibition, the students saw advanced equipment and innovative technology in various disciplines like machinery, chemistry and material.

Evonik Industries AG is one of the world’s leading specialty chemicals companies, which represents appealing business and innovation. It has about 41,000 employees worldwide and its business extends all over 100 countries. The visit not only broadened students’ international perspective, but also helped promote talent cultivation of SJTU. 

Author: Xiake HU

Translator: Chenyun SUN

Reviser: Xiaoke HU