TOChina Summer School

Introduction

In June 2023, 60 PhD candidates, graduate students, young scholars and professionals gathered in Turin for the 17th edition of the TOChina Summer School: two high-powered weeks of advanced training in the politics, political economy and foreign policy of contemporary China.

The essence of the program lies in welcoming emerging China hands and China-literate practitioners from all over the world to one of Italy's most dynamic cities, whilst being exposed to valuable insights and cutting-edge research agendas by some of the world's most accomplished scholars on contemporary China.

As ever with TOChina activities, the aim is to work at the intersection between China’s long-term structural transformations in socio-political, economic and cultural terms, and those particularly salient trends that are currently informing international debates on China.

To ensure the pluralism of disciplinary and intellectual perspectives presented throughout the course, TOChina Summer School faculty members are academics and policy experts from a variety of fields, including Economics, Economic History, International Relations, International Political Economy, Political Philosophy and Culture, Political Science, and Sociology.

Activities – including lectures, seminars, round tables, and extensive Q&A sessions – run Monday to Friday, 10.00 am to 5.30 pm CET.

The TOChina Summer School is suitable not only for participants wishing to study the domestic aspects of China’s politics, but also for those who intend to explore the rapidly evolving dynamics of Asian and global geopolitics and economics. For those looking for insights into future career options, the TOChina Summer School offers a unique opportunity to engage in lively debates with senior scholars who are often in charge of PhD programs in their country, and affiliated to a variety of organizations. The informal sessions participants join to acquire greater knowledge of the work of TOChina faculty members are a trademark of TOChina’s hands-on approach to the study of contemporary China.

The School is run by the TOChina Hub - a partnership between the University of Torino, ESCP Business School & the Torino World Affairs Institute (T.wai) - which is supported by two of Italy’s largest banking foundations, Fondazione CRT and Fondazione CRC.

The 2022 TOChina Summer School was granted the patronage of the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the 2023 edition has been granted the patronage of SISP, the Italian Political Science Association, and its Standing Group in International Relations.
‍
Applications will be evaluated on a first come, first served basis.‍
To apply for the TOChina Summer School, please fill the online application form:

Application Form

The intellectual salon is a rara avis among those outside China who would come to grips with that country’s complex socio-political, regional and economic topography. TOChina offers a unique educational salon for engaged young scholars and professionals from various backgrounds in which they can learn about, discuss and debate the presence of China on the global stage. A salon with edge and purpose like the TOChina Summer School prepares participants for the real world of China today and tomorrow.

Prof. Geremie Barmé

TOChina engaged me in dialogues with both leading experts and young scholars of China studies in a truly multicultural context, where I made lifelong friends who share my own vision and passion for this field of research. The TOChina Summer School is indeed an empowering experience.

MS. WANG GERUI 王格睿
(TOChina alumna 2012)

The intellectual salon is a rara avis among those outside China who would come to grips with that country’s complex socio-political, regional and economic topography. TOChina offers a unique educational salon for engaged young scholars and professionals from various backgrounds in which they can learn about, discuss and debate the presence of China on the global stage. A salon with edge and purpose like the TOChina Summer School prepares participants for the real world of China today and tomorrow.

Prof. Geremie Barmé

TOChina engaged me in dialogues with both leading experts and young scholars of China studies in a truly multicultural context, where I made lifelong friends who share my own vision and passion for this field of research. The TOChina Summer School is indeed an empowering experience.

MS. WANG GERUI 王格睿 (TOChina alumna 2012)

Introduction

In June 2023, 60 PhD candidates, graduate students, young scholars and professionals gathered for the 17th edition of the TOChina Summer School: two high-powered weeks of advanced training in the politics, political economy and foreign policy of contemporary China.

The essence of the program lies in welcoming emerging China hands and China-literate practitioners from all over the world to one of Italy's most dynamic cities, whilst being exposed to valuable insights and cutting-edge research agendas by some of the world's most accomplished scholars on contemporary China.

As ever with TOChina activities, the aim is to work at the intersection between China’s long-term structural transformations in socio-political, economic and cultural terms, and those particularly salient trends that are currently informing international debates on China.

To ensure the pluralism of disciplinary and intellectual perspectives presented throughout the course, TOChina Summer School faculty members are academics and policy experts from a variety of fields, including Economics, Economic History, International Relations, International Political Economy, Political Philosophy and Culture, Political Science, and Sociology.

Activities – including lectures, seminars, round tables, and extensive Q&A sessions – run Monday to Friday, 10.00 am to 5.30 pm CET.
‍
The TOChina Summer School is suitable not only for participants wishing to study the domestic aspects of China’s politics, but also for those who intend to explore the rapidly evolving dynamics of Asian and global geopolitics and economics. For those looking for insights into future career options, the TOChina Summer School offers a unique opportunity to engage in lively debates with senior scholars who are often in charge of PhD programs in their country, and affiliated to a variety of organizations. The informal sessions participants join to acquire greater knowledge of the work of TOChina faculty members are a trademark of TOChina’s hands-on approach to the study of contemporary China.

The School is run by the TOChina Hub - a partnership between the University of Torino, ESCP Business School & the Torino World Affairs Institute (T.wai) - which is supported by two of Italy’s largest banking foundations, Fondazione CRT and Fondazione CRC.

The 2022 TOChina Summer School was granted the patronage of the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the 2023 edition has been granted the patronage of SISP, the Italian Political Science Association, and its Standing Group in International Relations.

Applications will be evaluated on a first come, first served basis.
‍
To apply for the TOChina Summer School, please fill the online application form:

Application Form

timetable



time

Monday
26 JuNE

Tuesday
27 JUNE

Wednesday
28 JUNE

Thursday
29 JUNE

Friday
30 June

10.00
-
12.30

Patricia THORNTON

Whither Xi Jinping Thought? An exploration of its rationale, projection, fruition

LI Mingjiang

The role of local governments in Chinese foreign policy

ZHANG Chenchen

Postcolonial relationality and victimhood nationalism in popular geopolitical narratives on Chinese social media

Jane DUCKETT

Social policy in China’s new era of "common prosperity”

Kristin SHI-KUPFER

Online public discourse in China: platforms, actors and topics

lunch break

15.00
-
17.30

LI Mingjiang

China’s policy in the South China Sea disputes

Patricia THORNTON

Party Center and grassroots party-building: the evolving topography of power in Xi’s China

Jane DUCKETT

The Covid-19 pandemic and political regime legitimacy in China

JérÔme DOYON

Rejuvenating communism: youth organizations and elite renewal in post- Mao China

Kristin SHI-KUPFER

How to study online public discourse in China: research agendas and methodological caveats

Opening Aperitif

City tour in Turin

time

Monday
3 JULY

Tuesday
4 JULY

Wednesday
5 JULY

Thursday
6 July

Friday
7 July

10.00
-
12.30

ZHANG Jian

China’s path to modernisation: opening up, rejuvenation, projection

Giovanni B. ANDORNINO

Making sense of China's pursuit of international status: the case of the Belt and Road Initiative and Italy

Transfer to Rome

Evan FEIGENBAUM

Why America risks losing Asia and what it can do about it

Sarah KIRCHBERGER

Taking stock of China’s armed forces: assets, doctrines, challenges

lunch break

15.00
-
17.30

ZHANG Jian

The meaning(s) of “Chineseness" and China’s quest for a community of common destiny of mankind

Sébastien BILLIOUD

Yiguandao: spirituality and politics across the Sinophone oecumene

Evan FEIGENBAUM

China’s evolving role in Asia: views from Washington
‍
(16.00 -18.30)

ChinaMed Roundtable

The Persian Gulf and the US-China rivalry

(15.00 -18.30)

SHE Gangzheng

The role of the Middle East in Chinese foreign policy from Mao to Xi

Aperitif in Rome

Faculty & Sessions

Giovanni B. ANDORNINO

UNIVERSITY OF TURIN & T.WAI - Torino world affairs institute

A tenured Assistant Professor of International Relations of East Asia at the University of Turin, Dr Giovanni B. Andornino (欧阳乔) is the Director of the TOChina Centre of the Department of Cultures, Politics and Society. Dr Andornino is Vice President and Head of the Global China program at the Torino World Affairs Institute (T.wai) and the former Editor of OrizzonteCina, Italy's leading academic journal on contemporary China studies in the social sciences. His research focuses on China’s domestic politics, foreign policy, and relations with Italy and the wider Euro-Mediterranean region. Since 2019 he has been serving as the founding General Secretary of the China-Italy Philanthropy Forum.

LECTURE: Making sense of China's pursuit of international status: the case of the Belt and Road Initiative and Italy

Mohammed ALSUDAIRI

Australian National University

Mohammed Turki Alsudairi is a Lecturer in Politics and International Relations of the Arabic Speaking World at the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies in Australian National University, and an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow. He obtained his PhD in Comparative Politics from the University of Hong Kong and is proficient in Arabic, English, and Putonghua. His research interests encompass China-Middle East relations, inter-Asian religious and ideological connections, and Muslim sectarianism in Northwest China.

ChinaMed roundtable: The Persian Gulf and the US-China rivalry

Sara BAZOOBANDI

German Institute for Global and Area Studies

Sara Bazoobandi is a Marie Curie Fellow at the Institute for Middle East Studies, German Institute for Global and Area Studies in Hamburg, where she conducts research on Iran, the GCC, and the broader Middle East North Africa. She is also a nonresident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, and an associate research fellow at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies. Prior to this, she was a senior lecturer in International Political Economy at Regent’s University London, and a visiting researcher at the Middle East Institute of the National University of Singapore. She has served on the World Economic Forum Global Council for Middle East and North Africa.

ChinaMed roundtable: The Persian Gulf and the US-China rivalry

Sébastien BILLIOUD

UNIVERSITé Paris cité

Sébastien Billioud is Professor of Chinese studies at Université Paris Cité. Based on a cross-disciplinary approach, his research explores the modern and contemporary fates of Confucianism. His main works include Thinking through Confucian Modernity (Brill, 2012), The Sage and the People (with Joël Thoraval, Oxford University Press, 2015), The Varieties of Confucian Experience (Brill, 2018), Reclaiming the Wilderness, Contemporary Dynamics of the Yiguandao (Oxford University Press, 2020, Chengchi University Press, 2022) and From Taiwan to the World: The Globalization of Yiguandao in the 21st Century (in Chinese and in collaboration with Yang Hung-jen, Chengchi University Press, 2022).

LECTURE: Yiguandao: spirituality and politics across the Sinophone oecumene

Mohamed BIN HUWAIDIN

United Arab Emirates University

Mohamed Bin Huwaidin is a Professor of International Relations in the Department of Government and Society at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU). He served as chair of the department for eight consecutive years. Dr. Bin Huwaidin has completed a Ph.D. at Durham University on China’s relations with the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula region. His main research interests include China-Gulf relations and the security of the Gulf region. He has published extensively on these topics in different peer-reviewed journals.

ChinaMed roundtable: The Persian Gulf and the US-China rivalry

Jérôme DOYON

Sciences Po Paris

Jérôme Doyon is a Junior Professor at the Centre for International Relations (CERI) at Sciences Po Paris. His research focuses on Chinese politics and foreign policy with a specific interest in the inner working of the Party-State apparatus and its exportation beyond Chinese borders, as well as elite politics, political youth organizations, and the management of ethno-religious minorities. His work has appeared in various outlets, such as Political Studies or The China Quarterly, and his most recent book titled Rejuvenating Communism: Youth Organizations and Elite Renewal in Post- Mao China was published by the University of Michigan Press in 2023.

LECTURE: Rejuvenating communism: youth organizations and elite renewal in post- Mao China

Jane DUCKETT

University of Glasgow

Jane Duckett is Edward Caird Chair of Politics and Director of the Scottish Centre for China Research at the University of Glasgow. She is a Fellow of the British Academy (2016), the Royal Society of Edinburgh (2019), and the Academy of Social Sciences (2019). She is also a Guest Professor at Nankai University (Tianjin, China). In 2012 she received the Lord Provost of Glasgow Education Award. From 2014–2017 she was President of the British Association for Chinese Studies. Her most recent project, 'COVID-19: Understanding the Chinese Government's Containment Measures and their Societal Impacts,' was funded by the UK's National Institute for Health Research and the Medical Research Council.

LECTURE: The Covid-19 pandemic and political regime legitimacy in China

LECTURE: Social policy in China’s new era of "common prosperity”

Anoush EHTESHAMI

Durham University

Anoush Ehteshami is Professor of International Relations in the School of Government and International Affairs, Durham University, and holds the Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah Chair in International Relations and is Director of the HH Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah Programme in International Relations, Regional Politics and Security. He was Director of the Institute for Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies (IMEIS) at Durham, one of the oldest and noted centres of excellence in Middle Eastern studies in Europe, 2016-2022. He has been a Fellow of the World Economic Forum, and served as a member of the WEF’s foremost body, the Global Agenda Councils. He was Vice-President and Chair of Council of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) 2000-2003. He is Editor of two major book series on the Middle East and the wider Muslim world, and is member of Editorial Board of seven international journals.

ChinaMed roundtable: The Persian Gulf and the US-China rivalry

Enrico FARDELLA

UNIVERSITY OF NAPLES "L'ORIENTALE" & T.WAI - TORINO WORLD AFFAIRS INSTITUTE

Enrico Fardella is Associate Professor at the Department of Human and Social Sciences at the University of Naples “L’Orientale”, Director of the ChinaMed Project at T.wai - Torino World Affairs Institute, and visiting scholar at John Cabot University in Rome. Until July 2022, Enrico was tenured Associate Professor at the History Department of Peking University (PKU) and Director of PKU’s Center for Mediterranean Area Studies (CMAS, 北京大学地中海区域研究中心). He was appointed Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington D.C. and Fellow of the Science & Technology China Program of the European Commission. Enrico sits on the editorial board of OrizzonteCina, a monthly review focused on China’s relations with Europe and the wider Mediterranean region. His fields of interest are: Chinese foreign policy; Sino-European relations; China’s role in the Mediterranean; the Belt and Road Initiative; history of international relations; and history of contemporary China.

CHINAMED ROUNDTABLE: The Persian Gulf and the US-China rivalry

Evan FEIGENBAUM

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Evan A. Feigenbaum is vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he oversees research in Washington, Beijing, and New Delhi on a dynamic region encompassing both East Asia and South Asia. He was also the 2019-20 James R. Schlesinger Distinguished Professor at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, where he is now a practitioner senior fellow. Initially an academic with a PhD in Chinese politics from Stanford University, Feigenbaum’s career has spanned government service, think tanks, the private sector, and three major regions of Asia. He is the author of three books and monographs, including The United States in the New Asia (CFR, 2009, co-author) and China’s Techno-Warriors: National Security and Strategic Competition from the Nuclear to the Information Age (Stanford University Press, 2003), which was selected by Foreign Affairs as a best book of 2003 on the Asia-Pacific, as well as numerous articles and essays.

LECTURE: China’s evolving role in Asia: views from Washington

LECTURE: Why America risks losing Asia and what it can do about it

Andrea GHISELLI

FUDAN unIVERSITY & T.WAI - TORINO WORLD AFFAIRS INSTITUTE

Andrea Ghiselli is an Assistant Professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs of Fudan University. He’s also the Head of Research of the TOChina Hub’s ChinaMed Project. His research interests include Chinese foreign policy, China’s relations with Middle Eastern countries, as well as theories of foreign policy analysis. His research has appeared in many peer-reviewed journals, and his book Protecting China's Interests Overseas: Securitization and Foreign Policy was published by Oxford University Press in 2021.

CHINAMED ROUNDTABLE: TBD

Sarah KIRCHBERGER

Kiel University

Sarah Kirchberger is head of Asia-Pacific Strategy and Security at the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University (ISPK); vice president of the German Maritime Institute (DMI), and Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Her current work focuses on Russia–China relations, maritime security in the Asia-Pacific region, emerging technologies in the maritime sphere, China’s arms industries, and China’s naval development. Before joining ISPK she was assistant professor of contemporary China at the University of Hamburg, and previously worked as a naval analyst with shipbuilder TKMS Blohm + Voss. She is the author of "Assessing China’s Naval Power: Technological Innovation, Economic Constraints, and Strategic Implications" (2015) and editor of „Russia-China Relations: Emerging Alliance or Eternal Rivals?“ (2023).

LECTURE: Taking stock of China’s armed forces: assets, doctrines, challenges

LI Mingjiang

Nanyang Technological University

Dr. Li Mingjiang is an Associate Professor and Provost’s Chair in International Relations at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. He is also the Coordinator of the PhD Program at RSIS. He serves as the Deputy Chair of the 8th NTU Senate, member of the Senate Steering Committee and Chair of the Campus and Community Committee. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Boston University. His main research interests include Chinese foreign policy, Chinese economic statecraft, the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese politics, China-ASEAN relations, Sino-U.S. relations, and Asia-Pacific security. He is the author (including editor and co-editor) of 15 books. His recent books are China’s Economic Statecraft (World Scientific, 2017) and New Dynamics in US-China Relations: Contending for the Asia Pacific (lead editor, Routledge, 2014).

LECTURE: China’s policy in the South China Sea disputes

LECTURE: The role of local governments in Chinese foreign policy

Rachel MORELAND

Durham University

Rachel Moreland is a doctoral research student at the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University. Her research examines Anglo-American relations post-9/11, specifically the role of British influence on US military intervention in the Middle East. Her research interests encompass Anglo-American relations, smart power, US foreign policy and British empire in the Middle East. She has recently published a review of Nigel Ashton’s book, False Prophets: British leaders’ fateful fascination with the Middle East from Suez to Syria, in Middle Eastern Studies. She is a dual citizen of the USA and UK and currently resides in Edinburgh, Scotland.

ChinaMed roundtable: The Persian Gulf and the US-China rivalry

Emma MURPHY

Durham University

Emma Murphy is Professor of Political Economy in the School of Government and International Affairs, Durham University. She has just completed her term as a member of the HEFCE Research Excellence Framework Sub-Panel 27 Area Studies. She is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Manufacturing and an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences. She has acted as co-editor of the journal Mediterranean Politics. Emma has completed a PhD at Exeter University on the political economy of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, and her research interests cover a broad spectrum of political economy issues in the Middle East, including information and communications technologies, food security, economic liberalisation, the Arab uprisings, and relations with the European Union. She has conducted research on the 'Beijing consensus' and the MENA region.

ChinaMed roundtable: The Persian Gulf and the US-China rivalry

Michael PETTIS

PEKING University

Michael Pettis is professor of finance at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management, where he specializes in Chinese financial markets, and nonresident senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Pettis worked on Wall Street in trading, capital markets, and corporate finance since 1987, when he joined the sovereign debt trading team at Manufacturers Hanover (now JPMorgan). Most recently, Pettis worked at Bear Stearns, as a partner in a merchant-banking boutique that specialized in securitizing Latin American assets, and at Credit Suisse First Boston, where he headed the emerging markets trading team. In addition to trading and capital markets, Pettis has been involved in sovereign advisory work. His most recent book, "Trade Wars are Class Wars" (Yale University Press) was awarded the Belzer prize in 2021.

LECTURE: China's difficult economic adjustment

Amjed RASHEED

Lancaster University

Amjed Rasheed is a University Lecturer in the Politics of West Asia and North Africa (WANA) in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion, Lancaster University, and an Associate Fellow at the HH Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah Programme, Durham University. He was awarded the prestigious Hillary Clinton Fellowship at Queen’s University Belfast (2021-2022) where he conducted research on China and authoritarian reinforcement in the global south. He has completed a PhD at Durham University on Syria-Iraq relations and his research interests include WANA politics and IR, global south narratives of China, the BRI, and climate change.

ChinaMed roundtable: The Persian Gulf and the US-China rivalry

SHE Gangzheng

TSINGHUA University

Dr. Gangzheng She is an Associate Professor in the Department of International Relations at Tsinghua University in Beijing, where he teaches multiple undergraduate- and graduate-level courses, including War and Evolution in the Middle East, Study of Conflict Resolution, and Contemporary History of International Relations. Dr. She specializes in the Middle East from the beginning of Cold War till now with a special focus on the involvement of China and other great powers in the region. His works have been published by leading academic journals such as the Journal of Cold War Studies and the Chinese Journal of International Politics, as well as think tanks including Atlantic Council and the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI).

LECTURE: The role of the Middle East in Chinese foreign policy from Mao to Xi

Kristin SHI-KUPFER

UNIVERSITY OF TRIER

Kristin Shi-Kupfer is Professor for Contemporary China Studies at the University of Trier and a Senior Associate Fellow at MERICS. She previously worked as a research associate at the University of Freiburg’s Institute for Sinology. Dr. Shi-Kupfer is an expert on China’s digital society and politics, media policy, civil society and human rights. She earned her PhD from Ruhr University Bochum with a thesis on spiritual and religious groups in China after 1978. From 2007 to 2011 she was based in Beijing covering China for various German-speaking media like the Austrian magazine Profil, the German Protestant Press Agency epd or the public radio station Deutsche Welle. Since 2019 she is a member of the Sino-German Working Group on Digital Business Models initiated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

lecture: Online public discourse in China: platforms, actors and topics

lecture: How to study online public discourse in China: research agendas and methodological caveats

Patricia THORNTON

University of OXFORD

Patricia M. Thornton is a political scientist whose research interests span the political, socio-economic, and cultural history of modern China. She received her PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, and previously served as the Director of the Institute for Asian Studies at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. She is an Associate Professor of Chinese Politics at the University of Oxford.

lecture: Whither Xi Jinping Thought? An exploration of its rationale, projection, fruition

lecture: Party Center and grassroots party-building: the evolving topography of power in Xi’s China

Dominika URHOVÁ

Tel Aviv University

Dominika Urhová is currently completing her master’s degree in security and diplomacy at Tel Aviv University in Israel. She is currently based in Taipei and freelance writing for the Association for International Affairs (AMO). Her research focuses on China’s foreign policy in the Middle East and the Taiwan Strait.

ChinaMed roundtable: The Persian Gulf and the US-China rivalry

ZHANG Chenchen

Durham University

Chenchen Zhang is Assistant Professor in International Relations in the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University. Her research interests lie broadly within social and political theory, political geography, and international relations. Some of her earlier work was focused on citizenship and migration in both European and Chinese contexts, more recent projects are concerned with discourse/identity, digital politics, and popular narratives of the international on social media. Zhang is co-editor of Geopolitics and co-host of the Shicha podcast.

lecture: Postcolonial relationality and victimhood nationalism in popular geopolitical narratives on Chinese social media

ZHANG Jian

PEKING UNIVERSITY

Prof. Zhang is Associate Professor at the School of Government at Peking University. His research interests include Comparative Politics, Chinese Politics, ethnic minority issues in China, identity politics, political participation and state/nation building in the developing world. He teaches Chinese politics, American politics, ethnic issues and an introduction to comparative politics at Peking University. He received his BA from Peking University (1997) and his Ph.D. from Columbia University (2007).

lecture: China’s path to modernisation: opening up, rejuvenation, projection

lecture: The meaning(s) of “Chineseness" and China’s quest for a community of common destiny of mankind

TOCHINA SUMMER SCHOOL - Previous editions

Key Dates

20 FEBRUARY

The TOChina Centre begins accepting online applications for the 2023 edition of the TOChina Summer School.

Applications will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis.

31 MAY

All complete applications reaching the TOChina Program Manager by this date (CET) are evaluated. No late application will be considered.

12 june

By this date the last successful applicants receiving an offer must formally accept it and send proof of fees payment (direct bank transfer, all banking expenses must be paid by the candidate) via email. Upon receiving these, the TOChina Program Manager will confirm the candidate’s enrollment. Applicants who should fail to meet this deadline will have their offer withdrawn.

26 june

The 2023 TOChina Summer School begins in Turin.

5 juLY

The class is expected to travel from Turin to Rome, for the last part of the Summer School.

7 july

The 2023 TOChina Summer School ends in Rome.

Admissions Criteria

The TOChina Summer School is designed for highly motivated students and professionals looking for one of the world’s best intensive programs focussing on the politics, society, political economy and foreign policy of contemporary China. A careful selection of up to 60 students is carried out in order to make sure that the School’s working environment is as dynamic and challenging as possible. The Admissions Committee focuses on the following factors in reaching its decisions:

1. the applicant’s capacity to make a credible claim for a proficient research/professional career with China;

2. sound academic credentials and fluency in English;

3. individual potential as expressed by the applicant’s CV;

4. the candidate’s motivation as articulated in the personal statement.

Applications are welcome from any professional or student who is in possession of the required qualifications. These are a Bachelor honours degree at 1 or 2:1 level (or an equivalent European title, such as the Laurea triennale for Italian students with a minimum grade of 100/110) and full command of the English language. Special consideration will be given to applicants who can demonstrate their English ability in the following ways:

1. being of a nationality where English is the first language;

2. having studied at university level in English as shown on the transcript uploaded in the Online Application form;

3. having studied English at school (e.g., GCSE, A-Level, International Baccalaureate…) and achieved good grades;

4. having taken an approved English Language test and met the following standards: IELTS – 6.5; TOEFL (Internet based) – 100 points; TOEFL (Computer based) – 250 points; TOEFL (Paper based) – 600 points; Cambridge Advanced English (CAE) – Pass; Cambridge Proficiency in English (CPE) – Pass.

Outstanding undergraduate students (i.e. students who will not yet have a degree at the start of the Summer School) who are enrolled in a university course with a strong China focus may also apply, provided that they have completed at least one year of course.

auditors

In order to render the TOChina Summer School at least temporarily accessible to students and professionals who are unable to attend the entire duration of the course (2 weeks), a maximum of 15 auditors will be admitted online for each session.

Anyone can apply to audit one or more sessions. Unsuccessful Summer School applicants too may re-apply as auditors. There is no restriction on the number of sessions a single auditor may attend. The cost for attending each session as auditors is EUR 100.00.

Those wishing to apply as auditors should send an email with their updated résumé or CV to the TOChina Program Manager (summerschool@tochina.it) indicating which session(s) they would like to attend (day, time, lecturer).

fees

Tuition fees depend on the status of the applicant and the mode of participation (in presence in Turin or online), as shown by the following chart:

Applicant status

FEES

Students from University of Torino
and from partner institutions:

Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales - INALCO
John Cabot University
University of Trier
TOChina Alumni & Academic Network

Students who wish to participate online

EUR 690.00

All other students

EUR 890.00

Professionals

EUR 1,590.00

These amounts cover tuition and working materials only, and must be paid in full by all admitted participants ahead of joining the program.
‍
Application fees are non-refundable in all cases in which applicants renounce to participate, regardless of their motive.

Selections of participants from specific partner institutions are regulated through ad-hoc agreements with such institutions.

scholarships

(nOT APPLICABLE FOR ONLINE PARTICIPANTS)

Students only may apply for the following type of scholarship:

• FREETORINO: scholarships covering accommodation and, partially, meals. Those who are awarded a FREETORINO scholarship will be lodged at one of Torino’s student halls (or similar kind of accommodation). A single or double (depending on availability) en-suite room and one meal per day (dinner) will be provided. These scholarships may be applied for by all School participants who are currently students (i.e. undergraduates who will not have completed their China-related degree at the time of the School, or applicants who either are studying at the postgraduate level or will be doing so in the next academic year).

Applicants must not be resident in the Province of Torino (IT).

To be awarded a TOChina Summer School scholarship, candidates must:
• be currently enrolled in a university course, either as postgraduate or undergraduate students. The latter need to be enrolled in a university degree with a strong China focus;
• be residing outside the province of Torino;
• send relevant application documents: copy of CV, copy of university enrollment certificate, copy of most recent academic transcript;
• have paid their fees in full;
• have attended a minimum of 40 hours of lectures/seminars;
• have achieved at least a “pass” grade in the final exam.

If not all conditions are met, scholarship recipients will be asked to reimburse the expenses for accommodation and meals by Fall.

how to apply

Competition to secure a place in this program can be very intense: early application is strongly recommended.
Applications will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. No applications will be accepted beyond the deadline defined in the "Key Dates" section.

Applicants are requested to fill in the online application form.

Upon receiving candidates’ online application, the TOChina Program Manager will request supplementary documents (CV, enrollment letter, academic transcript, scanned copy of passport) via email, will check that compulsory requirements are met and pass their application package on to the Admissions Committee, which will be appointed by the Director of the Department of Culture, Politics and Society of the University of Torino, where the TOChina Hub is based.

Successful applicants receiving an offer must formally accept it and send proof of fees payment (direct bank transfer) via email to the TOChina Program Manager at summerschool@tochina.it by the set deadline (see the Key Dates section). Upon receiving these, the applicant will be officially enrolled in the program.

Applicants who should fail to send such confirmation and proof of fees payment by the set deadline will have their offer withdrawn. Any newly-available place will be offered to the highest-ranking applicants not selected in the first round.

Tuition fees range between EUR 690.00 and EUR 1,590.00, depending on the type of applicant (student, professional…). Please see the Fees section of this website for further information. All successful applicants must pay their full fees.

Applicants may be called for an interview before a final decision on their application is made.

All candidates will be notified of the outcome of their application at the earliest possible time.

Torino, Travel and Accommodation

Torino, the first capital city of united Italy in 1861, is an ancient place. Established by the Romans with a distinctive rectangular grid which mesmerizes visitors to this day, each moment in history has left its mark on the city, generating a legacy of culture, architecture and monuments. In 2012 the New York Times devoted to Torino one of its “36 hours in…” pieces.

The Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games showcased a cosmopolitan city, still attached to its industrial tradition – the now global FCA car manufacture was founded here – while transforming into an Italian hub of technological and cultural innovation with a high quality of life. The UN System has its Staff College here (UNSSC), together with the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITC-ILO). UNESCO has recently approved the creation of a centre for research on world cultural heritage to be based in the baroque Venaria Reale palace, one of several world heritage sites in the area.

World-renowned Juventus football club – one of Torino’s glories – has its brand-new Stadium in town, alongside the world’s second-largest Egyptian antiques museum after Cairo (Museo Egizio), the Automobile Museum, the Cinema Museum (few know that in the early days cinema was being developed here), and the Mountain Museum (Museo Nazionale della Montagna), aptly located on Torino’s hills overlooking the Alps. Torino’s region – Piedmont (Piemonte) – means “at the feet of the mountains” and Europe’s most charming peaks are within a couple of hours drive.

Sampling the local cuisine is a cultural must in Torino. Its informal trattoria, refinded top-end restaurants and exotic ethnic eateries make the city one of the undisputed world capitals of taste, including for its illustrious wine scene, whether one is looking for whites (Gavi, Arneis, Moscato), superb reds (Dolcetto, Grignolino, Barbera, Nebbiolo, Barbaresco and Barolo), or even sparkling wines, which, through Martini & Rossi, gave rise to the tradition of Asti Spumante.

Seemingly closer to the Northern European no-nonsense, hard-working style than it is to Italy’s Mediterranean allure, Torino transforms at sunset: by aperitif time the streets are lit up and buzzing with people enjoying live jazz, exclusive dj sets, the local philharmonic orchestra performances, theatre and opera, but also shows, cabaret, literary cafes, street festivals and crazy notti bianche, all night non-stop events that animate the city streets until dawn.

GETTING TO KNOW TORINO AND ITS REGION

Torino Piemonte

arriving in town

By plane (Milan)By plane (Torino)

MOVING AROUND

Public Transport Car-sharing

Trenitalia (Train)Italo (Train)Motorway

MOVING AROUND

Public Transport Car-sharing Trenitalia (Train)Italo (Train)Motorway

Accommodation in Torino (not APPLICABLE FOR ONLINE EDITION)

As explained in the “Fees and Scholarships” section, TOChina staff will provide accommodation for the applicants who qualify for the Freetorino scholarship. All other participants will have to organize their stay in Torino independently. TOChina staff will do their best to advise successful applicants as they seek adequate accommodation in town.

The following links may be a useful first port-of-call.

Sportello CASA Service Collegio Universitario Einaudi Turismo Torino ReSocialClub

As for meals, all participants will be given a dossier during induction with a list of venues for all budgets, together with other useful tips.

For local transport information, best to log on to the GTT transport group. Please note that the venue of the Summer School – though located in the city centre – may not be within walking distance of your accommodation.

faqs and contacts

Please note that our FAQs are updated on a regular basis and the majority of enquiries tend to be answered there. The TOChina Program Manager may choose not to reply to queries that are clearly answered here.

Due to international time differences, we strongly advise you to contact the TOChina Program Manager by email. We answer email enquiries every day. Should you need to contact TOChina by telephone, please email the TOChina Program Manager to fix an appointment.

The email address for enquiries on the TOChina Summer School is
summerschool@tochina.it.

We will respond as soon as possible to your email enquiry. However, please be aware that during peak periods the office is very busy and there may be a turnaround time of approximately 48 hours.

The TOChina Hub Manager is Mr. Kavinda Navaratne. Upon appointment, arranged via email, he may be reached at:

Room 1D325, “LUIGI EINAUDI” CAMPUS, LUNGODORA SIENA 100/A TORINO – ITALY

map