Foreign Scientist in China: In the eyes of a top scientist who moved to China 6 years ago
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Professor Mohamad Sawan is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. He joined Westlake University in 2018 as Chair Professor and founder of the Cutting-Edge Net of Biomedical Research and Innovation. After six years working in China, he finds himself in the right place at the right time. WANG XUAN Reports. 

Professor Sawan has a cross-cultural background, having left his motherland Lebanon at the age of 19 to study in Canada. That is why he has always had a very open attitude towards different civilizations. His curiosity about the Chinese civilization is enduring and exuberant. Even though Sawan has visited China frequently for more than 20 years, he still feels he needs more time to better understand China. 

MOHAMAD SAWAN, Chair Professor, Westlake University "My interest in coming to China had been there in my head for a long time. I was kind of dreaming if I could come. Then, when I got this project with the state university, I said 'wow, this is kind of done for me. Because in Canada I was doing great, you know, I got all those awards, all those titles. So, next I wanted to have something special in my life. Because China is booming, the future is here, therefore, I have to be in this 'future'."

Professor Sawan was the co-founder of the new-born Westlake University, the most tangible development in China that he has observed is the University. 

Mohamad Sawan, Chair Professor, Westlake University "It was nothing, had nothing at that time. Everything happened in five years."

Reporter: Is that what one calls "China speed"?

"It happened very fast, it's a very young university, very young. Usually it takes at least 20 years to show something."

The achievements of 20 years have been condensed into five years. Westlake University now has over 3,000 students and faculty members, and its 36 chair professors are scholars from all over the world who are at the top of their fields. Although brain-computer interface research level in China is still developing, in some subfields such as 'biomedical circuits and systems', China has made an amazing leap forward in the last decade, says Prof Sawan. 

Mohamad Sawan, Chair Professor, Westlake University "Called Biocas (Biomedical Circuits and Systems), China has moved over the 10 last years from 20% to kind of 70%. So now, majority of new innovation on integrated circuit for any application is from China. So, this is a very good sign. China is booming everywhere and also in brain- computer interface."

How has China been able to make such great strides in such a short period of time? Professor Sawan believes that there is a systemic force in China that can push with a determination – which is unparalleled in the world – once a goal is set. 

Mohamad Sawan, Chair Professor, Westlake University "The system is built to encourage everyone to be productive, to be innovators, to achieve quickly. This is a system not only at the individual level."

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