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Education cooperation is a key part of the China-Bangladesh relationship. An increasing number of students from Bangladesh are choosing to study in China.

Sharmin is from the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.

She just arrived in Shanghai this September, to start pursuing her PhD in the School of Pharmacy at Shanghai Jiaotong University.

"You know China is very strong in traditional Chinese medicine, lots of traditional medicine. So my interest is about natural product, find some active ingredients that can be used in medicine. You know my country, most Asian countries, are not so rich. So synthetic drugs are very expensive. If they focus on the natural products… that we can make drugs from the natural products. We can make the prices much lower. It will be available for all the people in the countries, in my country also," said Sharmin.

Many Bangladeshi students like Sharmin are studying at Shanghai Jiaotong University, in a variety of disciplines, like life sciences, bio-technologies, pharmacy, computer science, mechanical engineering, aeronautics and astronautics, as well as business management.

Shanghai Jiaotong University is one of the country's best. And here, there are 26 students from Bangladesh; 15 of them are pursuing PHDs. All 26 are on scholarships from China's central government, Shanghai's municipal government, or the university itself.

The scholarships are part of a cooperation program between Beijing and Dhaka.

"I’m studying at the Antai Collage of Economics and Management for my two-year master’s program, majoring in international business. I think I’m probably the first Bangladesh student studying in Antai college. I think it is very good sign, a positive sign for my country," said Khalid Hossain, graduate student in Business, Shanghai Jiaotong Univ..

"It’s very helpful. Without the funding, maybe it’s not possible for me to come here, or to study the PhD. So I’m very thankful for the Chinese government. They offer me, not only me, this year, more than 100 Bangladeshi students come here, with fully-funded Chinese government scholarship," said Sharmin.

And what are the future plans for these Bangladeshi students?

"My plan is to go back and join the university and apply my learning here. What I learn in China, I’ll apply there in my country," said Sharmin.

These two students we recruited, they are from the top university. They want to someday go home, they will go back to Bangladesh to establish their own lab. So this is actually the dream Sharmin was telling me," said Prof. Fu Lei, associate Dean of School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiaotong Univ.. 

"I have a plan to doing a job in Shanghai. After doing job, I’ll start my own business. I want to be an entrepreneur in the future. So then maybe that time I’ll go back to my country," said Khalid Hossain.

Another Sharmin, Sharmin Jahan, has completed her PHD. Besides great academic performance, her 4-year experience is not limited to the library and laboratories.

"I find the students in Shanghai Jiaotong University and the people in China… they are very friendly, supportive and very polite. We are just like a family. After coming here, I’ve never felt that I’m not in my country. This is like my home. //One thing that is very special for China is that China is not only focusing on, they are not only concerning about the development of only China, but also the other countries. This is very special," said Sharmin Jahan, Phd in Biology, Shanghai Jiaotong Univ..

These students say that more students in Bangladesh are asking them about the details of the programs in China, how to apply and how to compete for an offer. They say the greatest attraction of China goes beyond scientific research, as they hope to see how things are done in this fast developing country.