TOChina Summer School

Introduction

In June 2024, 54 PhD candidates, graduate students, young scholars and professionals gathered in Turin for the 18th 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.

The 19th edition of the School will be held in Turin and Milan, Italy, from June 30 to July 11, 2025.
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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 and the Torino World Affairs Institute (T.wai) - in collaboration with John Cabot University in Rome.

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

**Information on the faculty list and timetable of the 2025 TOChina Summer School will be posted online by February 2025**
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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)

timetable



time

Monday
30 JuNE

Tuesday
1 JULY

Wednesday
2 JULY

Thursday
3 JULY

Friday
4 JULY

10.00
-
12.30

TBD

TBD

TBD

TBD

lunch break

15.00
-
17.30

TBD

TBD

TBD

TBD

Daniele BRIGADOI COLOGNA

TBD

City tour in Turin
& Opening Aperitif

time

Monday
7 JULY

Tuesday
8 JULY

Wednesday
9 JULY

Thursday
10 July

Friday
11 July

10.00
-
12.30

TBD

TBD

TBD

TBD

TBD

lunch break

15.00
-
17.30

TBD

TBD

TBD

TBD

TBD

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, and Director of the TOChina Summer School. 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.

Najla ALZAROONI

University of Sharjah

Najla AlZarooni is an adjunct faculty at the Department of International Relations at University of Sharjah - UAE. She is an academic lecturer, specializing on China-Middle East relations and Middle East- BRICS+ relations. As a senior researcher on Chinese affairs, she has established research cooperation and fellowships with organizations such as the Consortium of Area Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University (China) and BRICS Innovation Center in Xiamen (China). With extensive knowledge and experience in international relations and diplomacy, Najla passionately engages in in-depth research, collaborates with various academic entities, authors insightful papers, and actively participates in international and regional conferences.

LECTURE: TBD

Elena BARABANTSEVA

University of MANCHESTER

Elena Barabantseva is a Senior Lecturer in Chinese International Politics at The University of Manchester. Her research explores nationalism, borders and citizenship in the context of globalising China. She is a member of the British Academy Global Convening Programme ‘Chinese Global Orders’ (2023-2026) and the ESRC Network Plus ‘Shifting Global Polarities: Russia, China, and Eurasia in Transition’ (2024-2028). She is the author of Overseas Chinese, Ethnic Minorities and Nationalism: De-Centering China (Routledge 2010). Her most recent research is forthcoming as Slavic Brides in the China Dream: Marriage Migration across Chinese--Post-Soviet borders with Cambridge University Press.

LECTURE: TBD

Daniele BRIGADOI COLOGNA

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

Daniele Brigadoi Cologna is an Italian migration sociologist with a strong background in Chinese Studies. He is Lecturer in Chinese Language and Culture at Insubria University in Como, and has taught Migration Sociology as a contract Professor in several Italian Universities. He is a Research Fellow of the Torino World Affairs Institute and an author of the online magazine OrizzonteCina. Most of his publications deal with the way immigrants of various origins interact with Italian society, economy and polity, with a specific focus on Chinese migration, and with the impact of cultural diversity on contemporary Chinese society.

LECTURE: TBD

CHEN Jin

Tongji University

Chen Jin is an associate professor in social anthropology at Tongji University. He was a residential fellow of the Institute for Advanced Study in Humanities and Social Sciences at Zhejiang University and a visiting scholar to the University of Turin. His research interests include ritual discourse and ritual action among the Na (Moso) in Southwest China, social/cultural memory of time and space, history of anthropology in Europe.

LECTURE: TBD

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: TBD

LI Ling

University of Vienna

Li Ling is an interdisciplinary scholar specializing in the intersection of law and politics in China. From 2000 to 2010, she served as a law faculty member in China before joining the US–Asia Law Institute at New York University as a Senior Research Fellow (2010–2015). Since 2015, she has been teaching China Studies in Vienna, where she continues to examine Chinese public law, legal institutions, elite politics, and the "rules of the game" within the Chinese Communist Party. Dr. Li's research is shaped by her academic and professional experiences across China, the United States, and Europe, allowing her to analyse China from both an insider’s and an outsider’s perspective. Her work on corruption, anti-corruption strategies, and the Chinese political-legal system has drawn widespread interest from scholars and international media. Her forthcoming monograph, Governance of a Party-State: Corruption, Law, and the Modus Operandi of the Chinese Communist Party, will be published by Cambridge University Press in July 2025.

LECTURE: TBD

LU Xiaoyu

PEKING UNIVERSITY

Xiaoyu Lu is an Assistant Professor at School of International Studies at Peking University and was a Research Fellow at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University. He received MSc and DPhil degrees in Politics at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, and previously worked at the United Nations Development Programme. He is the 2022-2023 Berggruen China Centre Fellow and his research focuses on conflict and peace, with field experience in Palestine, Israel, Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon, Myanmar and Colombia. He is the founding director of PeaceLab that promotes conflict and peace studies and dialogues in China.

lecture: TBD

David OWNBY

Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology

David Ownby is an Associate at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle, Germany. He recently retired from the Université de Montréal, where he was a history professor for three decades. Since 2018 he has translated the writings of Chinese intellectuals essays on his website Reading the China Dream.

lecture: TBD

Romano PRODI

Agnelli Chair of Italian Culture, pEKING UNIVERSITY

Romano Prodi is an Italian scholar and former politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Prime Minister of Italy, first from May 1996 to October 1998 and from May 2006 to May 2008. In September 2008, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Kimoon selected Prodi as President of the African Union–United Nations peacekeeping panel.Prof. Prodi is a member of the Advisory Board of the Torino World Affairs Institute. Prof. Prodi has served as the founding Honorary Co-Chairman of the China-Italy Philanthropy Forum from 2019 to 2024. In February 2025, Romano Prodi became the first chairholder of the Agnelli Chair of Italian Culture, promoted by Fondazione Agnelli in collaboration with the TOChina Hub, and hosted by the China-Europe Philanthropy Innovation Research Center at Peking University.

lecture: TBD

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: TBD

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: TBD

TOCHINA SUMMER SCHOOL - Previous editions

Key Dates (2025)

17 FEBRUARY

The TOChina Centre begins accepting online applications for the 2025 edition of the TOChina Summer School.

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

9 june

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

16 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.

30 june

The 2025 TOChina Summer School begins in Turin.

11 july

The 2025 TOChina Summer School ends in Turin.

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 5 auditors will be admitted 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, as shown by the following chart:

Applicant status

FEES

Students from University of Torino
and from partner institutions:

John Cabot University
University of Naples "L'Orientale"
Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales - INALCO
University of Trier
TOChina Alumni & Academic Network

EUR 790.00

All other students

EUR 990.00

Professionals

EUR 1,980.00

These amounts cover tuition and working materials only, and must be paid in full by all admitted participants ahead of joining the program.
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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

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 (lunch) 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;

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 790.00 and EUR 1,980.00, 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 and 2024 the New York Times devoted to Torino two 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 Bike sharing Trenitalia (Train)Italo (Train)Car Sharing

Accommodation in Torino

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.

EDISU Student Dorms CX Vanchiglia Camplus Regio Parco Hotels in Turin

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 Summer School Program Manager is Ms. Martina Blotto. Upon appointment, arranged via email, she may be reached at:

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

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