(for the original see here – credit for the photos: 熊雨晴; Weibo:@大象在拍照; scroll down for the English version)
日前，我院德国籍经济学教授、欧洲基金会顾问彼得·赫尔曼（Peter Herrmann）先生接受了湖南日报记者柏润的专访。访谈全文如下：
记者：
Herrmann教授，你好，您在班戈学院工作的第一年已接近尾声，能和我们的读者谈谈您这一年的感受吗？
Peter:
当然，能在班戈学院工作是我的荣幸。可以说这一年是风平浪静的一年。虽然班戈学院是一所新成立的中外合作办学机构，但是学院各项工作都开展的很顺利。这种合作办学方式对中英两校来说不仅是新的办学模式，更是两校从未跨入过的一个新领域。这一片崭新的土地上原本是很容易困难丛生的，然而所有参与其中的人都以出色的工作、极大的耐心和充分的相互理解克服了重重困难。班戈学院的成功都根植于所有教职员工和学生的付出中。
记者:
您是说学生吗? 但是我听说您和您的同事偶尔也会对学生颇有抱怨？是这样吗？
Peter:
当然，我们也会有抱怨。抱怨可以说是教师天性中的一小部分。但是说实话，我们的学生面对的是巨大的挑战，他们要面对全新的课题。开始学术学习就像学习一门新的语言，需要完全转变过去的思维方式。而且，班戈学院的学生接受的是全英文教学，上课和作业都是使用英文，所以你也可以认为他们在进行学术学习的同时也在学习语言。能够面对这样挑战的孩子是值得我们尊重的。
记者:
原本您和班戈学院只签了一年的合同，现在您又决定再续签一年，是这样吗？是什么使您改变主意留下来呢？
Peter:
原因有很多。我一生在不同的机构工作过：既曾在多所大学教书，也有幸受邀在科研机构工作，最近一次是在杭州担任外国高级专家。我曾经有过一些非常难得的机会，能够进入现有条件相当不错的机构工作，我本是不想放弃的。我在国际化环境中工作了30多年，这是我人生的主要组成部分。但是，在班戈学院工作是更加令我兴奋的挑战，能够为两所高校的合作办学贡献力量是一种全新的经历。并且，我的教育范围是非常广泛的，从经济学、社会学到哲学、政治学，还包括一些法律。我的工作范围也涵盖了教学，研究和政治。在班戈学院，我有一个夙愿，希望能够从一个更加广泛的角度进行经济学教学，不仅仅局限于各种方程式，而是使经济学成为人们的实际生活当中能够运用的规则。从而帮助每一个人理解经济学，运用经济学，而不是只有小部分人能使用它。
还有一个原因就是班戈学院的人都非常友善，这是班戈学院“卓越”的一个重要体现。“卓越”这个词现在非常流行，真正的卓越不仅仅是我们能够共同做出一些成绩。有人说我们学者是站在巨人的肩膀上 。但是人们容易忘记，那些“巨人们”在很大程度上也要依靠我们这些“小矮人”——行政人员，教师还有学生。我们需要充分尊重参与学院工作的所有人员，才能保证学院长足的发展。任何一方过于强势都可能造成危机。换句话说，我们要更加重视中英两校的相互学习。
记者:
感谢您参加这次访问。
*****
Peter Herrmann教授正在专心研读
采访英文原稿如下：
Interviewer:
Peter, the first year of your work at BCC is now coming more or less to an end.
Can you tell our readers a little bit about your impressions?
Peter:
Of course, it is actually a pleasure for me. In some way it had been a quiet
year – things went smoothly although the BCC as cooperation between a
Chinese and European university is new: a new experience for the two
participating universities but also in general some new terrain. So, this was
enough new ground for possible problems. However, all, who participated had
been doing a wonderful work and proved by their patience and mutual
understanding that the real value of such project is grounded in people. And
having said“all, who participated” means not least the students.
Interviewer:
The students? But I heard you and your colleagues occasionally complaining a
little bit about the students. Was that a wrong impression?
Peter:
Of course we are complaining – it is a little bit part of the nature of teachers:
complaining. But let us be honest: the students face a tremendous challenge.
They enter a subject that is entirely new to them. Academic studying is a world
of entirely different thinking than we are used to – you may say they learn a new
language. And in the case of BCC, the students have to do this by using a
foreign language – all the work is undertaken in English. So you may say that
they are learning two languages at the same time. Taking up this challenge
deserves huge respect.
Interviewer:
Let me come to another point. Originally you signed a contract for one year –
and now you decided to stay for another year. Is that right? And if so, why did
you change your mind and stay on?
Peter:
There are different reasons – and in some way it is actually very much linked to
the first point. Throughout my life, I worked in different institutions: teaching at
different universities, having been lucky that I had been invited to join research
programmes – the latest was actually the position of Foreign Senior Expert in
Hangzhou. There had been many outstanding opportunities – and they had
been outstanding because I could join into excellent existing settings. I surly do
not want to miss that. However, here in Changsha the exciting challenge is to
be part of developing something that is more or less new: this joint venture
between the two universities. And as I worked for at least 30 years in
international settings, this seems to be a kind of master plan of my life. It is not
just working internationally, but it is also about contributing to shaping this
process. Of course, it is a small project if we look at the overall development of
international education. And my role in it is small tiny – just one of the many
teachers. Still, there are the different points to it. Working in a new project
means having the opportunity to develop something new. Also: my education is
very broad, beginning from economics and sociology, going to philosophy and
political science and including some law; my professional background
consists of teaching, researching and politics. From there I have a little bit the
ambition to mark the beginning of the teaching economics as something that
has to take a broad perspective, being more than areligion of equations. It has
to be a discipline for people’s real life. As such it can help us to
understand things and to make them work for everybody,not a minority. And not
least: people here are nice – and this is surely part of “excellence” – a term that
is so fashionable today. Real excellence is not least the ambition that we can
develop together something that has a small impact. There is a saying that we
as academics are standing of the shoulders as dwarfs: the administrators, the
teachers and not least the students. And we have to make sure that it moves
further by giving full respect to all sides that are involved. Any dominance from
one side would be dangerous. It also means that the process of mutual
learning need to be emphasised more.
Interviewer:
Thank you for the time.
COMMEDIA DELLA VITA OR PÁNTA RÊI'S FIRM GROUND 