Where did you work before coming to China?

I worked at the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) as a scientific officer. I joined this institution in 2006. I also worked as a visiting faculty for teaching at the College of Applied Sciences in Nepal, which is one of the Tribhuvan University affiliated colleges in Nepal. I have a strong background in public communication, especially in science and technology. I’ve been involved in various electronic (radio and television) and print media since 1990, when I was an undergraduate student. I also received the “National Talent Award on Science and Technology” in 2005.

How many years have you been in China?

About nine years, which combines the periods from 2009 to 2012, and 2016 to present.

Use three words to describe your stay in China?

Knowledge, career, and food

What’s your favorite Chinese food?

There are numerous varieties of food in China. Among them, I like Kung Pao Chicken, Malatang, Hot Pot, and the Beijing special “Peking Duck” the most.

You were the first overseas graduate student at the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (ITP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), is that right? When did you start your PhD and how?

Yes, you are right. I was the first international graduate student of ITP. I started my PhD research at ITP in March 2009. It is an interesting story. I met Professor Yao Tandong for the first time in Kathmandu in November 2008. He was an invited keynote speaker at the “5th National Conference on Science and Technology”, which was organized by the institution where I worked. His presentation was on the “Third Pole” research and findings, and he also discussed future opportunities for international students during the plenary session. Among the research objectives of ITP, as presented by Professor Yao, some were relevant to my background and goals. Three months later, in March, I came in Beijing for 45 days as a visiting scholar; it was my first international journey. After a discussion with Professor Yao, and the education and international office of ITP, I gathered all the documents, prepared a PhD research concept note, and submitted my application to the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS). Promptly, the university’s international office allowed me to join the language class at the same time, as a new PhD student. I guess I was the first Nepalese student of UCAS in Beijing.

You once told me that working here as Yao’s PhD has rekindled the connection between Professor Yao and Professor Lochan P. Devkota. Can you tell me more about that? Especially if it is relevant to the establishment of KCRE.

Yes, when I joined ITP as a PhD student, the TPE program was in progress, and had not formally started researching collaborative activities in South Asia. I discussed research collaborations in Nepal with Professor Yao. I also suggested to him that it would be better to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Central Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (CDHM), Thribhuvan University. He asked me to invite the department head of CDHM to visit Beijing. At that time, Professor Lochan was the head of the department; he was also my teacher from bachelor’s to master’s level. I did not have his e-mail address, but tried to connect with him; it took me about three or four months to connect with him, with the help of my colleague (Binod, who was the second international graduate student of ITP). In August 2009, two international programs (5th International Symposium on the Tibetan Plateau and 24th Himalaya-Karakorum-Tibet Workshop) were held in Beijing. We (me and Professor Lochan) both attended both programs. The TPE program was initiated formally after these two big events. Then, an MoU was signed between ITP, CAS and CDHM, Tribhuvan University. It would be the first MoU with an international institute under TPE, along with the Tajikistan Academia. Later, I also found that both were friends from 25 years back when they were in the US. Since then, there had been an MoU between CAS and the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology, but research activities were either very rare or nonexistent at the academic level. There is a long history of Nepalese students coming to China in order to pursue their higher studies, but a formal and effective research cooperation between Nepal and China began after the MoU between ITP, CAS and CDHM, Tribhuvan University. The MoU is the foundation for the establishment of the TPE Kathmandu Center and the KCRE in Nepal.

How do you think KCRE is running? What are your expectations for KCRE and how do your colleagues at TU feel about KCRE?

KCRE is an institution of the whole Nepalese scientific community, which directly/indirectly supports Nepalese academia, research institutions, teachers, and students. In addition, it delivers conferences, workshops, and training programs. There are considerable outputs that we have produced since our establishment. For example, there are 41 Nepalese students from different backgrounds who have pursued their graduate studies at ITP. Attendance at ITP for short-term research activities from Nepal is also increasing. There is also the number of interested students, which has been increasing year-by-year. It is notable here that a special course on palioclimate, via remote learning, has also been started by KCRE with the cooperation of Ohio State University, to enhance the academic quality of Nepalese students. We now have hundreds of significant research publications on our hands. However, these are still not sufficient; we can do a lot of work in the future from this platform to support scientific and technological development in Nepal. It’s time to go into action by discovering the priority areas, as well as developing a long-term strategic plan to cover relevant universities, institutions and academia in all provinces, via different approaches, in order to support the government’s national development goals on science and technology in Nepal. Further, the relationship of KCRE with the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology will also be highly fruitful. My colleagues also have the same expectations.

ITP has a lot of Nepalese students now. And I know you have helped many of them with their study here. Can you tell us something about that? And what’s their view of ITP in general?

There are good indications that the Nepalese students are grabbing opportunities and benefitting from the recent progress on science and technology in China. They’re becoming skilled workers, which ultimately helps our nations in terms of future development. As I previously mentioned, students came to China mostly for medical science and some other fields. Now things are different, and many students from different backgrounds are changing their destination to China from other places for their advanced studies. When I was in Beijing in 2009, there were very few Nepalese communities, including few students, in Beijing. Now, there are almost 500 Nepalese, among whom the majority are students. The students that are studying at ITP have positive responses to the institute. The majority of students are interested in supporting KCRE-TU Nepal and TPE-Kathmandu Center. Recently, I helped one student in his PhD graduation as a co-supervisor, and helped one master’s student in her thesis. In addition to the students from Nepal, I have also been providing professional and academic help for many other international students who have been working at this institution.

How would you characterize the China-Nepal relationship? What role do you think scientists, especially TPE scientists, have played in this relationship?

The bilateral relation between Nepal and China has long been friendly. The first Sino-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship was signed on April 28, 1960 by the two countries. However, the relationship between Nepal and Tibet (China) are centuries old. Around 600-650 CE, Nepalese Princes Bhrikuti got married to Songtsan Gampo, the earliest known Emperor of Tibet. The famous ancient Nepalese architect Araniko was invited to China in 1260 CE to design and built Stupa in Beijing. He may be the first foreign Nepalese expert coming to China to work. This shows that there is a long, expert, cooperative and friendly relationship between China and Nepal. Now here we are in the modern era, and science and technology obviously comes in to play. We did not have a strong scientific cooperative relationship before 2009. The TPE program is an international program that addresses common issues in various aspects, as well as sharing recent progress and support for regional scienctific and technological research. I believe that this program has been sketching a way to develop a scientific and research cooperative relationship between China and Nepal. The establishment of the TPE Kathmandu Center, KCRE and Nepalese students studying in Beijing all clearly reflect the role played by TPE scientists.

Source: Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research,

Chinese Academy of Sciences