Twenty-two 22 Chinese post-doctoral and PhD candidates currently studying in Germany visited the Bayer Group's headquarters in Leverkusen, Germany, this past week as part of Bayer's efforts to step up the recruitment of high-profile and specialized personnel for the Greater China region.

As part of the visit, the candidates met with top executives from Bayer, including Bayer Board Member Dr. Udo Oels, responsible for Technology, Innovation and Environment, and Dr. Jurgen Dahmer, President of the Bayer Group in Greater China. They also had the opportunity to visit Bayer's production and environmental protection facilities at Leverkusen.

This program is only part of various initiatives by Bayer in Greater China targeting top-level talent in the region, and reflects also Bayer's commitment to educational sponsorship and long-term scientific co-operations in the region.

On December 6, Bayer in Greater China will mark the achievements of young scientists and top-classed post-doctoral fellows at the Chinese Academy of Sciences — Bayer Start-up Fund and Young Scientist Award Ceremony. Since 2001, Bayer has sponsored this award to encourage talented and specialized researchers to conduct scientific research and build up research teams in China.

Bayer's other initiatives aimed at education and recruitment include its cooperation with the Shanghai Petrochemical Academy, where Bayer has allocated EUR 1 million to establish a laboratory, pilot plant and pipe-mounting workshop.

Under a specialised training program sponsored by Bayer, students receive formal training spanning 2 years in chemical engineering, with the opportunity to apply their knowledge in the practical environment of the lab and workshops. These students are required to participate in an internship of up to 12 weeks at the Bayer Integrated Site Shanghai, located at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park, where Bayer will invest USD1.8 billion till 2009 to establish world-scale production facilities for polyurethanes raw materials, polycarbonate and coatings raw materials. When completed, these will be among Bayer MaterialScience's most technologically advanced facilities globally.