The scale and quality of international students are important internationalization indicators for university and institute. It is one of the priorities of the Institute of Tibetan Plateau for international cooperation and international development. Based on the international plan of Third Pole Environment (TPE) and the international cooperation program of the institute, 135 international students from 17 countries have enrolled from 2009 to 2020 in ITP, including 75 doctors and 60 masters. Till the summer of 2020, 70 students have graduated and 62 students are in school. The total international students takes one quarter of the whole graduates in ITP.
The scale and cultivation of ITP international students is always the top among the institutes of Chinese Academy of Sciences, which is the second in 2018. In the future, the quality of admission and cultivation for international students is the focus of international student education in ITP. The goal is to cultivate more young researchers for the countries around the “Belt and Road”, provide better environment for international cooperation with neighboring countries. We believe it will bring to the cooperation of science and technology to new height for the “Belt and Road” countries.
Part One
History of international student admission
1. In 2009, the international program of TPE was initiated and the first international student is enrolled in the institute, which is the breakthrough of zero.
2. In 2013, CAS-TWAS scholarship was launched by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The institute enrolled the first 7 doctors of CAS-TWAS scholarship based on the 4-year admission and cultivation experiences of international student.
3. In 2016, the Kathmandu Center for Research and Education was established. The institute organized professors to interview 32 master candidates in Kathmandu. All the candidates give a presentation and answer questions by the professors. In the end, 24 masters and enrolled based on their interview scores. In the same year, the master course program of in the research field of Tibetan Plateau is launched.
4. In 2017, the Belt and Road scholarship was launched by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The institute organized a second interview in Kathmandu and enrolled 17 masters. In the same year, the online admission system of UCAS is initiated.
5. In 2019, the first Master Class of ITP graduated, including 6 excellent graduates who won the CAS-TWAS scholarship and go on PhD study program in our institute and one go the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, CAS for further study. It is the first time for master international student shift to doctors in ITP.
6. In 2020, the institute organized the first online interview. In the same year, UCAS online admission system is updated and some new functions are added.
Figure 1 2009-2020 Admission numbers of international students of ITP
Part Two
Nationality of international student
There are 135 international students from 18 countries in ITP, which Nepal and Pakistan students are the most and take 74%.
| Seq. | Nationality | Number of international students |
| 1 | Nepal | 67 |
| 2 | Pakistan | 33 |
| 3 | Tajikistan | 7 |
| 4 | Bangladesh | 5 |
| 5 | Ethiopia | 4 |
| 6 | India | 3 |
| 7 | Kenya | 2 |
| 8 | Myanmar | 2 |
| 9 | Iran | 2 |
| 10 | Indonesia | 2 |
| 11 | Bhutan | 1 |
| 12 | Russian | 1 |
| 13 | Kazakhstan | 1 |
| 14 | Kyrgyzstan | 1 |
| 15 | American | 1 |
| 16 | Nigeria | 1 |
| 17 | Uzbekistan | 1 |
| 18 | Italy | 1 |
| Total | 135 | |
Part Three
Discipline and Scholarship of international student
| Discipline | Number of international students |
| Physical Geography | 73 |
| Atmospheric Physics and Atmospheric Environment | 18 |
| Structural Geology | 32 |
| Ecology | 12 |
| Scholarship | Number of international students |
| UCAS Scholarship | 38 |
| Belt and Road Scholarship | 30 |
| CAS-TWAS Scholarship | 24 |
| CSC Scholarship | 19 |
| ANSO Scholarship | 9 |
| No Scholarship | 15 |
| Total | 135 |
Part Four
Supervisors for international student
There are 42 supervisors who have international students in ITP, including 33 PhD supervisors and 9 Master supervisors.
International students ITP supervisors
| Seq. | Supervisor | Category | Number of international students | Doctors | Masters |
| 1 | Bai Ling | PhD supervisor | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| 2 | Bai Yan | Master supervisor | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Chen Xuelong | PhD supervisor | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Chen Yingying | Master supervisor | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Cong Zhiyuan | PhD supervisor | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | Ding Lin | PhD supervisor | 11 | 9 | 2 |
| 7 | Fang Xiaomin | PhD supervisor | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 8 | Gao Jing | PhD supervisor | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Gong Ping | Master supervisor | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | He Jiankun | PhD supervisor | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | Hou Juzhi | PhD supervisor | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Kang Shichang | PhD supervisor | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 13 | Kong Weidong | PhD supervisor | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Lan Cuo | PhD supervisor | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 15 | Li Chaoliu | Master supervisor | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | Liang Eryuan | PhD supervisor | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| 17 | Liu Jingshi | PhD supervisor | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | Liu Yongqin | PhD supervisor | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 19 | Luo Tianxiang | PhD supervisor | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | Ma Weiqiang | PhD supervisor | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 21 | Ma Yaoming | PhD supervisor | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| 22 | Pei Shunping | PhD supervisor | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 23 | Tian Lide | PhD supervisor | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | Wang Shiping | PhD supervisor | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | Wang Junbo | PhD supervisor | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 26 | Wang Lei | PhD supervisor | 8 | 6 | 2 |
| 27 | Wang Xiaoping | PhD supervisor | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 28 | Xu Baiqing | PhD supervisor | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 29 | Xu Xiangke | Master supervisor | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 30 | Xu Ri | Master supervisor | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 31 | Yao Tandong | PhD supervisor | 9 | 7 | 2 |
| 32 | Ye Qinghua | Master supervisor | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 33 | Yi Chaolu | PhD supervisor | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 34 | Zhang Fan | PhD supervisor | 9 | 7 | 2 |
| 35 | Zhang Gengxin | PhD supervisor | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 36 | Zhang Guoqing | PhD supervisor | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 37 | Zhang Qianggong | Master supervisor | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 38 | Zhang Weilin | Master supervisor | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 39 | Zhang Yinsheng | PhD supervisor | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| 40 | Zhao Junmeng | PhD supervisor | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 41 | Zhu Haifeng | PhD supervisor | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 42 | Zhu Liping | PhD supervisor | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | | 135 | 75 | 60 | |
Part Five
Employment for international student
There are 70 international students graduated in 8 years from 2013 to 2020. The employment rate is 85.7% and 71.4% are related to research and education.
Figure 2 2013-2020 Employment of ITP international students
Part Six
Publications of international student
The international students have published 57 articles as first author from 2015 to 2019, including 11 in Quartile 1, 19 in Quartile 2, 20 in Quartile 3 and 7 in Quartile 4. Both the quantity and quality of the articles are increasing year by year.
| Seq. | Title | Name | supervisor | Year | Journal | Q | IF |
| 1 | Estimation of net radiation flux distribution on the southern slopes of the central Himalayas using MODIS data. | PUKAR MAN AMATYA | Ma Yaoming | 2015 | Atmospheric Research | 2 | 3.817 |
| 2 | Recent trends (2003-2013) of land surface heat fluxes on the southern side of the central Himalayas, Nepal. | PUKAR MAN AMATYA | Ma Yaoming | 2015 | Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres | 2 | 3.38 |
| 3 | Hydrological regimes under the conjunction of westerly and monsoon climates: a case investigation in the Astore Basin, Northwestern Himalaya. | SUHAIB BIN FARHAN | Zhang Yinsheng | 2015 | Climate Dynamics | 1 | 3.774 |
| 4 | Atmospheric brown clouds reach the Tibetan Plateau by crossing the Himalayas. | ZOE LUCIA LUTHI | Kang Shichang | 2015 | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics | 1 | 5.509 |
| 5 | Stratigraphic characterization and structural analysis of the northwestern Hazara Ranges across Panjal Thrust, northern Pakistan. | MUHAMMAD QASIM | Ding Lin | 2015 | Arabian Journal of Geosciences | 4 | 0.86 |
| 6 | Mass balance of Siachen Glacier, Nubra valley, Karakoram Himalaya: facts or flaws? | QAMAR UL ZAMAN | Liu Jingshi | 2015 | Journal of Glaciology | 2 | 3.2 |
| 7 | Mapping regional distribution of land surface heat fluxes on the southern side of the central Himalayas using TESEBS. | PUKAR MAN AMATYA | Ma Yaoming | 2016 | Theoretical and Applied Climatology | 3 | 2.321 |
| 8 | Quantitative drought monitoring in a typical cold river basin over Tibetan Plateau: An integration of meteorological, agricultural and hydrological droughts. | GODFREY OUMA MAKOKHA | Wang Lei | 2016 | Journal of Hydrology | 2 | 3.727 |
| 9 | Sphingomonas prati sp nov., isolated from alpine meadow soil. | POOJA MANANDHAR | Zhang Gengxin | 2016 | International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology | 3 | 1.932 |
| 10 | Pedobacter psychrotolerans sp nov., isolated from soil. | POOJA MANANDHAR | Zhang Gengxin | 2016 | International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology | 3 | 1.932 |
| 11 | Changes in the ablation zones of glaciers in the western Himalaya and the Karakoram between 1972 and 2015. | SHER MUHAMMAD | Tian Lide | 2016 | Remote Sensing of Environment | 1 | 6.457 |
| 12 | Sources and environmental processes of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and mercury along a southern slope of the Central Himalayas, Nepal. | BALRAM POKHREL | Wang Xiaoping | 2016 | Environmental Science and Pollution Research | 3 | 2.8 |
| 13 | Estimating continental river basin discharges using multiple remote sensing data sets. | ARTHUR WAFULA SICHANGI | Wang Lei | 2016 | Remote Sensing of Environment | 1 | 6.457 |
| 14 | Pamir Plateau formation and crustal thickening before the India-Asia collision inferred from dating and petrology of the 110-92 Ma Southern Pamir volcanic sequence. | JOVID AMINOV | Ding Lin | 2017 | Gondwana Research | 1 | 5.657 |
| 15 | Climate signal in tree-ring width chronologies of pinus wallichiana from the Karakoram mountains in northern Pakistan. | FAYAZ ASAD | Liang Eryuan | 2017 | Pakistan Journal of Botany | 4 | 0.75 |
| 16 | Are Karakoram temperatures out of phase compared to hemispheric trends? | FAYAZ ASAD | Liang Eryuan | 2017 | Climate Dynamics | 1 | 3.774 |
| 17 | Occurrence and methods to remove arsenic and fluoride contamination in water. | SADIA BIBI | Wang Lei | 2017 | Environmental Chemistry Letters | 3 | 3.125 |
| 18 | Crustal structure beneath Tien Shan orogenic belt and its adjacent regions from multi-scale seismic data. | NANGYAL GHANI KHAN | Bai Ling | 2017 | Science China-Earth Sciences | 3 | 2.058 |
| 19 | Sphingomonas montana sp nov., isolated from a soil sample from the Tanggula Mountain in the Qinghai Tibetan Plateau. | POOJA MANANDHAR | Zhang Gengxin | 2017 | Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek International Journal of General and Molecular Microbiology | 4 | 1.588 |
| 20 | Glacier status during the period 1973-2014 in the Hunza Basin, Western Karakoram. | MUHAMMAD ATEEQ QURESHI | Yi Chaolu | 2017 | Quaternary International | 3 | 2.163 |
| 21 | Pre-monsoon air quality over Lumbini, a world heritage site along the Himalayan foothills. | DIPESH RUPAKHETI | Kang Shichang | 2017 | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics | 1 | 5.509 |
| 22 | Assessment of water quality and health risks for toxic trace elements in urban Phewa and remote Gosainkunda lakes, Nepal. | DIPESH RUPAKHETI | Kang Shichang | 2017 | Human and Ecological Risk Assessment | 4 | 1.508 |
| 23 | Leaf delta C-13 as an indicator of water availability along elevation gradients in the dry Himalayas. | RITA ALE | Luo Tianxiang | 2018 | Ecological Indicators | 2 | 3.983 |
| 24 | Water Shortage Drives Interactions Between Cushion and Beneficiary Species Along Elevation Gradients in Dry Himalayas. | RITA ALE | Luo Tianxiang | 2018 | Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences | 2 | 3.484 |
| 25 | Structure of crust and upper mantle beneath NW Himalayas, Pamir and Hindukush by multi-scale double-difference seismic tomography. | ZAHID IMRAN BHATTI | 赵俊猛 | 2018 | Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors | 3 | 2.156 |
| 26 | Climatic and associated cryospheric, biospheric, and hydrological changes on the Tibetan Plateau: a review. | SADIA BIBI | Wang Lei | 2018 | International Journal of Climatology | 2 | 3.1 |
| 27 | Electrical resistivity structures and tectonic implications of Main Karakorum Thrust (MKT) in the western Himalayas: NNE Pakistan. | SYED TALLATAF HUSSAIN SHAH | Zhao Junmeng | 2018 | Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors | 3 | 2.156 |
| 28 | Glacial Lakes in the Nepal Himalaya: Inventory and Decadal Dynamics (1977-2017). | NITESH KHADKA | Zhang Guoqing | 2018 | Remote Sensing | 2 | 3.406 |
| 29 | Spatial analysis of precipitation time series over the Upper Indus Basin. | YASIR LATIF | Ma Yaoming | 2018 | Theoretical and Applied Climatology | 3 | 2.321 |
| 30 | Complex N-S variations in Moho depth and V (p)/V (s) ratio beneath the western Tibetan Plateau as revealed by receiver function analysis. | DAVLATKHUDZHA MURODOV | Zhao Junmeng | 2018 | Geophysical Journal International | 3 | 2.528 |
| 31 | Spatiotemporal variations of hydrogeochemistry and its controlling factors in the Gandaki River Basin, Central Himalaya Nepal. | RAMESH RAJ PANT | Zhang Fan | 2018 | Science of the Total Environment | 2 | 4.61 |
| 32 | Distribution, sources, and air-soil exchange of OCPs, PCBs and PAHs in urban soils of Nepal. | BALRAM POKHREL | Wang Xiaoping | 2018 | Chemosphere | 2 | 4.427 |
| 33 | Atmospheric organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in urban areas of Nepal: spatial variation, sources, temporal trends, and long-range transport potential. | BALRAM POKHREL | Wang Xiaoping | 2018 | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics | 1 | 5.509 |
| 34 | Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the urban atmosphere of Nepal: Distribution, sources, seasonal trends, and cancer risk. | BALRAM POKHREL | Wang Xiaoping | 2018 | Science of the Total Environment | 2 | 4.61 |
| 35 | Spatial variation, source identification, and quality assessment of surface water geochemical composition in the Indus River Basin, Pakistan. | FAIZAN UR REHMAN QAISAR | Zhang Fan | 2018 | Environmental Science and Pollution Research | 3 | 2.8 |
| 36 | Tectonic Implications of Detrital Zircon Ages From Lesser Himalayan Mesozoic-Cenozoic Strata, Pakistan. | MUHAMMAD QASIM | Ding Lin | 2018 | Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems | 2 | 2.981 |
| 37 | Late Neoproterozoic-Early Palaeozoic stratigraphic succession, Western Himalaya, North Pakistan: Detrital zircon provenance and tectonic implications. | MUHAMMAD QASIM | Ding Lin | 2018 | Geological Journal | 3 | 1.654 |
| 38 | Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment for Himalayan-Tibetan Region from Historical and Instrumental Earthquake Catalogs. | MD MOKLESUR RAHMAN | Bai Ling | 2018 | Pure and Applied Geophysics | 4 | 1.652 |
| 39 | Observation of optical properties and sources of aerosols at Buddha's birthplace, Lumbini, Nepal: environmental implications. | DIPESH RUPAKHETI | Kang Shichang | 2018 | Environmental Science and Pollution Research | 3 | 2.8 |
| 40 | Long-term trends in the total columns of ozone and its precursor gases derived from satellite measurements during 2004-2015 over three different regions in South Asia: Indo-Gangetic Plain, Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau. | DIPESH RUPAKHETI | Kang Shichang | 2018 | International Journal of Remote Sensing | 3 | 1.782 |
| 41 | Petrology of metamorphic rocks from the Atbashy complex, Southern Tien-Shan, Kyrgyzstan. | MAKSATBEK SATYBAEV | Ding Lin | 2018 | Science & Technology Review | 1 | 4.051 |
| 42 | Estimation of River Discharge Solely from Remote-Sensing Derived Data: An Initial Study Over the Yangtze River. | ARTHUR WAFULA SICHANGI | Wang Lei | 2018 | Remote Sensing | 2 | 3.406 |
| 43 | Moisture-Limited Tree Growth for a Subtropical Himalayan Conifer Forest in Western Nepal. | SHALIK RAM SIGDEL | Liang Eryuan | 2018 | Forests | 2 | 1.956 |
| 44 | Moisture-mediated responsiveness of treeline shifts to global warming in the Himalayas. | SHALIK RAM SIGDEL | Liang Eryuan | 2018 | Global Change Biology | 1 | 8.997 |
| 45 | Bacterial Diversity in Alpine Lakes: A Review from the Third Pole Region. | NAMITA PAUDEL ADHIKARI | Liu Yongqin | 2019 | Journal of Earth Science | 3 | 1.784 |
| 46 | Bacterial community composition and diversity in Koshi River, the largest river of Nepal. | NAMITA PAUDEL ADHIKARI | Liu Yongqin | 2019 | Ecological Indicators | 2 | 4.49 |
| 47 | Levoglucosan as a tracer of biomass burning: Recent progress and perspectives. | HEMRAJ BHATTARAI | Cong Zhiyuan | 2019 | Atmospheric Research | 2 | 4.144 |
| 48 | Nitrogen Speciation and Isotopic Composition of Aerosols Collected at Himalayan Forest (3326 m a.s.l.): Seasonality, Sources, and Implications. | HEMRAJ BHATTARAI | Cong Zhiyuan | 2019 | Environmental Science & Technology | 1 | 7.149 |
| 49 | Paleo-environmental change since the Late Glacial inferred from lacustrine sediment in Selin Co, central Tibet. | AYUSH RAJ GYAWALI | Wang Junbo | 2019 | Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology | 3 | 2.616 |
| 50 | Interpretation of the Eastern Sulaiman fold-and-thrust belt, Pakistan: A passive roof duplex. | SAIF JADOON | Ding Lin | 2019 | Journal of Structural Geology | 3 | 3.128 |
| 51 | state of six dangerous glacial lakes in the Nepalese Himalaya. | NITESH KHADKA | Zhang Guoqing | 2019 | Terrestrial Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences | 4 | 0.57 |
| 52 | Contrasting environmental factors drive bacterial and eukaryotic community successions in freshly deglaciated soils. | AJMAL KHAN | Kong Weiding | 2019 | Fems Microbiology Letters | 4 | 1.994 |
| 53 | Aerosol Properties Over Tibetan Plateau From a Decade of AERONET Measurements: Baseline, Types, and Influencing Factors. | MANISHA POKHAREL | Cong Zhiyuan | 2019 | Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres | 2 | 3.633 |
| 54 | Assessment of Ecosystem Services Value Based on Land Use and Land Cover Changes in the Transboundary Karnali River Basin, Central Himalayas. | BHASKAR SHRESTHA | Ye Qinghua | 2019 | Sustainability | 3 | 2.592 |
| 55 | Analysis of rainfall trends of two complex mountain river basins on the southern slopes of the Central Himalayas. | SURAJ SHRESTHA | Yao Tandong | 2019 | Atmospheric Research | 2 | 4.144 |
| 56 | Precipitation characteristics of two complex mountain river basins on the southern slopes of the central Himalayas. | SURAJ SHRESTHA | Yao Tandong | 2019 | Theoretical and Applied Climatology | 3 | 2.72 |
| 57 | Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Precipitation Extremities of Eastern Nepal in the Last Two Decades (1997-2016). | SUNIL SUBBA | Ma Yaoming | 2019 | Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres | 2 | 3.633 |
Part Seven
Honors and Reward of international student
1. In 2016, MUHAMMAD QASIM (Pakistan, 2013 PhD) was awarded as the Excellent International Students of UCAS.
2. In 2018, BALRAM POKHREL (Nepal, 2014 PhD) was awarded as the Excellent Graduate International Students of UCAS.
3. In 2018, SADIA BIBI (Pakistan, 2015 PhD) was awarded as the Excellent International Students of UCAS.
4. In 2019, NITESH KHADKA (Nepal, 2016 Master) was awarded as the Excellent Graduate International Students of UCAS.
5. In 2019, NAMITA PAUDEL ADHIKARI (Nepal, 2016 Master) was awarded as the Excellent International Students of the Chinese Government.
6. In 2019, NAMITA PAUDEL ADHIKARI (Nepal, 2016 Master) , NITA DYOLA（Nepal, 2016 Master） and DHAN BAHADUR KHATRI（Nepal, 2016 Master）were awarded as the Excellent International Students of UCAS.
7. In 2020, JAYRAM PANDEY（Nepal, 2016 Master）and SUBASH ADHIKARI（Nepal, 2016 Doctor）were awarded as the Excellent International Students of UCAS.