Alumna Didi Qian: 'In Wageningen, I learned to combine theory and practice'

Didi Qian has already lived in Wageningen for nearly twenty years. She was raised in a coastal province near Shanghai in China, where she earned her bachelor’s with a major in horticulture. When she heard that the Netherlands was at the top in the field of horticulture, she decided to continue her studies in Wageningen. ‘When the teachers talked about high-tech horticulture, they always referred to the horticulture in the Netherlands as a good example. This made me curious about Dutch horticulture. Since Wageningen University is the top university to study horticulture, I decided to do my master’s in Plant Sciences and Greenhouse Horticulture there.’

As she did not apply for a grant from the Chinese government, she had to pay for her studies. Her parents supported her, and she had a part-time job during her master’s in Wageningen. ‘I worked in a snack bar on weekends in my first year in Wageningen.’

How was your study time in Wageningen?

‘I had a great time during my master’s programme in Wageningen. What attracted me the most was that the university combined theory and practice closely. In my bachelor’s in China, I gained a lot of theoretical knowledge and I had to memorise and reproduce this knowledge for the exams. In Wageningen, they asked me practical questions, and I had to adapt and combine knowledge to give the correct answer. That was completely new for me.

Besides lectures, we also spent time on excursions and internships. We worked on our research project and visited greenhouse companies, suppliers and auctions. In one course, we even had the opportunity to visit the greenhouses in Poland. In this way, I understood two things: the problems that we defined in our research came from the real horticultural industry, and the knowledge we obtained in the academy was aimed at solving real problems. WUR has the golden triangle concept, in which government, knowledge institutes and companies work together to develop the economy. I strongly agree with it and have applied the concept in my career.’

‘Another attractive point of the master programme at WUR was that our classmates were from all over the world, including the Netherlands, China, Greece, Japan, Africa, and France, among others. In the teamwork, we experienced a multicultural environment, which brought us fun, challenges, and sometimes conflicts. This benefited me a lot later in life. I often remind myself to be more open-minded, especially in international cooperation, not just focusing on content but also being aware that people from different cultures think differently.’

What were your plans when you finished your MSc in Wageningen?

‘In the last year of my MSc, I felt like I wanted to learn more about the greenhouses and horticulture industry. I went to Australia for my internship to see the greenhouse horticulture there. After returning to the Netherlands, I saw a very interesting PhD vacancy, partly funded by EU and Dutch growers. I was lucky to get this PhD position. This PhD project gave me the opportunity to deeply understand the Dutch greenhouse industry, such as the energy issues and what innovations are available to solve the problems. In addition, the PhD project trained my skills in systematic thinking and handling stress when I had lost my way in research or had to meet a deadline.’

‘In my research, I used Wageningen models that describe the growth and development of plants to analyse the results of my experiments. I see these models as ‘good old-fashioned artificial intelligence’ (AI), as they have rules and equations and can simulate a lot of scenarios. In the last year of my PhD project, I already started to look for a job in which I could use my knowledge, preferably in both the Netherlands and in China. Fortunately, there was a position at Delphy that was almost tailor-made for me: area manager China.’

What was your work at this company about?

‘Delphy is the largest agricultural consultancy company in the Netherlands, and it has more than 200 consultants. My task at Delphy was to find projects in the greenhouse industry in China and to support our consultants in improving the greenhouse business in China. I started working at Delphy before finishing my PhD thesis. In the end, I got my PhD degree when I was already working at Delphy for several years. I think the work was beneficial for both China and the Netherlands. China got knowledge from the Dutch consultants, and the Dutch consultants used Chinese greenhouse information and data to validate and improve their knowledge. I developed a strong business network in the greenhouse industry in both the Netherlands and China.’

‘However, after working at Delphy for 6 years, I felt that something had to change. The Dutch experts used their empirical experience for the greenhouse projects in other countries, and the greenhouse suppliers had built Dutch Venlo greenhouses all over the world without considering climate conditions and other local factors. A very ridiculous example I’ve seen is in China, where a Venlo greenhouse was built in a subtropical ocean climate, which is very hot and humid. That greenhouse couldn't be operated at all because it was simply too hot and too humid inside. It was really unsustainable and a waste of investment.’

So, you quit. How did you find a new job?

‘I initiated a new project called ‘Big data quantification and modelling for modern agriculture in China’. As the Dutch empirical experience may not be valid in China due to the differences in climate, production equipment, knowledge level and market situation, this project aimed to develop greenhouses and models specifically for Chinese conditions. This project was funded by the agricultural technology company Lankuaikei Agricultural Development from Shanghai. Most of the funds have been paid to WUR for the supervision of three PhD candidates. My role was that of project leader. This project was completed this year. I enjoyed working with people from several disciplines and cultures in this project.’

What did you learn from it?

‘The project has led to several scientific publications about how to use models and AI for greenhouse design. This includes autonomous cultivation methods that consider climate and other local conditions. We have described options for greenhouses in China and I will plan to extend the application to other areas like United Arab Emirates and northern America. So, I started a new company because I wanted to challenge myself further. I will invite stakeholders like growers and investors to develop the method together.’

What is your new company about?

‘The company is Demeter 42 B.V. Demeter is the goddess of harvest and agriculture in ancient Greece, and ‘42’ is from the book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, written by Adams Douglas in 1981. People created a supercomputer, trying to calculate and answer the ultimate question of life, and the computer gave the answer 42. So, from the name, you can already see that the company wants to combine agriculture with artificial intelligence (AI). Demeter42 is a software-as-a-service company specialising in autonomous agricultural decision-making tools.’

You had several career options for returning to China. Why did you decide to stay in the Netherlands?

‘My husband and I are both from China and we visit China on a regular basis. We have two daughters who are 13 and 5 years old. This makes it more difficult to move back to China. The longer I work in an international environment, the more I don’t want to limit the application of knowledge to one country. I want to work globally. But who knows, maybe one day I will go back to China.’

Since 2005, you continue to live in Wageningen. Do you like the Netherlands?

‘I like Holland very much, except for the weather and the food. What I like most about the Dutch is that they are very direct, as direct as I am – in China, people complain that I’m too direct. I think directness helps to discuss and challenge issues and move more quickly. What I also like about Holland is the western culture that every person is an individual and that they do not care so much about what other people think about them. They try to be better than they were yesterday, without comparing themselves to others. I think Wageningen is open-minded. I feel at home and comfortable in the Netherlands.’