On June 5, the Inaugural Conference of Center for International Medical Education(CiME) and the First Meeting of its Advisory Committee were successfully held in Nanhua Garden, Zijingang Campus. Academician HUANG Hefeng, Dean of ZJU-ISM, XU Jian, Chairman of CPC of ZJU4H and ZJU-ISM, and WANG Kai, Dean of ZJU4H attended the conference. Other attendees included LUO Jianhong, the Chairman, six members of the Advisory Committee and other invited guests. The conference was conducted in both in-person and virtual formats. CHEN Weiying, CiME’s executive director, Dean for International Affairs, presided over the conference.

Academician HUANG Hefeng delivered the opening remark. She extended warm congratulations on the inauguration of CiME, and expressed a sincere welcome and thanks to all members who witnessed the establishment of CiME. She indicated that ZJU-ISM, together with ZJU4H, is committed to achieving true excellence in education, research and clinical care. The reason why we set up a Center for International Medical Education is to align its practices with globally recognized standards, and stay informed about the latest trends and innovations in global education, promoting excellence and driving progress in the field.

Secretary XU Jian reiterated the joint construction of ZJU-ISM and ZJU4H, forming the International Medical Center, which will provide much-needed healthcare, educate the next of health professionals, advance innovative research and translation, and bring economic benefits to the area and beyond.

Vice Dean CHEN Weiying reported the medical education of ZJU-ISM. It is going to admit a new cohort of 100 international MBBS students in September, 2023. Benchmarking to the international standard should be the primary focus. So the commitment of the Center is to benchmark global standards, follow recent development in global education and facilitate policy making, achieving excellence in medical education area.

All the participants had a deep exchange and discussion on the guidance for curriculum development, and quality control, ensuring a high-quality education for the incoming students. Prof. CHANG Tongshan, Director of Institutional Research and Academic Planning at the University of California (UC) Office of the president, gave a lecture on UC School of Medicine and its Operating Model.

Prof. LUO Jianhong, Director of the Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of National Health Commission and former Vice President of Zhejiang University, acted as the Chairman of Advisory Committee summarized the meeting. Firstly, he analyzed the goal of developing international students’ education. Secondly, the establishment of a government-industry-academia-research-application cooperation mechanism optimizes social services, promoting regional development in Yiwu, and realizing mutual benefits. Finally, by meeting the global standards of education, emphasis should be placed on the construction of the core curriculum of medical education to achieve high quality and optional outcomes in education.

Written by Han Qiqi

Edited by Chen Weiying