Time: March 16, 2017   
Source: Office of International Exchange and Cooperation
Publisher: News Center

Two representatives of the Maurice Wilkins Center for Molecular Biodiversity in New Zealand visited Jinan University on March 7 to advance cooperation in scientific research and a joint training program awarding dual medical doctor’s degrees between the University of Auckland and JNU.

Peter Roderick Dunbar, director of the center, and Peter Lai, its director of foreign relations, had a conference with Song Xianzhong and Ye Wencai, vice presidents of JNU; Yao Xinsheng, academician in the Chinese Academy of Engineering; and leaders of JNU's School of Medicine, Graduate School, Office of Scientific Research and Development, Office of Human Resources Management, and Office of International Exchange and Cooperation.

The purpose of the visit was to discuss further the topics a JNU delegation put forward in 2016 on a visit to New Zealand, seeking common points and thus drawing up an action plan. The two sides had conducted an in-depth discussion on cooperation in scientific research and a joint training program awarding dual medical doctor's degrees between JNU and the University of Auckland, where Dunbar is a professor. He is also a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

After the discussion, JNU decided to launch a "2+2" Program for Joint Training Dual Doctorate Degree with the University of Auckland for the training of scientific research talentsand the promotion of scientific research levels in tumors, infectious diseases and metabolic diseases. This application for approval of the program will soon be submitted to the Chinese-New Zealand Educational Administration Department of the Ministry of Education. For smooth cooperation, the two sides discussed many aspects in detail, including the way of applying the doctoral degree, financial support, paper publishing and ownership of intellectual property. After the meeting, both universities said they were optimistic about the "2+2" Program and decided to sign cooperation agreements in the near future.

JNU's School of Medicine has achieved fruitful results in teaching and scientific research since its founding in 2001. Its discipline of pharmacology and toxicology ranks among top 1% of ESI, and its discipline of Chinese materia medica was selected as a Guangdong Province Key Discipline. In the last five years, the school has received approval for more than 400 scientific research projects, with total funding of RMB 150 million. The faculty has published more than 650 SCI papers, five of which have Impact Factors above 10. In addition, the school has made eight scientific and technological achievements in or above the provincial level and published more than 50 academic monographs. It has applied for 64 patents for invention at home or abroad, with 41 already approved. At present, more than 20 programs of research on new drugs have been conducted, many of which have been applied in clinical trials.

(Office of International Exchange and Cooperation)