Source: SYSU-JHU Collaboration Program
Written by: Zhang Ka
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

On May 27, 2014, the Sun Yat-sen University – Johns Hopkins University (SYSU-JHU) collaboration program launched the mobilization meeting for visiting scholars from SYSU on North Campus. SYSU attendees included Prof. Li Mengfeng, Vice President of SYSU; Prof. Zhang Qi, Deputy Director of Office of International Cooperation & Exchange; Ms. Zhu Changping, Deputy Director of Office of Medical Science; and 22 scholars who will visit JHU. Prof. Zhiping Li, JHU’s deputy director of the collaboration program, and Mr. Chengda Zhang, JHU’s program manager, participated in the meeting via video conference system. The meeting was chaired by Prof. He Mingguang, Deputy Director of Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center.

Vice President Li Mengfeng conveyed his congratulations, wishes and expectations to the scholars in the meeting. He emphasized that SYSU attaches great importance to the development of clinical research, regarding it as a hotspot as well as a crucial and indispensable long-term task in medical science development. SYSU is engaging in establishing a comprehensive platform for clinical research and advanced basic research, which will eventually bring about great progress in medical science. On account of SYSU’s status quo and existing problems, we chose JHU, whose medical school has the world-leading expertise in clinical and translational medicine, as a collaboration partner to expedite our development. The main purposes of the collaboration include establishment of clinical research platform and management system, personnel training and cultivating proper cultural atmosphere for clinical research. Therefore, SYSU not only expects the visiting scholars to promote their skills and knowledge in JHU, but also hopes them to assume the responsibilities of constructing SYSU’s International Clinical and Translational Research Center (ICTRC). In the end, Vice President Li Mengfeng wished that the visiting scholars could keep in mind their responsibilities and their roles in JHU, and accomplish all the training tasks successfully.

At the meeting, Prof. He Mingguang introduced the background of the collaboration program, provided basic information for the scholars of different categories and emphasized the training goals as well as periodic report stipulations. Prof. Zhang Qi introduced relevant management regulations and the "dos and don'ts" in international visit. Prof. Zhiping Li and Mr. Chengda Zhang from JHU participated in the meeting via the online video conference system. They introduced the general status of SYSU’s visiting scholars in JHU and provided pertinent information about training goals, schemes and requirements respectively for each category of the visiting scholars.

After the mobilization meeting, the visiting scholars are officially members of the SYSU-JHU collaboration program. They are more familiar with one another as well as the collaboration program, especially their goals and future roles in the program. According to the protocol and plan, the visiting scholars are going to JHU in the summer of 2014.