In December, four members of a delegation from Capital Medical University (CMU) in Beijing visited UNMC. They came with the dual purpose of exploring further collaborations with UNMC and better understanding the medical education system here.
CMU is one of the top academic medical institutions in China. It has 10 schools, 14 affiliated hospitals, and one teaching institution. The university and affiliated hospitals have a staff of approximately 20,000. There are more than 9,000 students enrolled in its bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs.
The partnership between UNMC and CMU was formalized in March 2016. UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., and other leadership from UNMC visited CMU and signed an agreement that laid the groundwork for collaborations and student exchange. As a result of that initial agreement, three CMU medical students came to UNMC for a three-month clinical rotation in the spring. More medical and nursing students will come to UNMC in 2017, and UNMC students also will be going to CMU for clinical rotations.
The current visit by the CMU delegation culminated in the signing of an agreement for public health student exchange.
“I was impressed by the faculty and students at Capital Medical University when I visited last spring,” Dr. Gold said. “CMU is one of the highly respected medical universities in China, and we are excited about the collaborative possibilities with them. We are glad to see this partnership grow.”
Zhiwei Sun, Ph.D., dean of the School of Public Health at CMU, called the future of this partnership bright.
“I am excited to work with UNMC and to give our students the opportunity to study with some of the best public health specialists in the U.S.,” he said.
Jane Meza, Ph.D., senior associate dean for the College of Public Health, explained the background for the signing.
“The MOU was the result of a visit to CMU in March. During that visit we learned that their students were interested in study abroad opportunities.
“This MOU allows students from CMU to complete a study abroad experience at UNMC and earn a certificate of public health,” she said. “We are hopeful that this will encourage more collaborations between our universities, including study abroad experiences for our students and collaborative research projects with our faculty and students. We also are exploring opportunities for students from CMU to earn an MPH degree from UNMC.”