After two years, a delegation from Zhejiang Province visited Semmelweis University again to further develop the existing cooperation and identify concrete areas of education and research collaboration.
In 2017, the joint delegation of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University’s School of Medicine (FAHZU) and Zhejiang Province visited our institution, led by Feng Fei, Provincial Deputy Governor. As a result of the visit, Semmelweis University signed a cooperation agreement with FAHZU, China’s third best university. The agreement, among others, provides an opportunity for teacher and student exchange, in the framework of which Márton Horváth (Faculty of Medicine) spent three months at Zhejiang University’s hospital in Hangzhou with a Campus Mundi scholarship in the summer of 2018.
This time the representatives of FAHZU were accompanied by the delegates of the Zhejiang Health Commission in order to further develop the cooperation, as well as to identify further areas of education and research collaboration.
The Chinese delegation was welcomed by Dr. Attila Szabó, Vice-Rector for Clinical Affairs, Dr. Marcel Pop, Head of the Directorate of International Relations, Dr. Judit Vadlövő, Project Coordinator at the Directorate of International Relations, Tamás Hegedüs, President of the Students’ Union, Dr. Chun Cao, cardiac surgeon registrar at the György Gottsegen National Cardiology Institute, and Márton Horváth, medical student.
After the mutual introduction of the delegations, Dr. Attila Szabó expressed his pleasure over the fact that the Asian relations of Semmelweis University have significantly strengthened over the past ten years. Dr. Ping Zhang, Director-General of the Health Commission of Zhejiang, added that they hoped the relationship between the two universities will become even closer in the future. After Dr. Marcel Pop presented Semmelweis University, Dr. Min Zheng, Vice President of FAHZU, gave a presentation on an opportunity that was already discussed during the meeting in 2017. Three students from Semmelweis University have the opportunity to take part in a three-month practical programme in China, mentored by leading scientists. The programme is supported by Zhejiang Province, is free of charge and includes a return plane ticket for the participants.
During the meeting, Márton Horváth, medical student, shared his experiences with the participants concerning his practice spent at the Zhejiang University clinic. He praised the kindness of his Chinese colleagues and the fact that he could work with an English-speaking mentor in every department and could see a lot of cases due to the large number of patients. He added that his stay in China was a great experience both culturally and professionally. Tamás Hegedüs, President of the Students’ Union, said that they would definitely promote this opportunity among the students of Semmelweis University.
In addition to the students’ clinical practice programme, cooperation between the doctoral schools of the two universities as well as joint research were identified as possible areas of cooperation, with the specific areas of which to be identified later. As a closing statement, Director-General Zhang pointed out that all the necessary support for university cooperation will be provided, since biomedical education and its development is one of the top priorities of the Chinese Government.
Dr. Judit Vadlövő, Directorate of International Relations
Translation: Diána Módos
Photo: Directorate of International Relations
