WHU’s Cooperation with France on Medical Education Yielded 17 Years of Fruitful Achievements
To honor the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, a China-France medical education meeting was held in WHU on November 6th. About 40 guests including French government officials, French Embassy staff in China, staff of the French Consulate General in Wuhan and medics from French medical colleges were present. Meanwhile, more than 150 representatives from domestic universities and colleges also took part.
During the opening ceremony, Executive President Youmei Feng reviewed the cooperation between Wuhan University and the France on medical education in the last 17 years, and summarized the substantial achievements in medical education, personnel training, scientific research as well as in medical practice.
Prof. Stolzl, the sponsor of China-France medical education cooperation project of Wuhan University, a member of the Academy of Science of France, said that China and France had a long history of medical communication. A large number of Chinese medics have been trained in France or are speaking French. There has also been a highly effective cooperation between the two parties in terms of academic research, which is the model of cooperation between China and France.
At the meeting, the project leaders and student representatives from Wuhan University, Shanghai JiaoTong University, Chongqing Medical University, Kunming Medical University, summarized and reviewed the bilateral medical education history, the selection of students, teaching methods, curriculum, exchange project with France etc. In the round table discussion, foreign and Chinese education experts concluded the achievements and problems encountered in the past, and talked about the training, education and degree issues concerning medical students in the future.
Wuhan University’s School of Medicine and Lorraine University are known to have set up official cooperation relationship in 1997. In 2001 the two parties jointly established the China-France clinical medical experiment classes with a program duration totaling seven years. Top students are offered internship opportunities in France in the fifth or seventh year of study. So far, 282 students have graduated from this experiment class, including 24 doctoral students, half of whom have won scholarships co-founded by the French and the Chinese governments.
In addition, since 2003, the medical college of Lorraine University has sent about 20 teachers every year to teach 15 courses in Wuhan University, covering the general as well as the clinical medicine, and 98 French students attended courses at Wuhan University for a period of 2 to 4 month, as part of the internship exchange with Wuhan University’s School of Medicine.
(Rewritten by Ning Zijun,edited by Diana & Sijia Hu)
