In the afternoon of July 30th, HUST’s 2-week 2021 Tongji Summer Program (TSP2021) was successfully concluded. Held at the Tongji Medical College (TMC) of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, the session was attended by Professor Shu Xiaogang, Vice Dean of TMC, Mr. Dong Weiguo, Director of the Department of Graduate Student Affairs of TMC, Ms. Hu Ruimin, Vice-Director of the Office of International Affairs of HUST, Mr. Shu Tao, Vice-Director of the Academic Affairs Office of TMC and Professor Pan An and Professor Wang Qi of the School of Public Health of HUST. The closing ceremony was hosted by Ms. Wang Haikun from the Office of International Affairs of HUST.
In his closing speech, Shu Xiaogang emphasized the international nature of the TSP program. He pointed out that in addition to the students and faculty from HUST, the program had attracted a wide range of participants from domestic and international universities, including scholars from Sun Yat-sen University in China, the National University of Singapore, Kyoto University in Japan, Queen Mary University of London, the University of Birmingham in the UK, and the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany.
Continuing his speech, Professor Shu stressed the innovative nature of the summer program stating that TSP2021 had adopted a combination of online and offline lecture formats which enabled TMC to hold the summer courses. He believed that this attempt, while well recognized by teachers and students, provided a practical solution for the expansion of the TSP program in the future.
Drawing to a close, Shu Xiaogang noted that the summer program had brought together outstanding faculty members and students from public health and epidemiology worldwide. The high-quality international exchange reflected the aspirations and efforts of Tongji Medical College to promote a global collaboration dedicated to common health for all mankind. He closed his speech by congratulating the participants of TSP and thanking the faculty, students, and staff who worked together to prepare the program.
Professor Xiaogang Shu, Vice Dean of Tongji Medical College, delivering his closing remarks
Professor Pan An congratulated the students on completing the TSP2021. He summarized the process of the TSP program from its original intention to implementation. Continuing, he emphasized the imperative to strengthen international exchanges, especially in public health and clinical epidemiology, to counter global public health challenges amid the pandemic.
Professor An Pan, Professor of the School of Public Health at HUST, delivering his remarks at the closing ceremony
Student representative Rochin Hernandez Rodolfo then shared his feelings about participating in the project. He said he had benefited a lot from the courses. In addition to gaining knowledge, the personal experiences shared by the lecturers had also motivated him to develop his career in the medical field. Identifying that the pandemic was both a challenge and an opportunity, he stated that the program had brought together worldwide participants, providing further opportunities for creative thinking and international research collaboration.
Student representative Rochin Hernández Rodolfo sharing his TSP2021 experience
Held over two weeks, from the 19th July to the 30th July, the 2021 Tongji Summer Program was sponsored by Tongji Medical College and the Office of International Affairs of HUST and organized by the School of Public Health. TSP2021 was the first phase of the TSP program and it assembled a teaching team consisting of lecturers from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, the University of Bern in Switzerland, Zhejiang University in China, and Sun Yat-sen University in China, offering three English courses in epidemiology to HUST students and faculty in both online and offline formats. Participants who completed the courses received course certificates.
2021 Tongji Summer Program Class Photos
In addition to HUST’s students and faculty participation offline, TSP was open to member schools from HUST's Key Partnership Initiative including the Sino-German Consortium for Medical Education and universities from countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. The program attracted many non-HUST students with 274 overseas participants taking the courses online. The TSP program created a unique exchange opportunity for participants worldwide while also building a valuable knowledge sharing platform.
The lecturer and students communicated online via zoom
With the world still facing the challenges posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Tongji Summer Program reaffirms Tongji Medical College of HUST’s commitment to overcoming the obstacles of the pandemic through international educational exchanges that are both academic and, innovative; creating a high-quality global academic exchange platform that will continue to demonstrate its value.
Group photo of the opening and closing ceremonies
Written by: Lu Yizhong
Edited by: Andrew, Peng Yumeng
Chinese
