On the afternoon of December 29, 2016, a signing ceremony of cooperation agreement was held at Tsinghua University, at which PUMCH President Zhao Yupei was invited as Tsinghua professor. Present at the ceremony were Academician Zhao Yupei, PUMCH president, Jiang Yuxin, Party Secretary of PUMCH, Academician Qiu Yong, president of Tsinghua University, and Chen Xu, Party secretary of Tsinghua University.

President Qiu Yong extended welcome to Zhao’s team and expressed thanks for the hospital’s support to Tsinghua. He said that the signing ceremony at yearend marked an important achievement in cooperation of the university in 2016. He expects a fresh beginning of in-depth cooperation in 2017 and is willing to push the cooperation to a new height.

President Zhao Yupei said that PUMCH and Tsinghua share the same status, historical source and commitment. Both their seats were once imperial gardens; both their creation were a result of the eastward dissemination of western learning nearly a hundred years ago: PUMCH was established by the Rockefeller Foundation, while Tsinghua was evolved from a preparatory school for studying in the US, funded by Boxer indemnity returned by the US; both of them are a leader in their respective fields, and strive to become world class; they also share the same “way”: PUMCH spirit emphasizes precision, diligence and devotion, while Tsinghua culture emphasizes self-discipline, social commitment and practice. Zhao expressed his confidence in the cooperation and the wish of more exchanges in future.

The cooperation agreement was signed by PUMCH Vice President Zhang Shuyang and Tsinghua Vice President Xue Qikun in the presence of the leadership of both sides. President Xue Yong presented to Academician Zhao Yupei the invitation to be Tsinghua professor. According to the agreement, the two sides will carry out translational medicine research on major and rare diseases, build a platform connecting medicine and engineering and jointly recruit medical leaders from across the world. They will also strengthen cooperation on medical education, explore the possibility of dual-tutor system, share teaching and research resources, and set up a joint program for eight-year students of Tsinghua medical school and PUMCH clinical medicine postgraduates.

By Duan Wenli, Li Lingfei