The School of Health and Life Sciences at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, jointly established by the University of Nottingham and UNNC, was officially unveiled in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, on Friday.

Key attendees and speakers at the unveiling ceremony included Huang Jiong, vice-mayor of Ningbo; Professor Jane Norman, vice-chancellor of UoN and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences; Professor Xie Xincheng, president of UNNC and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; and Matt Burney, British consul general in Shanghai.

The newly established school is designed to align with the Healthy China Initiative. It aims to bridge international frontier technologies with domestic clinical needs, the biomedicine industry and real-world applications, thereby creating a transnational collaborative innovation ecosystem that spans basic research, technological breakthroughs and industrial translation. Ultimately, it seeks to accelerate the translation of scientific advances from the laboratory to the clinic for the benefit of the public. By bringing together top talent from China and abroad, the school will also serve as an international platform for innovation and talent development, nurturing the next generation of healthcare leaders and contributing to the transformation of healthcare in China and beyond.

In his speech, Professor Xie Xincheng said the school will advance the integration of education and research, strengthen research-to-industry collaboration, and support Ningbo's strategic ambition to build a health and life sciences hub in the Yangtze River Delta, promoting the development of regional biomedicine, high-end medical devices and health services.

Professor Jane Norman said the University of Nottingham will fully support the development of the new school by bringing in core faculty and research resources and helping to build an integrated innovation system linking industry, academia, research and clinical practice to deliver global solutions to healthcare challenges.

Huang Jiong expressed hope that the school will uphold its internationalized approach to education, accelerate the translation of frontier research outcomes, integrate more deeply into China's education opening-up and the Healthy China Initiative, and continue to contribute to regional high-quality development and people's wellbeing.

Matt Burney said that health and life sciences are a key area of UK-China cooperation that combines innovation value with humanistic care. The establishment of the new school will further deepen collaboration between the two sides in teaching, research and industrial innovation, help cultivate health professionals with a global outlook, and advance global public health to a new level, Burney said.

Besides unveiling the School of Health and Life Sciences, guests also witnessed the signing of agreements with industry partners and the appointment of members to the school's Strategic Development Advisory Committee during the ceremony.