Leverage foreign talents in internationalization efforts  

Combine local with foreign talent 

Take Shantou University to a new direction 

John: First of all, we have to answer the question; why was there a need for a new department and how we think the department could serve the medical device and the life sciences industry. This is a discipline that belongs to the engineering field and serves the biological and medical fields. 

John: Mr. Li Ka-shing has long been very concerned about healthcare and education. He has invested a lot in medical education in Shantou University. Given that there is a medical school and engineering colleges within the university main campus, Mr. Li has been thinking of ways to establish a connection between the medical school and the other schools. 

Mr. Li deeply understands that modern medicine is supported and promoted by technology. Without technology, there will be no modern medicine. Therefore, he supported the development of a new direction for the university, that is, from simple support of clinical medicine to a combination of medicine and life sciences disciplines. It can be said that the establishment of this department stems from Mr. Li's vision. 

At the same time, we have also entered a new development stage. Guangdong is a large manufacturing province. For example, the medical device industry has formed clusters in Guangdong, but Guangdong Province is facing a shortage of engineering talents. Therefore, Shantou University has made the right strategic decision to expand the scale of its engineering faculty. 

John: I lived and worked abroad for 22 years before joining Shantou University in July last year. It's a great opportunity to be here! On the one hand, I was inspired by Mr. Li’s emphasis on education. On the other hand, I’m inspired by the opportunity to be part of China’s vibrant education reform. 

Before I came to Shantou University, I was at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia and had 15 years of teaching experience there. In 2005, the vice chancellor of RMIT wanted to promote biomedical engineering. At that time, the university did not have that specialty. So, I was appointed as project leader to head the biomedical engineering department. In 2008, the department passed the (temporary) certification of the Australian Institute of Engineers. I oversaw the conceptualization, development and implementation of the bioengineering department. 

John: Although STU is relatively small, it is a comprehensive undergraduate university. Many staff here have began to conduct research in medical image processing and signal processing. The department is slowly growing to encompass more bioengineering specialities. 

We are fortunate to be affiliated with five major hospitals in Chaozhou which combine to serve the 20 million population in the Chaoshan region. This lays a good foundation and opportunity for the establishment of the department of Biomedical Engineering.  

John: That is true, at present there are many medical colleges and universities in China that offer BME course. For many graduates however, their professional career is limited to equipment maintenance and repair. Training level aside, some universities have different characteristics and direction compared to ours. 

We are competing with other universities in the province. Our strength is our international collaboration and staff with international experience. This provides us with great potential to steer our department to new heights. 

John: STU is currently the only university that will introduce the curriculum from the University of Michigan. We will make adjustments based on specific local needs. We insist that the curriculum should be implemented holistically and not piecewise otherwise the mismatch will lead to confusion.  

We are not worried that students fail to cope as they are young and capable. We should set a goal for them and help them raise their confidence. I believe many students can cope with the coursework especially if we recruit high achievers. 

John: We have already obtained the approval for the newly introduced English-only curriculum. This is a new initiative by STU. We will adopt the well-established and successful curriculum from the University of Michigan and are supported by lecturers with international experience. 

In the first semester of the first year, students will be introduced to the "Fundamental of Engineering" subject. This would give the students an exposure to and appreciation for industry practices. There will be opportunities to ask questions and propose potential solutions. Students will "get their hands dirty" and gain practical experience working on projects. 

Throughout their four years at the university, students are guided to learn independently and "learn while training." This theme will run across all subjects in the course. 

We would like to stress the importance of this new method of learning. Traditional education relies too heavily on rote learning and does not emphasize understanding of basic concepts. In light of this, we are taking the opportunity to introduce established and innovative methods from the University of Michigan.