A delegation from the Hefei city based university, situated close to Nanjing in the South East of China, travelled to Bedfordshire for the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation.

President, Professor Yunxie Cao, Professor Wei-Dong Du, Deputy Dean of the School of International Education, and Wenbing Yao, Director of Personnel visited a number of University facilities including the Butterfield campus and simulation suite, before going on to Putteridge Bury where they met Chinese Bedfordshire students.

After touring the Luton campus to see some of its state-of-the-art facilities, they met with key University staff including Professor Ashraf Jawaid, Deputy Vice Chancellor (External Relations) and Vice Chancellor Bill Rammell, who said he was “delighted” to sign the Memorandum.

“Establishing this connection with Anhui Medical University is truly fantastic news for the University, as we continue to further our relationship with international institutions.

“I’m proud of our standing as a truly multicultural and international University. We currently have more than 400 Chinese students. Relationships such as these, and our many other academic partnerships stretching across the world, has a massive impact on the experience we can offer our students as well as furthering the outreach of our world-leading research.”

Among many potential options, the declaration between the University of Bedfordshire and the Anhui Medical University could lead to student exchange projects, joint research and knowledge exchange in fields such as nursing and medical science.

The Anhui University could also become a destination for Bedfordshire students on their Go Global two-week summer school trips.

The visit was arranged following a research visit in March 2014 to the Anhui Medical University by Frank Milligan, Senior Lecturer in Patient Safety, who was looking to further understand international perspectives on patient safety.

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