On 17 July, the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) officially launched its new School of Health and Life Sciences. Jointly established by the University of Nottingham (UoN) and UNNC, the school was announced during the UK Prime Minister’s visit to China in January this year, marking a key milestone in practical Sino-UK collaboration.
Aligned with the Healthy China Initiative, the school focuses on key areas such as pharmacy, psychology, biomedical engineering, health big data, and public health. It will serve as a hub for talent development for the next generation of leaders and innovators, and as an international innovation ecosystem spanning basic research, technological innovation, and commercialisation, transforming the medical and health industry in China and beyond.
By 2028, the school will have built a teaching and research team centred on internationally leading scholars and experts, with full-time enrolment across undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programmes.
A shared vision for Sino-UK cooperation
Professor Xincheng Xie, President of UNNC and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) noted in his welcome speech that the life and health sector is a strategic emerging industry, and that the new school will closely align with China’s development priorities during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, integrate Sino-foreign cooperative education, research, and industry, and support Ningbo’s ambition to become a hub for the development of health services, biomedicine, and high-end medical devices in the Yangtze River Delta.
Professor Jane Norman, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham and Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, said that the establishment of the school is closely aligned with the life sciences development strategies of both the UK and China. She noted that the university has world-leading expertise and a strong global reputation in medicine and health sciences, ranking eighth globally for Pharmacy and Pharmacology and 68th for Life Sciences and Medicine. “The new school will create a new ecosystem in which academia, the health sector, and industry work side by side, bringing together the best expertise from all three,” she said, while affirming the university’s long-term commitment to the school’s success.
“The establishment of the school is a concrete response to a simple reality: the great health challenges of our time do not respect borders, disciplines, or institutions,” Professor Jon Garibaldi, Provost of UNNC said. “To meet them, we need a different approach, one that combines world-class expertise with local relevance, and rigorous research with real-world impact. The new school connects the UK's research strength with China's health priorities, global expertise with local needs. That is what ‘Global Expertise, China Solution’ means in practice. Our students will graduate with interdisciplinary thinking, professional depth, and social responsibility to drive the health and life sciences industry forward, here in the Yangtze River Delta and beyond.”
Jiong Huang, Vice Mayor of the Ningbo Municipal Government, said industrial growth depends on talent, and talent depends on education. He praised UNNC’s contribution to local development, noting that health and life sciences is one of Ningbo’s six strategic emerging industry clusters and a priority area as the city works to become a key pivot city for the Shanghai (Yangtze River Delta) International Science and Innovation Centre. He said the new school will serve as a high-calibre science and innovation platform, helping strengthen Ningbo’s high-level academic and innovation capacity, and expressed hope that it will uphold its international character, accelerate research translation, and support regional development and the Healthy China Initiative.
Congratulating UNNC on this important milestone, Matt Burney, British Consul General in Shanghai, said, “Health is one of the most practical and human areas of cooperation between our two countries. When we bring those strengths together carefully and practically, the benefits can be real — for patients, for students, for researchers, and for our wider societies. UNNC has always had a special place in the UK-China education relationship. It can help develop future health leaders, support research with real-world application, and bring UK and Chinese expertise together in areas where both our societies need progress.”
During the launch event, leading academicians, experts, diplomatic representatives, and industry leaders delivered keynote speeches on China-UK healthcare collaboration, industry development trends, and emerging opportunities and innovative pathways in the life and health sciences. Leaders and guests also jointly unveiled the School of Life and Health Sciences, witnessed the signing ceremony with industry partners, and attended the appointment ceremony for members of the school’s Strategic Development Advisory Committee.
Bringing together the strengths of both universities
The newly launched School of Health and Life Sciences brings together the University of Nottingham’s world-leading academic and research resources in life and health sciences with UNNC’s unique strengths as a Sino-foreign cooperative university rooted in China and dedicated to serving local development needs.
According to Professor Panos Vlachopoulos, Vice Provost for Education and Student Experience and Interim Head of the School of Health and Life Sciences, the school is developing a comprehensive array of science and technology innovation platforms, including plans to establish an International Doctoral Innovation Centre, an Industrial Development Institute, a series of university-enterprise joint laboratories, and university-hospital clinical research platforms, complemented by a dedicated sci-tech innovation fund, thanks to strong support from the Ningbo Municipal Education Bureau, close coordination among relevant departments across the city, and targeted policy support.
Focusing on clinical practice, drug development, synthetic biology, and medical devices, the school will collaborate closely with universities, research institutes, leading industry enterprises, and municipal top-tier hospitals across the Yangtze River Delta to advance joint talent appointments, resource sharing, and joint research initiatives.
These efforts will accelerate the translation and application of cutting-edge life and health technologies, support the upgrading of the regional life and health industry, and establish a comprehensive high-quality development ecosystem covering discipline development, talent cultivation, research innovation, and commercialisation. Ultimately, it aims to create a cross-regional, international platform for high-calibre talent development and technological innovation.
The launch ceremony was also attended by Professor Zoe Wilson, Pro Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Science; Professor Clive Roberts, Head of the School of Life Sciences; and Professor Barrie Kellam, Head of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham.
Published on 17 July 2026