A new Division of Life and Health Sciences to deliver innovative solutions to global health challenges is to be jointly established by the University of Nottingham and University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), it has been announced as part of an official visit to China by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The new division will be advanced during China’s 15th Five-Year Plan period and will create a high-level, cross-regional platform for education, research, and innovation in life and health sciences, cultivate future leaders in the field, and deliver innovative solutions to global health challenges, thereby further advancing Sino-British collaboration in life sciences.
The division will integrate the University of Nottingham’s world-class strengths in life and health sciences with UNNC’s distinctive advantages rooted in China and serving regional development. It will focus on key areas including Pharmacology, Psychology, Biomedical Engineering, and other health sciences.
Through joint academic appointments, collaborative teaching, and shared research programmes, the division will build an internationally benchmarked academic team and establish a full talent development pathway from undergraduate to doctoral level, promoting global talent mobility through cross-campus exchanges, clinical placements, and research training, accelerating innovation and the translation of research outcomes.
The establishment of the Division of Life and Health Sciences marks a new milestone in UNNC’s more than twenty years of Sino-British educational cooperation. As China’s first Sino-foreign cooperative university approved by the Ministry of Education, UNNC has played a pioneering role in connecting Chinese and UK higher education and has consistently received strong support from leaders of both countries.
Since its founding, UNNC has introduced high-quality UK educational resources and fostered deep collaboration in education, talent cultivation, and cultural exchange. Building on this foundation, the university has achieved a series of landmark collaborative RKE outcomes in areas such as intelligent manufacturing, green energy, and life and health sciences. Notably, through the Nottingham University Medical Imaging Centre Ningbo Branch—established by leveraging the University of Nottingham’s original Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology—UNNC has participated in the development of the world’s first multi-positional, nitrogen-free MRI system, now in clinical use.
The new division will further leverage the University of Nottingham’s globally leading research capabilities. As a top 100 university worldwide, its Medical School and its School of Pharmacy—ranked fourth in the UK and twelfth globally—enjoy an outstanding international reputation. Scholars from the University of Nottingham were awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize for their pioneering contributions to MRI. Supported by the Queen’s Medical Centre, one of Europe’s leading teaching hospitals, and the Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit, the university has established a comprehensive innovation chain from fundamental research to clinical application.
Over the past two decades, UNNC has educated tens of thousands of internationally minded professionals rooted in China while continuously expanding cooperation in scientific innovation, industry engagement, and social service. As Sino-British relations enter a new stage, the joint establishment of the Division of Life and Health Sciences underscores UNNC’s evolution from a pioneer of educational cooperation into a leading powerhouse for multi-sector innovation, contributing sustained educational and scientific momentum to a closer, more pragmatic, and mutually beneficial Sino-British partnership.
Published on 30 January 2026