UK and Chinese universities join forces to offer clinical and healthcare courses in China

Two universities have strengthened their links by launching the first Joint Education Institute (JEI) in central and western China to offer both British and Chinese degrees with a strong clinical focus.

The new institute is the next step in the development of the relationship between the University of Leicester, in the UK, and Chongqing Medical University.

Based at Chongqing’s campus, the CQMU-University of Leicester Joint Institute will host three new programmes: BSc in psychology/psychiatry, BSc in physiotherapy/rehabilitation and an MSc in oncology/cancer cell and molecular biology.

An existing joint partnership programme running at Chongqing – BSc in clinical medicine and clinical science – will also come under the new institute’s jurisdiction.

Recruitment for the new programmes is expected to begin in September 2025.

President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester, Professor Nishan Canagarajah, said: “This is a powerful alliance between two leading universities that will benefit society and shape lives. We are training the doctors of tomorrow, as well as other health professionals, who will be of service to humanity and empowered through education to be citizens of change.”

Professor Tom Robinson, Leicester’s Pro Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Life Sciences, and Dean of Medicine, said: “This is a landmark occasion. We have a chance to shape destinies. Education has the power to transform lives and through this JEI, we are doing just that by creating doctors of tomorrow, as well as other health professionals who will be of service to humanity.”

HM Consul-General to Chongqing and South West China, Anthony Preston, said: “I would like to send my warmest congratulations to the launch of The CQMU-University of Leicester Joint Institute which is one of the most important health education partnerships between the UK and South West China. I look forward to seeing more doctors developing high impact skills and for this Joint Institute to inspire more bilateral exchanges between our countries in education and research and development.”

The relationship with Chongqing Medical University is one of two partnerships Leicester has in China. The Leicester International Institute at Dalian University of Technology was established in 2017. The institute, in Panjin, currently offers three undergraduate degree programmes in the subject areas of applied chemistry, mathematics and process equipment and control engineering.

The University of Leicester’s research in clinical medicine is ranked second in the UK, just behind the University of Cambridge, in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework. Its distinctive approach to inclusive education has recently been recognised with an overall Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023.