Faculty from China Medical University (CMU) in Shenyang, China, visited Cape Town, South Africa, in early March to attend the first residential session of the 2012 Southern Africa-FAIMER Regional Institute (SAFRI). Prof. Sun Baozhi, Professor of Medical Education and Director, North China Center for Medical Education Development; Prof. Zhang Zhongzhi, Professor of Ophthalmology and Director, Graduate School; and Prof. Zhao Yuhong, Director, School of Medical Informatics and Director, Human Resources Department, observed the SAFRI session first-hand to gather information in preparation for the planned launch of a new FAIMER Regional Institute at CMU in August 2013. The CMU-FAIMER Regional Institute (CMU-FRI) will be FAIMER’s first Institute in China.
The cross-cultural exchange between SAFRI and CMU is expected to continue throughout the development of CMU-FRI. SAFRI faculty member Dianne Manning (PHIL 2008) will participate in the development of the new Institute by attending a planning meeting scheduled to take place in July 2012. In addition, Professor Manning will spend two months at CMU to assist with the establishment of CMU-FRI during its early stages. She has also been invited to deliver a key-note address on medical education in South Africa at the Annual Conference of the Chinese Association of Medical Education Research in Kunming immediately before beginning work at CMU.
Reflecting on her role in the development of CMU-FRI, Prof. Manning notes: “It was a great pleasure to host our visitors from China and I am very excited about working with them and faculty of the CMU-FRI, including those who are Fellows of the FAIMER Institute in Philadelphia. I am honored to have been invited and to be able to contribute to FAIMER’s work in this new arena. I particularly appreciate the opportunity for learning about the health and education systems in China and look forward to establishing long-term collaborative partnerships.”
