A USP mission, led by the president Carlos Gilberto Carlotti Junior, was in China from March 1st to 10th with two goals: to strengthen the relationship of the USP-China Center with Chinese universities and institutions, primarily to foster scientific collaboration in the fields of agriculture, engineering, and earth sciences, and to advance strategic partnerships for the creation of the Technological Institute of Intelligent Medicine (ITMI), which envisions the construction of a state-of-the-art smart hospital at the Hospital das Clínicas of the USP Faculty of Medical Sciences (HCFMUSP) complex in São Paulo, integrating innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and 5G systems.
USP president says, “the mission was to strengthen relations with universities, companies, and the BRICS Bank. All these partners recognized the creation of the USP-China Center as very positive. Partnerships with universities are being established, and it is possible for servers, researchers, and professors from China to come to Brazil in all areas of knowledge. Chinese companies have shown their willingness to enter into partnerships in the area of education and the transformation of the University, with greater connectivity and algorithms to make it intelligent and turn our campuses into smart cities. The initiative by the Faculty of Medical Sciences and the Hospital das Clínicas to create a new digital medicine institute has been very well received, and the President’s Office hopes that this proposal will be implemented in the coming months.”
Interactivity
Regarding the delegation’s first goal, related to partnerships for the USP-China Center, an agreement was signed with the technology company Huawei in the city of Shenzhen. This agreement provides for consolidating the qualification of USP students through the Huawei ICT Academy program, in which students, professors, and civil servants can access the company’s educational platform free of charge. It is also planned that the two institutions will undertake efforts to study, understand, and adopt new models of intelligent and connected universities, in which technology will play a central role in disseminating best educational practices, derived mainly from good connectivity and educational interactivity.
A memorandum of understanding was also signed with Beihang University, located in Beijing, aimed at developing joint research activities and exchanging professors, researchers, and undergraduate and graduate students.
“This visit to China, the first made after the consolidation of the USP-China Center, with the presence of the USP president, allowed us to make significant progress in the center’s agendas, which involve the implementation of projects in partnership with Chinese institutions and the exchange of students and researchers between Brazil and China. As a result of the interactions during this trip, we will soon announce mobility calls and projects to be organized from the center,” says USP-China coordinator Ricardo Trindade.
In addition to Trindade, the mission included Thais Vieira, vice president of the USP-China Center and dean of the School of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz” (Esalq); Fernando Catalano, dean of the School of Engineering “São Carlos” (EESC); and Paulo Braz, head of International Collaborations at the USP Agency for National and International Academic Cooperation (Aucani).
The group’s visit to China also included meetings with Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen University, the University of Macau, the Macau University of Science and Technology, Shanghai University, and Fudan University. Consul Augusto Pestana received the mission at the Consulate General of Brazil in Shanghai to discuss future partnerships with universities in the region in the areas of agriculture and innovation.
Intelligent medicine
The second task of the mission was to visit technology and health companies, such as Huawei, United Medical Imaging, Microport, and Mindray, in Shenzhen and Shanghai, to strengthen strategic alliances and develop innovative solutions in the medical field. On the academic front, the delegation was received at Fudan University in Shanghai and Tsinghua University in Beijing, world leaders in health research and technological innovation. The meetings discussed academic cooperation and knowledge transfer agreements to turn USP into an intelligent medicine hub in Latin America.
The mission’s most significant moment was the meeting at the New Development Bank (NDB), where the members were received by the bank’s president and former president of the Republic, Dilma Rousseff. The meeting discussed the funding details for the Technological Institute of Intelligent Medicine (ITMI).
According to the dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FM), Eloísa Bonfá, the hospital should be a “model of innovation and sustainability, combining artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and automation in health with state-of-the-art infrastructure to optimize public care and raise Brazil to the level of the most advanced nations in medical technology.” The project was born as an initiative of USP, in partnership with the federal and state governments. The mission strengthened the strategic partnership between USP and the Chinese institutions and consolidated the University’s commitment to leading innovation in medicine, reaffirming its position as a benchmark in Latin America in health research and technology.”
In addition to the USP president and the FM dean, the meeting was attended by the superintendent of HCFMUSP, Antonio José Pereira; professor of Clinical Emergencies, Ludhmila Abrahão Hajjar; and the Ministry of Health’s Secretary for Information and Digital Health, Ana Estela Haddad, who is also a professor at USP’s Faculty of Dentistry.
English version: Nexus Traduções
