Sino-Scottish workshop

Dr Calum Sutherland from the School of Medicine, and Dr Steve Millam from SCRI, have recently taken part in an exchange programme aimed at establishing collaborations between China and Scotland.

The exchange programme came about as a result of a visit to Scotland by the Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor Chen Zhu, which was set up by the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE). Calum and Steve were part of a group of ten researchers from universities in Scotland, who were selected by the RSE to help map out the potential for future collaboration between the two countries.

The first two days of the visit were taken up with a workshop in Beijing, where Scottish and Chinese researchers outlined the current status of research in their countries in the sectors they represented.

At the conclusion of the two-day workshop, the participants divided into groups and identified areas where there was potential mutual benefit in developing bilateral collaboration.

On the following two days, the Scottish delegation then visited several institutes in Beijing hosted by the Chinese Academy of Science. The delegation was also given the opportunity to visit the Peking Opera and the Great Wall.

Calum said, "The trip was an excellent way to learn about the relative strengths of scientific research in each country. I was very impressed with the development of medical research in China." The workshop has already resulted in the initiation of collaborative research projects between Scotland and China.