The 2023 ZCMU English as Medium of Instruction (EMI) Teacher Development Program started on July 22. It was organized by ZCMU’s International Relations Office and the International Education College, in a bid to enhance the teaching capacity of faculty members engaged in instructing international students. The program gained support from the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), which contributed its expertise in designing the training tailored for full-time EMI teachers with a focus on medical education. Running until August 12, the 3-week training adopts a blend of online and offline instruction, featuring discussions, case studies, post-course assignments, and individual guidance. It has attracted 36 teachers from 14 colleges and departments at ZCMU to enroll.

In the opening ceremony held on July 22, Peter Beech, Teacher Training Coordinator at UNNC’s Center for English Language Education, extended his congratulations on the program’s commencement, saying that every effort would be made to ensure the lectures’ high quality so as to empower the educators with invaluable insights and skills. Dong Minhua, Vice Dean of ZCMU’s International Education College, demonstrated the university’s international education in the past decade. For example, ZCMU’s efforts primarily centered on academic education and medical specialties, with an emphasis on attracting students from countries along the Belt and Road. In 2020, ZCMU was ranked 65th among all Chinese universities and 6th among Chinese medical universities by ShanghaiRanking in terms of the number of international students. In 2022, ZCMU enrolled 822 international students, who attended academic programs in traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture and tuina, clinical medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and rehabilitation medicine. Besides, ZCMU was the first TCM university in China to take the initiative to undergo an assessment for its education for international students and was highly recognized by the accreditation experts, being awarded the quality certification of higher education for international students in 2022. In the end, Dong hoped that the teachers would fully capitalize on this training opportunity to update their teaching concepts and elevate their English teaching proficiency. By doing so, they would be better equipped to cater to the needs of international students, which, in turn, would have a positive ripple effect on their  overall scientific research and medical practices, and eventually benefit ZCMU’s development.