On 15 and 16 February 2017, Griffith University welcomed an official visit from The Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, People’s Republic of China, with the intention to reflect on their long standing relationship and sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU will further build public health capacity building and research collaborations as well as expand into other areas such as hospital services, allied health and nursing.
The high-level delegation, headed by Director-General, Mr Duan Yufei, met with a number of academics from Griffith University’s Health Group over the two-day visit, as well as toured Griffith’s state of the art facilities.
In conjunction with the visit, a new Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Professor Ian O’Connor, Vice Chancellor and President, and Mr Duan Yufei, Director-General, also in the presence of Ms Zhou Li, Deputy Consul-General, Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Brisbane. Professor O’Connor was delighted to sign the agreement to signify and celebrate the ongoing partnership. He hopes that this agreement will strengthen and expand the relationship between the two institutions for many years to come.
Professor Cordia Chu AM, Director, Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith Health, started collaborating within a range of health sectors such as occupational health, maternal and child health, and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention over 14 years ago. Since then a number of PhD, Masters and Leadership Program Fellows from the Guangdong Province have graduated from Griffith University and many alumni have since returned, being appointed to highly responsible positions in key government and academic institutes throughout the Guangdong Province. Professor Chu hopes that this visit will serve as the beginning of a strong relationship between the two institutions. Professor Chu commented that “we are proud that Griffith University will be working side by side with the Guangdong government and its health teams to address pressing environmental and health threats that have global significance.”