Seven of our Year-3 students served out their internship at Peking University’s Shenzhen Hospital from June 27 to July 22, 2016. Under the patient guidance of their tutor, the hospital’s medical engineer, the interns were assigned to the equipment section. There, they learned about equipment maintenance, purchasing and file management. This is the first time our students took part in external internship activities during the summer. Students enhanced their ability to apply their theoretical knowledge to real-life situations, thereby enriching their social experience and first-hand knowledge of work environment in society.

Formerly known as the Shenzhen City Center Hospital, Peking University’s Shenzhen Hospital is a modern comprehensive hospital funded and constructed by the Shenzhen Government. The hospital was completed and officially opened for service in late 1999. In September 2001, the Shenzhen Government entered into a partnership with Peking University and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. It was subsequently renamed “Peking University’s Shenzhen Hospital” and “Peking University’s Shenzhen Teaching Hospital”. As such, it was incorporated into the system of Peking University’s affiliated hospitals. By 2011, after being given the thumbs-up by the Guangdong Hospital Accreditation Committee, it was classified as a grade-3 First Class hospital.  

For the first time, on July 20, 2016, Prof X. Edward Guo, founding Dean of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, invited some student representatives from the class of 2013/14 to a sharing session. He was joined in this activity by Prof Chen Fangyi, his Executive Dean.

 

Driven by student questions, Prof Guo addressed the following areas of interest: First, he introduced the latest development at Columbia University’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, drawing particular attention to what students need to know about student life in the US. Secondly, he emphasized the importance of getting a handle on Cell Biology and Animal Physiology. In the process, he also gave them insights on how to tackle these subjects. Finally, while he was of the view that mastering Biomedical Engineering is no walk in the park, he offered a method for doing so. This greatly boosted student confidence in this difficult subject. Student interest and participation was notably high, with much give-and-take between them and the good professor.

 

This year, Prof Guo spearheaded the preparations for setting up the Biomedical Engineering Department at our University and began a comprehensive collaboration with its counterpart at Columbia University, including launching the student exchange mechanism. All in all, it was a highly productive and profitable encounter that was much anticipated and appreciated by the students.