University of York honours Chinese Health Minister
Posted on 15 April 2010
The University will also confer the degree of Doctor of the University on two other eminent Chinese scientists – Professor Wei Yu and Professor He Jifeng.It is the second graduation ceremony that the University has held in China and the Honorary Graduates will join 159 students who will also be receiving their degrees.
This graduation ceremony underscores our firm commitment to strengthening our relationships with partner institutions both in China and around the world
Professor Brian Cantor, Vice-Chancellor
Before 2008, the University held all its previous degree ceremonies in Central Hall on the York campus. But this involved a round trip of more than 10,000 miles for the families of Chinese graduands. As a result, it was often difficult for families of international students to attend.
The University now has more than 1,000 graduates living in China, and its alumni have created two associations in the last three years, one in Beijing and one in Shanghai. The University welcomed its first Chinese student in 1981, and there now are more than 750 Chinese students at York.
Minister Chen is an expert on haemophilia classification. He was director of the Shanghai Institute of Haematology and director of the Chinese National Human Genome Center before being appointed Minister of Health in 2007.
Professor Wei Yu has 40 years’ experience in Electronics as a teacher and a researcher. She is the Director of the Research Centre of Learning Sciences, Southeast University and Vice-Chairperson of the Chinese Association of Science and Technology.
Professor He Jifeng has been Professor of Computer Science at East China Normal University in Shanghai since 1986. In 1996, he also became Professor of Computer Science at Shanghai Jao Tong University.
York’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Cantor said: “We are proud to honour three such eminent scientists at this, our second graduation ceremony in China. The ceremony also provides the University with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our students with their families and friends in China.
“York is a world-class university with an international focus, and a growing Chinese alumni base. This graduation ceremony in Beijing underscores our firm commitment to strengthening our relationships with partner institutions both in China and around the world.”
Notes to editors:
- Chen Zhu, who was appointed China’s Minister of Health in 2007, is an expert in haemophilia classification, diagnosis, and hereditary consultation. Minister Chen received a master's degree at Shanghai Second Medical University. He was a resident physician in the Haematological Disease Research Institute of Ruijin Hospital, from 1981 to 1984, before studying for a doctorate the Seventh Paris University. He was later director of the Shanghai Institute of Haematology and director of the Chinese National Human Genome Center at Shanghai. Minister Chen was elected a member of Chinese Academy of Science in 1995, was its vice president from 2000 to 2007, when he was appointed Minister of Health in 2007. In 2002, he was granted the French Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur.
- Professor Wei Yu has 40 years’ experience in Electronics as a teacher and a researcher. She is the Director of the Research Centre of Learning Sciences, Southeast University, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Vice-Chairperson of the Chinese Association of Science and Technology. She was educated at Nanjing College of Science, Nanjing Institute of Technology and Aachen Technical University. She established China’s first molecular and bioelectronic laboratory, and introduced ‘Learning by Doing’ science education programmes in China. As Vice-Minister of Education from 1993 to 2002, she played a significant role in promoting the construction of China’s education networks and the development of remote education.
- Professor He Jifeng has been Professor of Computer Science at East China Normal University in Shanghai since 1986. In 1996, he also became Professor of Computer Science at Shanghai Jao Tong University. Previously, he was a Senior Research Fellow at the Programming Research Group in the Oxford University Computing Laboratory from 1984 to 1998. A member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 1998, he became a Senior Research Fellow at the international Institute for Software Technology (UNU-IIST), at the United Nations University in Macau. His research focuses on developing sound methods for the specification of computer systems, communications, application and standards, and techniques for high reliability implementation of those specifications.
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