51³Ô¹ÏÍø

China's Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang visited 51³Ô¹ÏÍø, the UK's number one research collaborator with China, this week.

The visit, hosted by 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s Provost Professor Ian Walmsley, showcased 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s deep ties with China as well as the College’s research strengths, international collaborations, and industry partnerships.

Minister Wang Zhigang said that he was delighted to learn that 51³Ô¹ÏÍø had “established solid collaborations” with its Chinese partners, and that the College is seeking to deepen and strengthen them.

During the discussion, which took place in 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s Data Science Institute four years after a visit from China’s President Xi Jinping, Professor Walmsley introduced Mr Wang to the College’s academic strategy and how it is furthering the UK’s Industrial Strategy.

Praising the College’s world-leading reputation in STEM, Minister Wang, a former scientific researcher, said that the UK and China can do even more together in science and technology, noting opportunities in artificial intelligence, brain sciences and the fourth industrial revolution. He sees STEM collaboration as central to what China’s President calls a “golden era” of UK-China partnership.

The Minister took a close interest in 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s global lead in synthetic biology, in conversation with Dr Geoff Baldwin and Professor Guy-Bart Stan, Directors of the 51³Ô¹ÏÍø College Centre for Synthetic Biology. The UK’s first national centre for synthetic biology, it seeks to exploring and enhancing the engineering potential of biology. Research from the centre is directly contributing to the growth of the UK’s bioeconomy, which is set to double to £440bn by 2030.

Professor Paul Freemont gave an introduction into SynbiCITE the UK’s Innovation and Knowledge Centre for the commercialisation and translation of synthetic biology based at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø. Professor Freemont is co-director of SynbiCITE, along with Professor Dick Kitney. Biomedical engineer Professor Anthony Bull tackled a common UK-China grand challenge: healthy ageing.

Professor Yike Guo, Director of the Data Science Institute, led demonstrations on 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s work to advance research in medicine, air pollution and smart cities.

Among the drivers of 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s 900+ collaborative research publications with China is the 51³Ô¹ÏÍø-Tsinghua Centre on Intelligent Power and Energy Systems, which Professor Tim Green explained to the Minister.

Minister Wang learned about 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s research connections with Chinese industry, before meeting a group of entrepreneurial students from the UK, China and around the world.