Welcome to ZJE: The next chapter of a 10-year partnership

Today, we welcome the 2026 cohort of Fire Horse undergraduate and postgraduate students to the Zhejiang University–University of Edinburgh Joint Institute in Biomedicine (ZJE). They join an exceptional academic community shaped by a decade of partnership, discovery and shared ambition — and they become part of its next chapter.

When ZJE welcomed its first cohort in 2016, just 22 students began their studies on a single undergraduate programme. Ten years later, the Institute has grown to welcome more than 800 students across two undergraduate and four postgraduate programmes.

Our purpose-built home on Zhejiang University International Campus in Haining has grown alongside us, with outstanding teaching and learning spaces, world-class laboratories, beautifully landscaped grounds, and sporting and cultural facilities that support a vibrant international student experience.

But the success of ZJE is about much more than numbers or buildings. It is about what happens when two world-leading universities share their expertise, their people and their aspirations.

ZJE was founded on a simple conviction: you cannot teach science well unless you also do science well.

Our academics are researchers who teach, bringing the latest scientific thinking and discoveries into the classroom. From the beginning, students have been immersed in a research culture that encourages curiosity, collaboration and the confidence to ask important questions.

Through the complementary strengths of Zhejiang University and the University of Edinburgh, ZJE brings together two disciplines at the forefront of modern biomedicine.

Biomedical Science explores the human body at its most fundamental level, while Biomedical Informatics examines how data and computation can transform the way we diagnose, treat and care for people.

Together, these fields prepare students for a rapidly changing future in which AI, big data and new technologies are reshaping healthcare. Technical expertise matters, but so do deep scientific knowledge, considered judgement, ethical responsibility and the ability to work across cultures and disciplines.

That is the opportunity of a genuinely international education.

A decade into the partnership, its success can be seen in the wealth of co-authored papers, joint research projects and academic collaborations that connect colleagues across China and the UK.

This summer, we celebrated the graduation of our seventh undergraduate cohort. Our alumni are now working in laboratories, hospitals and technology companies across China, the UK and beyond, carrying with them an education shaped by the rigour of Edinburgh and the dynamism of Zhejiang.

Their achievements are part of a growing story of research excellence, educational opportunity and international collaboration.

And this year is especially meaningful: alongside ZJE’s 10th anniversary, we celebrate the 300th anniversary of Edinburgh Medical School — a reminder of the extraordinary academic histories and traditions that come together at the Institute.

To our new Fire Horse students: welcome to ZJE.

You inherit ten years of partnership, research excellence and shared achievement. You also have the opportunity to shape what comes next.

We hope you will ask good questions, take intellectual but considered risks, embrace opportunities to collaborate, and support one another throughout your time here. We hope you will be ambitious in your science, thoughtful in your decisions, and kind and compassionate in your community.

The future of biomedicine will depend on people who can connect ideas, disciplines and cultures to address the challenges of a healthier world.

That is why ZJE exists.

Two great universities, working together, can achieve more than either could alone. Over the past ten years, our students, researchers and colleagues have shown what that belief can make possible.

Now, it is your turn to help write the next chapter.

Here’s to the next ten years of bold partnerships and global impact.