¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥

The ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Institute at Wenzhou Medical University graduating class of 2025 poses for a photo along with faculty members and administrative staff.

The ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ is celebrating the first graduating class from the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Institute at Wenzhou Medical University, an international MD program designed to prepare Chinese medical students for careers in a global health landscape.

Established in 2019, the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Institute is a collaboration between the U of A’s Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and Wenzhou Medical University in Zhejiang Province, China. It is the first cooperative educational institution of its kind in China dedicated to medical education.

Fifty-seven graduates received a U of A BSc in biomedicine and three received a U of A MSc in dentistry. All graduates also received a clinical medical degree from WMU.

"We are incredibly proud of this first cohort of graduates," says Tracey Hillier, director and vice-dean of the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Institute. "This program reflects the commitment of both universities to international collaboration and preparing students to address global health needs.”

Students in the program benefit from a unique blend of local Chinese medical training and Canadian medical education.

During the first two years, the cohort takes foundational courses in medical science within the context of China's health-care system and several U of A health-systems science courses and medical electives, all at WMU. They also participate in a six-week in-person summer study-abroad program in Edmonton.

In years 3 and 4, they focus on coursework drawn from the first two years of the U of A’s MD program. Students also engage in clinical and patient-based learning with WMU preceptors. Finally, students complete a fifth year of internship-based clinical training in WMU-affiliated hospitals, following the WMU clerkship curriculum.

Instruction is delivered in English by both U of A and WMU faculty.

“Students gain a deep understanding of China’s health-care needs while also building clinical competencies aligned with Canadian standards. Our mission is to educate capable, compassionate physicians with an international perspective on health care,” says Hillier.

A key goal of the program is to help students build intercultural competence and professional adaptability, skills increasingly essential for physicians working in global health environments. By learning about health care in two countries, graduates learn to navigate differences in patient expectations, system structures and cultural attitudes toward medicine and are well equipped to handle global public health challenges.

Hillier notes that supporting students is one of the program’s biggest priorities. “Each student is assigned a faculty mentor to support them. We also have a dedicated team of faculty and staff from both institutions helping our students succeed through innovative group chats, onsite visits, English language help, using different learning strategies and anything else we can do to better support our students.”

Graduates are prepared for medical residencies in China and research programs internationally. In the first graduating cohort, five students are pursuing PhD studies at the U of A, two gained direct entry into Chinese PhD programs and others matched with highly ranked residency programs throughout China.

“Our program is challenging, especially learning medicine in a second language, but those challenges pushed me to grow,” says Yaning Li, a recent graduate of the program. “The emphasis on clinical reasoning and real-world discussion helped me build confidence, apply knowledge in practice and understand the deeper purpose of patient care.” Li is currently finishing a clinical clerkship at a local hospital and will soon begin a PhD program in medicine at the U of A.

“The clinical courses made me feel like a detective — gathering clues to solve medical mysteries,” says Yvonne Yan, another recent graduate. “It wasn’t an easy program, but discovering my passion for medicine made all that effort worthwhile.” Yan is also finishing a local clerkship and will pursue graduate studies at the U of A.

“Our graduates are prepared to enter the next stage of medical training in an increasingly interconnected medical world, having experienced the best aspects of medical education in both China and Canada from two top medical schools,” says Hillier.

High-achieving students living in China who are seeking medical academic excellence and a global perspective on health care in China are invited to apply.