2014-09-30

A joint program on autism study and training between Shantou University Medical College (SUMC) and the University of Melbourne was signed on the morning of September 27. This program will be jointly carried out by the Mental Health Center of SUMC, University of Melbourne Department of Psychiatry, and Shantou Disabled Person’s Federation, aiming to promote China’s autism research, diagnosis, evaluation and rehabilitation.

Autism is regarded as one of the world’s most pressing public health issues among children. Equipped with a combination of their advantages, the tree parties will collaborate in setting up training workshops for psychiatrists and rehabilitation staff of Guangdong Province, establishing the “Shantou Autism Center”, and doing research in the fields of epidemiology, genetics and neurobiology ofautism.

On the signing ceremony, SUMC’s Executive Dean Junhui Bian briefed the delegates on the overall development of SUMC and the charitable programs that SUMC has been devoted to. Chairman of Shantou Disabled Person’s Federation Mr. Qiu Changyi expressed his hope that this joint program would be helpful to the victims of autism and their families, while Dr. Glenn Bowes, Dean of Medicine ofthe University of Melbourne, described the SUMC-Melbourne cooperation as anembodiment of the humanist values that China and Australia share in common. Vice President of Shantou University Lin Danming expressed congratulations on this significant collaboration between the two universities, and encouraged SUMC to provide better and better services to the community through charitable activities. University of Melbourne’s Pro Vice-Chancellor Simon Evans suggested that both parties work harder toward long-term and closer cooperation and exchange.

The first autism training workshop took place on September 27-28 in Shantou, China, where over ten experts and scholars from University of Melbourne and Mental Health Center of SUMC provided professional training for 150 participants.