From June 20-21, 2023, Dominique Vuitton, the head of the University of Burgundy Franche-Comté (UBFC) in France, and Yevgenya Pashayan-Leroy, director of international affairs, visited the Medical School of Ningbo University (NBU) and participated in a series of activities. They were accompanied by Xavier Assfeld, Science and Technology Consul at the French Consulate General in Shanghai, and Romain Jacquet, Counselor for Health, Social Affairs, and Labor at the French Embassy in China.

The visit from UBFC delegation realized in the signing of a cooperation agreement between NBU and UBFC. On June 20, the secretary of the Party Committee of Ningbo University Zhu Da received the visiting delegation, with Vice President Yao Juming hosting the meeting. Romain, Yevgenya, and Liu Yu, Executive Director of Ningbo University's Medical School, spoke about the collaboration in clinical medicine between the two universities. The cooperation agreement was successfully signed under the joint witness of the university leaders and the French diplomatic mission in China, promoting deeper cooperation between the two universities in areas such as medical French training, basic medicine, clinical medicine, public health, and drug development.

The delegation from the University of Burgundy also attended a series of activities organized by the Medical School. On the 20^th, they visited the Fangqiao Branch area of the First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University. With the introduction of Deputy Dean Sun Jie, the guests learned about the hospital's medical philosophy, intelligent services, and logistics support. They unanimously praised the modern consultation process and intelligent medical service environment. On the 21^st, they attended the graduation ceremony and degree awarding ceremony for postgraduates of 2023, together sending sincere blessings to Wang Fangmin, a doctoral graduate of the Medical School. Wang is the first clinical medicine graduate with dual degrees from NBU and UBFC, who studied jointly at UBFC from 2020 to 2022. Wang Qianyong, Executive Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, deputy director of the Medical School, accompanied the guests at the ceremony.

Through this exchange, the cooperation between Ningbo University and the University of Burgundy Franche-Comté will be closer and their friendship will deepen. The two Unversities will further strengthen cooperation in areas such as teacher-student exchanges, doctor training, and scientific research teaching, cultivate medical talents with an international vision, achieve common development, and mutually beneficial cooperation.

Note: The cooperation between Ningbo University and the University of Burgundy Franche-Comté began in 2013 and has been fruitful. In 2020, Ningbo University was approved by the Ministry of Education for the "Sino-French Clinical Medicine Dual Doctoral Program" held in cooperation with the University of Burgundy. In 2022, the joint doctoral program in clinical medicine between the two universities was approved by the China Scholarship Council and established as an "Innovative International Talent Cooperation Training Project", where participating students can receive full funding. Currently, there are three master's and doctoral students being jointly trained in France at the Medical School.