On June 13, 2024, Premier Li Qiang began an official visit to New Zealand. The next day, he attended the closing ceremony of the China-New Zealand Education Forum. At the event, SCUT's Party Secretary Zhang Xichun and University of Canterbury Vice-Chancellor Cheryl de la Rey signed an agreement to establish the Smart Medical Automation International Cooperation Joint Laboratory. The signing was witnessed by education ministers from both countries. The laboratory will conduct research on human-centric smart healthcare systems and automation, AI-assisted diagnosis and screening, and next-generation intelligent medical devices.

Signing ceremony of the joint laboratory cooperation agreement

Group photo of participants from both institutions