In order to further deepen the cooperation with the renowned German cancer research institutions, expand the depth and breadth of international cooperation, and explore new areas of external exchanges and cooperation, from October 27 to November 2 2024, Professor Hao Jihui, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Tianjin Medical University, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital, led an academic delegation to Germany for exchange visits. The delegation visited German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and its affiliated institutions: Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg Ion Therapy Center (HIT), Hector Cancer Institute at University Medicine Mannheim, German Cancer Consortium, Technische Universität München (TUM) Klinikum, and Ludwig Maximilians Universität (LMU) Klinikum. During the visit, the delegation also held a Young Scholars Exchange Meeting in Germany.

Professor Michael Baumann, the President of DKFZ, and the person in charge of scientific research and education warmly received the delegation. Both sides reviewed the cooperation achievements since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in 2018, and further discussed and reached consensus on deepening the strategic partnership, expanding multi-disciplinary exchanges, joint clinical research, and the training of high-level medical talents.

The delegation visited the radiology department, MRI, CT, PET-CT, ultrasound diagnosis and treatment, and radiotherapy department of DKFZ, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), and National Cancer Prevention Center (NCPC), and exchanged with clinical researchers on cutting-edge clinical technologies and research results.

In addition, the delegation paid visits to HIT in Germany, and gained a detailed understanding of the equipment development, construction process of the treatment center, technical features, and the operation of the center through exchanges with the technical directors and clinical doctors.

During the visit, the delegation held a Young Scholars Exchange Meeting in Heidelberg, Germany, attracting more than 50 overseas talents. President Hao Jihui emphasized that the hospital attached importance to talents and expected to gather global talented people to promote discipline construction and innovative development.

Vice President Zhang Xiaoliang introduced the hospital’s developmental strategy of talented person and publicized the policies for attracting and cultivating talents, research directions, resources and benefits, and employment conditions. Dr. Yu Jun, Director of the Pancreatic Cancer Prevention and Treatment Research Center, and Dr. Huang Sheng, a medical physicist from the Department of Radiation Therapy, shared personal experiences and achievements in discipline development. During the exchange session, young scholars asked several questions about talent introduction, standardized training policies, and career development, and Vice President Zhang Xiaoliang answered every single one.

To further strengthen the mutual learning and communication with well-known German university hospitals and cancer research institutions, and to build a high-level platform for exchanges and cooperation in various disciplines, during this visit, the delegation of Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital visited Univerisität Klinikum Heidelberg, Hector Cancer Institute at University Medicine Mannheim, TUM Klinikum, and LMU Klinikum. Representatives of experts in pancreatic tumors, breast tumors, lung tumors, radiation therapy, and ultrasound imaging from the delegation fully demonstrated our hospital’s advantages and characteristics in clinical and scientific research, and reached a number of consensuses with the visited institutions on scientific research cooperation, talent training, and personnel exchanges, laying a solid foundation for the development of substantive cooperation for the next step.

The hospital delegation’s visit was intensive and fruitful. The delegation had in-depth academic exchanges with German counterparts, found new points for international cooperation, promoted and deepened understanding, enhanced friendship, strengthened existing cooperation results, and further improved the level of cooperation. It also opened up new platforms for external exchanges and cooperation through multiple channels, and created a broader prospect for both sides in the future in terms of talent training, academic exchanges, and promoting high-level exchanges and cooperation in multiple disciplines. Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital will take this opportunity to continue to strengthen the international exchanges and cooperation, and further promote the hospital’s international cooperation to a more comprehensive and deeper level.