Monday, 02 February 2026
The University of Nottingham and the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) have announced the launch of a new Division of Life and Health Sciences at the UNNC campus to deliver innovative solutions to global health challenges.
The new division will create a high-level, cross-regional platform for education, research, and innovation in life and health sciences and cultivate future leaders in the field, further advancing Sino-British collaboration in life sciences.
It will focus on key areas including Pharmacology, Psychology, Biomedical Engineering, and other health sciences and will integrate the University of Nottingham’s world-class strengths in life and health sciences with UNNC’s distinctive advantages rooted in China and serving regional development.
Professor Jon Garibaldi, Provost of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), said: “Over the past two decades, UNNC has educated tens of thousands of internationally minded professionals rooted in China while continuously expanding cooperation in scientific innovation, industry engagement, and social service.
As Sino-British relations enter a new stage, the joint establishment of the Division of Life and Health Sciences underscores UNNC’s evolution from a pioneer of educational cooperation into a leading powerhouse for multi-sector innovation, contributing sustained educational and scientific momentum to a closer, more pragmatic, and mutually beneficial Sino-British partnership.
The new division will further leverage the University of Nottingham’s globally leading research capabilities. Professor Sir Peter Mansfield at the University of Nottingham pioneered the development of MRI technology and was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2003. Building on his legacy, a new national MRI facility is currently under construction on its University Park campus which will house the UK’s most powerful magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner and give researchers and doctors unprecedented insights into brain function and the mechanisms of human disease.
Since its founding, UNNC has introduced high-quality UK educational resources and fostered deep collaboration in education, talent cultivation, and cultural exchange. Building on this foundation, the university has achieved a series of landmark collaborative research knowledge exchange outcomes in areas such as intelligent manufacturing, green energy, and life and health sciences. Notably, through the University of Nottingham Medical Imaging Centre Ningbo Branch - established by leveraging the university’s original Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology - UNNC has participated in the development of the world’s first multi-positional, nitrogen-free MRI system, now in clinical use.
Through joint academic appointments, collaborative teaching, and shared research programmes, the new division will build an internationally benchmarked academic team and establish a full talent development pathway from undergraduate to doctoral level, promoting global talent mobility through cross-campus exchanges, clinical placements, and research training, accelerating innovation and the translation of research outcomes.
The establishment of the Division of Life and Health Sciences marks a new milestone in UNNC’s more than twenty years of Sino-British educational cooperation. As the UK and China’s first Sino-foreign cooperative university approved by the Ministry of Education, UNNC has played a pioneering role in connecting Chinese and UK higher education.
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More information is available from Emma Thorne, Head of News in the Press Office at The University of Nottingham, on emma.thorne@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 97 in the world and 17th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the third most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2024 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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