Author: Zhao Chengyi, Liu Xin, Li Jingyang

Translated by: Cao Mi, Wu Xia

In the five years of study, the first batch of graduates in Basic Medical Science from the School of Basic Medical Science have achieved fruitful results. In this 16-person class, students published 15 SCI papers, obtained the scholarship up to 121,000 yuan and won the prestigious Baosteel Special Award for Excellent Students and Top Ten Outstanding Students Award. For those taking postgraduate entrance examinations, 90% gained a success. All 13 people will enter Tsinghua University, Peking University and other domestic first-class universities and scientific research institutes to further their study.

In 2016, with the approval of the Ministry of Education, a new undergraduate major, Basic Medical Science, was added to the School of Basic Medical Science, aiming to train excellent future medical educators and scientists in China. It is targeted for students with a curiosity about scientific research and willingness to engage in medical research. In 2020, the Basic Medical Science major was selected as the first batch of majors in the plan of strengthening basic disciplines.

Start a new major from scratch.

The graduates said, "I felt deeply dumbfounded when I learned that I was transferred to the School of Basic Medical Science. I had little knowledge about this major, nor did I know the employment prospects in the future. To be honest, we didn't have much confidence in this major at the beginning. As the first batch of undergraduates in Basic Medical Science, we did not have the guidance of seniors. Facing a brand-new curriculum and training model, we had to rely on ourselves to explore it step by step. Looking back, we started from scratch, and we worked together with the college to explore how to make our major better and stronger."

The admissions at the first year was not so smooth due to unfamiliarity and vague prospects. Basic Medical Science was not the first choice for all 16 students in this class when they entered the university. There were a lot of challenges including the students' wavering attitudes and the lack of relevant training experience. However, the college took advantage of the school's high-quality teaching expertise and teaching conditions and made bold explorations. A training model combining small size class, personalized cultivation, internationalization and tutorial guidance for them was then carried out.

One-to-one tutor can inspire passion for scientific research.

In order to promote students' understanding of their majors, cultivate their interest in scientific research, and consolidate their professional knowledge, the college organized independent and small-size class teaching for the students to ensure that they could enjoy the best teaching and management resources. Not long after they entered the university, the college held a tutor meeting and arranged for each student a doctoral tutor to provide one-to-one guidance. They enjoyed the treatment of graduate students at the beginning of their freshman year.

The students said, "Thanks to my tutor, or I might have transferred my major in the freshman year. My tutor is very concerned about my study and life and provides me with all-around research training and careful guidance, which influences me a lot. I am very grateful to my tutor."

"In the laboratory, I received systematic scientific research training together with postgraduate students, including literature reading, experimental operations, data analysis, paper writing, and project designing. With the help of my tutor, I am able to preside over the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for College Students and published many papers."

Collaborate to educate students and expand their international horizons.

The school also strives to build a training platform for in-campus and off-campus collaboration and collaborate with foreign universities. The aim is to expand students' horizons in scientific research and cultivate students' innovative abilities. The college organized the students to take an internship in Corregen, a biotechnology company based in Beijing, to the Sun Yat-sen University School of Medicine to participate the theoretical and experimental courses for Grade 2016 students in Basic Medical Science for one week, to carry out a 3-month internship at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, and to conduct academic exchange at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada for one month. With the guidance of their tutors, many students participated in national competitions such as the National Medical Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum, the National College Student Innovation Research and Experimental Design Forum, and many other large-scale international and national academic conferences. Through those practices and exchanges, the students could follow the trends of cutting-edge research, broaden their horizons, deepen their interest in their majors, and strengthen their determination to devote themselves to the research of basic medical science.

Over the past five years, the students had undertaken a total of 17 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Programs for College Students and published 15 SCI articles, of which 5 were first-authored or co-authored by them, with the highest Impact Factor reaching 11.059 and being published in the zone 1 SCI.

 Develop comprehensively and achieve continuous growth.

Their campus life goes far beyond the monotonous repetitions from dormitory to classroom and library or laboratory. They also take an active role in various Party and Youth League activities, voluntary services, cultural and sports entertainments, and social practice.

They actively participated in voluntary activities such as Wuhan Marathon, provided medical guidance in Zhongnan Hospital, and protected the cherry blossom in Cherry Blossom Festival. They also took part in the football matches, Top Ten Singer Contest in WHU, and conducted social practice research on shared bicycles in Wuhan. The atmosphere of the class is warm and harmonious through dining, singing, watching movies, visiting museums, playing badminton games, etc.

The students are diligent, with no one failing the exams. They won three highest amount scholarships including the Baosteel Special Award for Outstanding Students, Yu Gang· Song Xiao Scholarship and Lei Jun Scholarship. The class was once awarded the Advanced Class in WHU. One student even purchased a course worth 2,000 yuan and shared it with students in the laboratory. The continuous progress of the class and the rapid growth of each student are inseparable from their own day-to-day assiduous study, as well as the excellent campus environment and resources provided by the university. It also demonstrates the college's success in its training model.

It is hoped that, in the future, more leading talents in the fields of basic medical science with solid professional foundation, abundant clinical knowledge, expertise in scientific research, innovation and courage to take the lead will be cultivated to serve the national strategic needs of building Healthy China and continue to improve people’s health and well-being.