The fastest establishment of a medical college: A well-known 985 university added 4 clinical colleges in one day, aiming to become the second university in Northeast China!

A top 985 university actually inaugurated four clinical colleges simultaneously within a single day?

Just recently, at the opening ceremony of the 2025 freshmen of the Medical Department of Dalian University of Technology, the School of Clinical Oncology, the First Clinical College, the Second Clinical College and the Third Clinical College all made their appearances.

This marks that DUT has officially established a three-level management system of "university - Medical Department - Clinical College". In simple terms, student cultivation, medical practice and scientific research innovation will now be more closely intertwined, and the growth path for medical talents will be clearer and resources more solid.

What exactly is the background of each clinical college?

The School of Clinical Oncology is actually Liaoning Provincial Cancer Hospital, and it is also known as "Dalian University of Technology Affiliated Cancer Hospital". This hospital is the "ace force" for cancer prevention and treatment in Northeast China - a Grade-A tertiary specialized cancer hospital. It is not only a member unit of the China Anti-Cancer Association, but also holds several titles such as "National Drug Clinical Trial Institution" and "National Cancer Science Popularization and Education Base". Especially in four fields including oncology care, thoracic surgery and gynecology, it has been awarded the title of "National Key Clinical Specialty", which you can understand as reaching the national team level. Even more impressive is that there are 30 doctoral supervisors and 190 master's supervisors here alone. The lineup of students under their guidance can be described as luxurious.

The First Clinical College was transformed from the Affiliated Central Hospital of Dalian University of Technology. The distinctive feature of this hospital is the "intersection of medicine and engineering" - simply put, it applies the thinking and technology of engineering to treating and saving lives. For instance, this year, relying on the platform of DUT, they have successfully obtained 13 projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China at one go. In terms of specialized strength, the Department of Cardiology has just been rated as a national key clinical specialty, and the Department of Geriatrics has also been upgraded to a "provincial key". These breakthroughs undoubtedly gave a strong boost to the regional medical level.

The foundation of the Second Clinical College is Dalian Women and Children's Medical Center. This hospital has several "national-level" platforms in the fields of obstetrics and gynecology, neonatology and hematology: National Key Clinical Specialty of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National Characteristic Specialty of Neonatal Health Care... In addition, there is also an academician inheritance studio within the institute. The team led by Academician Wang Qi of the Chinese Academy of Engineering is stationed here. The teaching team, composed of 16 doctoral supervisors and 75 master's supervisors, provides a solid backing for clinical research and talent cultivation.

The Third Clinical College is based on the Third People's Hospital of Dalian. The hospital's strength lies in ophthalmology - not only is it a national key clinical specialty construction project, but it also serves as the "Liaoning Branch Center of the National Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases". In other words, in the field of ophthalmology, it represents the highest level in Liaoning Province. The hospital has also recruited postdoctoral researchers in the field of biomedical engineering, clearly aiming to make a full effort in the integration of medicine and engineering.

Why is Dalian University of Technology in such a hurry to lay out in the medical field?

In fact, the Medical School of Dalian University of Technology was officially established in 2022. It consists of four colleges, namely the School of Basic Medical Sciences, the School of Pharmacy, and the School of Clinical Medicine, as well as one interdisciplinary research institute of medicine and engineering. This year, the first batch of undergraduate students majoring in clinical medicine at Dalian University of Technology have just enrolled.

The rapid establishment of four clinical colleges in such a short period of time has sent out a strong signal: DUT is determined to "accelerate and overtake" in the medical field.

Those familiar with the layout of higher education institutions know that medicine is the "invisible engine" of university rankings. Top universities like Zhejiang University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Fudan University have almost all achieved a leap in their comprehensive strength by merging with strong medical colleges.

In contrast, other 985 universities in Northeast China: Jilin University merged with Bethune Medical University in its early years, but the development of its medical discipline has been rather lackluster in recent years. Northeastern University has yet to systematically plan for medicine. This time, DUT's "Four colleges in unison" initiative is precisely seizing this window of opportunity - by integrating the clinical resources of local top-tier hospitals, it aims to quickly make up for the shortcomings in medical science.

How can medical strength feed back to a university?

The growth of medical disciplines can not only directly enhance the ranking of universities in international evaluation systems such as ESI (Essential Science Indicators Database). It should be noted that DUT's clinical medicine, pharmacology and toxicology have entered the top 1% globally in ESI, which will also drive research funds, major project applications and the development of interdisciplinary fields.

For instance, DUT originally had prominent advantages in fields such as engineering and materials. Now, through the "intersection of medicine and engineering", it can apply artificial intelligence and robotics technology to surgical assistance and rehabilitation equipment. Apply the new material research and development to implantable medical devices. This integration not only expands the application scenarios of engineering but also injects new technological blood into medical research.

From the perspective of the competitive landscape among universities in Northeast China, if Dalian University of Technology can achieve a breakthrough in medicine, it is expected to challenge for the position of "the second university in Northeast China" in various rankings. Currently, Harbin Institute of Technology firmly holds the top spot in the three northeastern provinces, while Dalian University of Technology, Jilin University and Southeast University are closely competing in the second tier.

For Dalian University of Technology, the establishment of four clinical colleges in a single day is just the beginning. Next, the key lies in whether these colleges can truly break through the "medical-education-research" closed loop: How can frontline cases in hospitals be transformed into classroom cases? How can the research achievements of engineering disciplines be quickly applied in clinical practice? Are the mentor resources sufficient to support the cultivation of students?

For the Northeast region, the competition among universities in the medical field has just heated up. Jilin University needs to consider how to restructure the traditional advantages of Bethune Medical University. If the University of Tokyo wants to enter the medical field, it will face the problem of resource allocation.

In any case, DUT's "four-pronged" move this time has already demonstrated its determination to everyone: not only to become a strong engineering university, but also to develop into a comprehensive highland integrating medicine and engineering.