Professor Christoph Gutenbrunner, President of Rehabilitation International (RI), Visits UHRS

On the morning of July 1, Professor Christoph Gutenbrunner, President of Rehabilitation International (RI), visited the University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (UHRS) for exchanges. Liu Qiji, Vice President of UHRS, and Xie Shengquan, Academic Vice President, met with the guests and held discussions.

Liu Qiji welcomed President Gutenbrunner and his delegation on behalf of the university and introduced the university's situation. He noted that Rehabilitation International, with a century-long history, is the earliest international organization to actively advocate for the rehabilitation and services of persons with disabilities. It was the first to propose the internationally recognized "barrier-free" symbol and has played an important role in promoting major international initiatives such as the United Nations International Year of Disabled Persons and the formulation and implementation of the UN World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons. UHRS adheres to the positioning of "a high starting point, small and elite, research-oriented, and internationalized" and is a new-type research university focused on health promotion. The university serves the cause of persons with disabilities, actively responds to population aging, and promotes health for all people across the full life cycle and in all dimensions. It accurately understands changes, responds scientifically, proactively seeks change, and actively leads change; it advances discipline construction around national missions, strengthens "rehabilitation+" interdisciplinary integration, promotes science-education integration, industry-education integration, and medicine-education integration, enhances international exchange and cooperation, and empowers the development of "China's Health Bay." He expressed the hope that the two sides would cooperate in talent cultivation, scientific research, and academic exchanges.

Gutenbrunner stated that global demand for rehabilitation continues to rise, while the supply of high-level rehabilitation professionals is insufficient and the gap is huge; the higher education system for rehabilitation urgently needs improvement. UHRS is the world's first university named after rehabilitation, attracts international attention, and is a university that shoulders a special mission and develops rehabilitation higher education in a systematic and full-fledged manner, highlighting China's great emphasis on rehabilitation higher education and public health. Rehabilitation International was founded in 1922, has its secretariat in New York, USA, and has more than 700 members and associate members in nearly 100 countries, as well as several international organization members. It has specialized committees on rehabilitation, education, employment, and accessible technology, and is an international non-governmental organization long dedicated to promoting the rehabilitation and welfare of persons with disabilities. He expressed the hope that the two sides would carry out exchanges and cooperation in the field of disability and rehabilitation around the joint construction of the "RI Global Collaborative Research Center" and the "RI Global Autism Research Center."

Professor Hao Jianping of UHRS and responsible persons from the Party and Government Office (Office of Cooperation and Development), the School of Rehabilitation Science and Engineering, and the School of Social Development participated in related activities.

Chinese source: Official website of the University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

The English version is for reference only. If there are differences between the English version and the Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.