A team from Flinders University visited Nankai last week to launch a major research collaboration between Australian and Chinese partners.

The new Australia-China Centre for Personal Health Technologies aims to provide real-time health solutions thanks to a grant of almost $940,000 from the Australian Government, through the Australia-China Science and Research Fund (ACSRF), and reciprocal funding through the Chinese government.

It will enable Flinders and Nankai Universities and collaborators to develop detection and monitoring devices for smart phones and wearables, building on local and international partnerships. This includes using smartphone apps to test fluids such as saliva and sweat in the field.

The primary goal for the Joint Research Centre will be a device capable of measuring a wide range of biomarkers, which can be incorporated into a smartphone platform and link to e-health services for further analysis by medical professionals.

Reported in Nankai University’s news, the visit timed with the 2019 graduation ceremony for the long-standing Flinders-Nankai Masters programs.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Colin Stirling says the world-class centre is set deliver revolutionary technology that will change the course of people’s lives.

“It will gather experts in industry and academia, and combine their strengths across areas such as technology, medicine, chemistry, engineering and biotechnology, resulting in the development of smart devices that enable the detection, prevention and early intervention of common diseases,” Professor Stirling says.

These smart devices, and associated e-health services, will empower people to take more control over their own health and wellbeing.

The partnership, led by Flinders University, will involve a number of other partners in addition to Nankai University, including La Trobe University and Motherson Innovations (an Adelaide-based manufacturer) in Australia, and Shandong Academy of Sciences, South China University of Technology and Shenzhen AIGen Biotech in China.

Professor Stirling said at the launch that Flinders’ new and existing relationships will be central to the success of the centre.

The Flinders and Nankai partnership has flourished for almost twenty years, producing close to 6000 graduates across International Relations, Educational Leadership and Hospital Administration disciplines.

The 2019 graduation ceremony was held on 14 June 2019.