We invite nominations and applications for the position of Dean of the School of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). The School of BME at SJTU was founded in 2011, but the history of our BME program can be dated back to 1979, when the subject of biomedical instrumentation was first established. It has been consistently ranked among the top three in China by the Ministry of Education, based on national assessment conducted every five years. By leveraging the unique engineering strength of SJTU and significant clinical resources of our teaching hospitals, the school has placed a particular emphasis on “interdisciplinary, international collaboration, and concrete clinical applications”.

The School has about 100 full time faculty members and nearly 900 full time students, including over 600 graduate students. Our research has three major themes: 1) biomedical instrumentation; 2) nano, molecular and regenerative medicine; and 3) imaging, computational and systems biomedicine. To promote interdisciplinary research and clinical translation, the School has led a number of university-wide collaborative centres and institutes, including the Med-X Institute, established to conduct clinically driven basic research and development, supported by joint research centres with top ranked hospitals in China.

To nurture the new generation engineers and scientists in BME, our program has focused on the ability of the students to master and synthesize knowledge across different disciplines with in-depth understanding of the human and societal needs from different cultures and economic background. Our undergraduate students are enrolled through a highly selective process with all students ranked within top 0.1% of those entering the National College Entrance Exams nationwide. The number of graduate students has also grown steadily in recent years and more than 80% of these post-graduate students come from top ranked universities. Our School is the first in China to have its BME program accredited by ABET, demonstrating its quality and international standard. It is also among the first to be classified into the top tier programs by the Ministry of Education.

Cultivation of new talents has been the core of our education program. We have been exploring new models of training to prepare our students to become the future leaders in BME with strong social responsibility and intellectual intensity required to meet the new challenges of our society. For research training, we have developed a curriculum that combines classroom instruction and hands-on research. Close partnership with clinical collaborators provides a strong foundation for translating advances to first clinical use. The students work closely with our faculty and actively contribute to our mission of scientific discovery, innovation, and translational research that transform human health. To support our students to compete at an international level, our students are encouraged to register in different dual degree programs or short exchanges. These include, for example, the popular programs jointly managed with the KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden), Heidelberg University (Germany), Northwestern University (US), and Jones Hopkins University (US).

Our School recruits top quality faculty worldwide to conduct high-impact research.  It was among the first at SJTU to establish the faculty tenure system and encourages our staff to engage in original research that addresses unmet clinical needs and has tangible translational values. The School has recently completed its new round of strategic planning and is in the process of constructing a new 43,000 sqm building with state-of-the-art research and teaching facilities. This will help accelerate the development of our School into the next decade, underpinned by new scientific breakthroughs, novel clinical translations and viable technology transfer.

We expect that the new Dean will bring exceptional leadership skills, energy and enthusiasm to bring the School to a new height. The candidate should have extensive experience in academic administration, a strong and innovative vision, and an established track record in multidisciplinary research and international collaboration.  

A search committee consisting of international leaders in BME and SJTU administration representatives has been convened to conduct the search and to recommend finalists to the SJTU management board.

Position profile

The Dean is the chief academic and administrative officer of the School.  Key to the responsibilities of this position, this leader will:

● set the strategic vision and provide leadership in the School’s pursuit of its goals of providing high quality undergraduate and graduate education and research;

● recruit and maintain an excellent faculty;

● create and support educational programs of the highest quality;

● attract excellent undergraduate and graduate students;

● create collaborative opportunities with other schools and research institutes within SJTU and nationally/ internationally;

● enhance productive relationships with alumni, donors, and local, national, and international communities.

The Dean plays a major leadership role in the broader SJTU community, stimulating and facilitating synergistic collaboration with other schools and research institutes.  The new Dean of BME will have a unique opportunity to build on a solid foundation of excellence in research and education, and to further enhance the mission and success of the School. In this context, the Dean would pursue the following goals:

● Pursue innovative and strategic research directions, so to expand the areas of research excellence of the School along directions that will differentiate itself among peer institutions.

● Expand interdisciplinary research engagements, by promoting the investigation of research challenges that are at the crossing of established disciplinary domains within the School and in close collaboration with other world leaders in BME.

● Expand the research impact of the School, by encouraging and promoting research in new BME domains, striving to explore, innovate, and educate where the healthcare needs, opportunities, and societal values are, and would be in the future.

● Grow and expand the diversity of the faculty and graduate student population of the School including gender, ethnicity, country of origin, and cultural background.

Candidate Qualifications

An earned doctorate, and a record of progressive and visionary academic leadership experience in higher education are required. The ideal candidate should be an internationally recognized scholar with the desire, ability, and vision to sustain a leadership role within an organization that is in the forefront of developing new models for research and scholarship, graduate education, and undergraduate education.

The new Dean will hold a faculty rank equivalent to the rank of Chair Professor at the School, will possess demonstrated effectiveness in planning, administration, and personnel and fiscal management; substantial evidence of leading sustainable transformation in diversity and inclusion initiatives; demonstrated effectiveness in working with a diverse student body, faculty, staff, other university constituents, and external organizations; and the ability to work collaboratively with academic divisions/research institutes and international partners to create curricular and co-curricular components that advance student experiences and research partnerships. The new Dean will need to employ a high level of administrative acumen in leading the School within the SJTU.

Applications should include a CV and a cover letter that articulates the candidate’s interest and experience for the deanship at the School.  These be emailed as a PDF document to sjtuzzb@sjtu.edu.cn before April 30 of 2022.  Interested candidates could also send email to the above for any question.