An important workshop focusing on health and ageing in both China and the UK, took place at the University of Birmingham earlier this month, followed by a day of research meetings.

The workshop was hosted by The China Institute, the School of Social Policy and the College of Social Sciences. It encompassed discussion of a large scale longitudinal survey being carried out by Professor Wang Jun and team from the Central University for Finance and Economics in Beijing, and the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, as well as presentations on health, effectiveness, health care and hospital reform, health and social care, health care worker motivation in urban China, older people's experiences of self-funding social care, micro-enterprise and social enterprise, understanding Chinese households' saving, consumption and health behaviours, and older people and social capital.

Two Directors of Health Care Services in two key provinces in China participated, and the workshop formed the basis for further significant research collaboration between the universities and for an ongoing visiting researcher programme.

"The workshop was excellent. We now have a firm basis to take forward research collaboration between our universities. We look forward to building significantly on this workshop and forging new research opportunities" (Professor Wang Jun)

Professor Barbara Fawcett said, "The workshop enabled research to be shared and took collaboration to a new level. The participants from the University, Ross Millar, Denise Tanner, Catherine Needham, Kelly Hall, Fiona Carmichael and Alessandra Guerliglia and the PhD students, Xiaocong Yang, Yanan Zhang, Danying Li and Li Fu, were excellent and the workshop was brilliantly supported by Shruti Doshi from The China Institute and by Marie Greene from the School of Social Policy."

Visit to the Lapworth Museum of Geology, University of Birmingham