News

The Joint Summer School was established in 2012 as an international joint program among the Keio University Graduate School of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet (Sweden), King's College London (UK), and Peking University Health Science Center (China). The program brings together outstanding doctoral students from each country to learn the latest insights from faculty members at each university and deepen research exchange among students. The four participating universities take turns hosting the program, which is centered around a series of lectures.

The Joint Summer School 2025 was held from Monday, June 30 to Friday, July 4, hosted by the Peking University Health Science Center, under the theme “Artificial Intelligence in Medicine.” The three participating institutions—Peking University, King’s College London, and Keio University—each sent between 2 and 5 faculty members and approximately 4 to 10 doctoral students. From Keio University, led by Professor Masato Yasui of the Department of Pharmacology, a founding member of the program, lectures were given by Project Professor Takahiko Koyama of WPI-Bio2Q and Project Professor Hisateru Tachimori of the Department of Health Policy and Management. From Peking University and King’s College London, lectures were given by faculty members specializing in diverse fields, including health data science, biostatistics and health informatics, biomedical engineering and imaging sciences. Lectures were followed by lively Q&A sessions and active discussions among participants whose research topics were already aligned.

The program provided numerous opportunities for discussion, fostering vibrant interaction that transcended the boundaries between students and faculty. On the third day of the program, student volunteers from Peking University led a campus tour. As they explored the vast grounds, spontaneous conversations unfolded among students and faculty from other universities, offering a valuable opportunity to build lasting connections. Building on these exchanges, a Round Table Session was held after the lectures concluded. Faculty members introduced discussion topics based on their areas of research, while students actively voiced their perspectives from the audience, resulting in a lively and multifaceted discussion on the future of AI in medicine.

On the final day, doctoral students were divided into groups and gave presentations in response to questions prepared in advance by the instructors, drawing on their own research fields and original ideas. The students presented diverse and insightful perspectives on key issues in AI in medicine, including its usefulness, limitations, and the evolving relationship between humans and AI.

The Joint Summer School 2026 is scheduled to be hosted by King’s College London, continuing under the theme of “AI × Health Science.” The program is expected to foster future global leaders and lead to the formation of an international alliance on “AI × Health Science” among the participating institutions.