Ayurveda Joins SCO Traditional Medicine Education Dialogue in China

Ayurveda took a place in an international traditional medicine education dialogue in China this week, as an Indian educator participated in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s 2026 Forum on Traditional Medicine and signed an education partnership with a leading Chinese traditional medicine university.

Dr Dhanwantari Jha, representing Ayurved Nidhi, was invited to the Traditional Medicine Education Dialogue held in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, on 17 September. The session brought together more than 100 experts, university representatives and scholars from countries including Russia, France, Portugal, Belarus, South Korea, Pakistan and India, according to Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which hosted the dialogue.

The wider forum ran from 16 to 18 September under the theme “Empowering Traditional Medicine with Modern Technology to Co-build Human Health for All.” It gathered government representatives, academics, healthcare experts and industry participants to discuss traditional medicine education, standards, technology, research and international cooperation.

The education session focused on two issues of growing importance as traditional medicine becomes more international: alignment of education standards and qualification recognition, and the use of digital technology together with industry-education cooperation in training practitioners.

Jha’s contribution centred on the view that international traditional medicine education should encourage mutual understanding rather than uniformity. He proposed introductory learning about other traditional medical systems within professional education, greater use of digital platforms for international Ayurveda education, development of shared educational resources, comparative research, and mechanisms that would help students and professionals from different systems understand one another. He presented Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine as distinct knowledge traditions that could learn from each other through structured education and academic cooperation.

A major development during the visit was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Ayurved Nidhi and Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The agreement establishes a framework for cooperation in educational programmes, faculty and student interaction, online and offline learning, practical workshops, academic exchange and research.

Jiangxi University is part of the SCO Medical University Alliance, a platform established under the SCO framework for cooperation in medical education, research and clinical services. The MOU therefore links an Indian Ayurveda education organisation with a Chinese academic institution already active in a wider regional network.

The education dialogue also produced a broader institutional step: the launch of the International Education Alliance for Traditional Medical Techniques. Representatives from Russia, India, Belarus and other participating institutions spoke and signed the alliance initiative. It is built around the principles of Diversity, Inheritance and Innovation and covers areas including joint technical training programmes, cross-border education, an international curriculum resource database, academic exchange, education research, scientific research and dissemination of traditional medicine culture.

Jha has been developing international Ayurveda education through Ayurved Nidhi, using online and offline teaching to reach students outside India. That experience aligned with the forum’s emphasis on digital transformation. The host university identified digital empowerment as one of three major directions for traditional medicine education, alongside education-standard cooperation and integration between education and industry. University president Zhu Weifeng called for traditional medicine education resources to cross geographical boundaries and become more accessible to students internationally.

Jha’s position was that digital education should extend traditional learning rather than replace its practical and teacher-led foundations. Under this approach, online platforms can provide theoretical knowledge and international access, while universities, teachers and clinical institutions remain responsible for structured education, mentorship and practical competence.

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The education dialogue formed one part of a larger SCO traditional medicine agenda. The 2026 forum opened in Nanchang on 17 September, with participants discussing inheritance and innovation, digital technology, industrial cooperation and cultural exchange. The event included exhibitions, cultural activities, research exchanges and visits to traditional medicine institutions. The SCO Traditional Medicine Forum was established following a 2019 initiative and has developed into a platform for exchanging experience and discussing cooperation; the 2024 forum concluded with the Nanchang Consensus.

India’s Ayurveda and China’s Traditional Chinese Medicine developed through distinct historical and intellectual traditions. The emerging international education framework discussed in Nanchang seeks to create mechanisms through which such systems can interact while maintaining their diversity. For Ayurved Nidhi, the meeting represented participation in a high-level international education dialogue, entry into a new international education alliance, and an institutional partnership with Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The forum’s broader message was that traditional medicine is increasingly being discussed not only in terms of preserving historical knowledge, but also in terms of education standards, technology, research, international cooperation and the movement of knowledge across borders. The India-China connection established in Nanchang offers one example of how two different traditional medical systems can engage through a common language of education, research and mutual learning.