In recent years, the Ministry of Education has vigorously promoted the national digital education strategy. It advocates advancing online education, smart classrooms and virtual simulation teaching via curriculum construction and teaching model innovation, to build a brand-new digital education ecosystem. Against such a backdrop, the development of intelligent courses has become a vital approach for universities to fulfill the fundamental task of fostering virtue and cultivating talent and boost high-quality education.

Responding proactively to the digital and intelligent upgrade of education, the Teaching & Research Section of Medical Ultrastructure, Department of Pathology, Xiangya School of Basic Medical Sciences, together with the Electron Microscopy & Ultrastructural Pathology Subspecialty of the Department of Pathology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, has developed Version 1.0 of the world’s first dedicated intelligent course Medical Ultrastructure and Ultrastructural Pathology. The course is built on the Zhihuishu Online Education Platform (Zhihuishu).

It will officially go live on Zhihuishu on September 20, 2025 and be open to all medical educators and students nationwide.

Under the guidance of the school, hospital and Department of Pathology, Associate Professor Wang Junpu leads the course development team. Core members include Professor Wu Xiaoying, Lecturer Yi Hanxi and other faculty from the teaching section, as well as teachers and frontline clinicians from Xiangya’s three affiliated hospitals, forming a robust teaching cohort.

The course also received generous support from peer experts across multiple institutions, namely Professor Wang Daliang from Tsinghua University, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Hunan Normal University, University of South China and Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital.

Integrating premium resources from the Biomedical Electron Microscopy Laboratory of Xiangya School of Basic Medical Sciences and the Ultrastructural Pathology Diagnostic Center of Xiangya Hospital, this course stands as China’s only specialized intelligent course featuring Xiangya’s exclusive disciplinary characteristics. It is poised to exert far-reaching academic influence and set a benchmark for similar educational innovations. Besides, the first supporting textbook compiled by the course team will be published soon.

The course takes root in Xiangya’s profound academic legacy, whose origin can be traced back to the landmark research on the Mawangdui Han Dynasty mummy.

In the winter of 1972, experts nationwide gathered in Changsha to cooperate with the research team of Hunan Medical College, the predecessor of Xiangya School of Medicine, to study the well-preserved Mawangdui mummy. After repeated demonstrations, the team decided to conduct anatomical research. While many scholars hesitated, Professor Peng Longxiang, then Director of the Pathological Anatomy Teaching & Research Section, volunteered to perform the dissection. With strong professional responsibility and exquisite technical skills, he completed the procedure perfectly and laid a solid foundation for subsequent research.

Professor Peng once recalled: “Anatomical research demands rigorous thinking as well as down-to-earth hard work.” To capture ideal microscopic images, he often stayed working overnight until dawn.

To further advance the Mawangdui research, Professor Peng and other senior scholars made persistent efforts. With strong backing from the Ministry of Health and CPC Hunan Provincial Committee, Xiangya introduced its first batch of electron microscopy equipment in 1979, built the Biomedical Electron Microscopy Platform, and officially founded the Teaching & Research Section of Medical Ultrastructure. These moves greatly pushed forward the development of ultrastructural medicine domestically.

In 1984, Professor Peng attended an international academic conference in the United States, presenting China’s Mawangdui research outcomes to the global academic circle. His work fully embodied the timeless Xiangya spirit:Integrity, Courage, Diligence, Prudence;Sincerity, Benevolence, Modesty, Humility;Seek truth and precision; Pursue in-depth, dedicated scholarship.

Observe subtle structures under the microscope, decode medical puzzles with surgical precision. When asked what words he would leave for Xiangya students, Professor Peng said earnestly: “Opportunities always favor the prepared mind.”

Carrying forward Xiangya’s precious academic tradition and Professor Peng’s instructions, and building on decades of disciplinary accumulation, the ultrastructural pathology subspecialty seized the opportunity in Central South University’s first round of intelligent course construction. By deeply integrating the curriculum with information technology, the discipline realized a leap forward from traditional classroom teaching to intelligent online courses.

The course constructs a three-dimensional knowledge graph system of “knowledge – questions – competencies”. Relying on intelligent technologies and resource reorganization, it supports independent, interactive and personalized learning for students. Powered by the Zhihuishu platform and AI teaching assistants, the course delivers learning status analysis, customized resource recommendation and automatic Q&A functions. These tools free teachers to focus on instructional design and comprehensively improve students’ research literacy and clinical thinking capabilities.

Digital and intelligent transformation shifts the course model from static knowledge delivery to dynamic interactive co-learning. The national online launch extends Xiangya’s high-quality educational resources beyond offline classrooms to an open nationwide learning ecosystem, further broadening the boundary and depth of medical teaching.

In the future, the course team will deepen cooperation with the Zhihuishu platform, continuously promote joint curriculum development and intelligent teaching innovation, and contribute to cultivating high-caliber medical talents with innovative thinking and solid research capabilities.

Source: Department of Pathology, Xiangya School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University

First Reviewer: Liu Xueyuan

Second Reviewer: Wang Junpu

Final Reviewer: Wang Kuansong

Translator: Zeng Xiangni