The International Academy of Red Cross & Red Crescent (IARC), jointly founded by the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC), Soochow University and the Chinese Red Cross Foundation, is a teaching and research institution dedicated to the research, talent cultivation, culture communication and academic exchanges concerning the Red Cross movement. It is the first Red Cross academy in the world.

The 120-year-old Soochow University, one of the earliest universities in China engaged in research on the Red Cross movement, set up in 2005 the Red Cross Movement Research Center, the first of its kind in China. Over the past 15 years, the research center has made remarkable academic achievements and developed into a flagship base for research on the Red Cross movement in China, which boasts a team of outstanding researchers and a number of influential publications such as Research on the Red Cross Movement and the Red Cross Culture Series. According to the cooperation agreement signed by the RCSC, Soochow University and the Chinese Red Cross Foundation in Beijing on June 30, 2019, the International Academy of Red Cross & Red Crescent (IARC) was officially established on August 31, 2019.

Committed to co-building and sharing humanitarian education, the IARC actively promotes scientific research and talent cultivation in the humanitarian field. It is a secondary college affiliated to Soochow University and also serves as the Institute on Chinese Red Cross Movement. The academy has 6 teaching & research centers, i.e. Teaching & Research Center of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Teaching & Research Center of International Humanitarian Law and Humanitarian Policy, Teaching & Research Center of “Belt and Road” Humanitarian Cooperation, Teaching & Research Center of “Nightingale” Nursing, Teaching & Research Center of Emergency Management and Humanitarian Action, and Teaching & Research Center of Humanitarian Resource Mobilization and Communication.

The IARC offers master’s and doctoral programs for advanced study in the humanitarian field, a minor-program for undergraduates who are interested in the humanitarian work, as well as short- and mid-term training sessions and advanced seminars on humanitarian affairs. It is expected to become a highland of scientific research and personnel training for the Red Cross movement, a base for dissemination of the knowledge of the Red Cross movement, a think tank for the development of the Chinese humanitarian cause, and a platform for academic exchanges and international cooperation in the humanitarian field. 

The International Academy of Red Cross & Red Crescent will continue to uphold the development concept of innovation and change, actively seek support from the government and relevant departments, and expand its influence at home and abroad. It will strengthen publicity, extensively mobilize social resources (looking for co-sponsors), implement incentive policies to attract talents from all over the world, and create a supportive environment for scientific research. Serving as a platform for research and dissemination of the idea of building a community of shared future for mankind put forth by General Secretary Xi Jinping, the academy will help strengthen the humanitarian cooperation between China and the Belt and Road countries, and contribute Chinese wisdom and solutions to the development of the international humanitarian causes.