College introduction
The Fisheries College at GDOU has a rich history dating back more than 80 years.
Its origins can be linked back to the Guangdong Provincial Advanced Fisheries Vocational School, which led to the creation of the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture in 1935. In January 1997, Zhanjiang Fishery University and Zhanjiang Agricultural College merged to establish Zhanjiang Ocean University, which was later renamed "Guangdong Ocean University" in 2005. The Fisheries College is one of the university's founding secondary institutions, and it successfully established the demonstration modern industry college in Guangdong province in 2023.
The growth of fields and majors has progressed to a new level in the last decade.
The college is divided into four departments: Aquaculture, Marine Fisheries Science and Technology, Marine Biology, and Aquatic Animal Medicine, and three auxiliary teaching units: the Experimental Teaching Center, the Donghai Marine Biology Research Base, and the Freshwater Aquaculture Base. The college has four undergraduate majors, one doctoral degree program in aquaculture, and one master's degree program in agriculture (fishery development). The Aquaculture discipline was chosen as a major discipline in peak-climbing and was noted as a key construction discipline for high-level colleges in Guangdong Province in 2015 and 2018 as a first-level discipline, which now occupies the rank of Pearl River Scholars. It came in sixth in the fourth round of the national topic evaluation and first in Guangdong Province. It was chosen as China's best subject in 2020. Simultaneously, the fields of botany and zoology, which rely primarily on aquatic products, joined the top 1% of the ESI global rankings. The aquaculture major is the first batch of pilot majors in the Ministry of Education's great agricultural and forestry talent training strategy, a national-level characteristic major, and a provincial-level well-known brand major. The aquaculture and Marine Fisheries Science and Technology majors were chosen as the national first-class undergraduate major construction sites and national-level characteristic majors. The undergraduate course of Aquatic Animals Physiology is chosen as a national first-class undergraduate course. The Guangdong Provincial Department of Education reviewed and evaluated the newly introduced bachelor's degree programs, and both aquatic animal, medical, and biological science majors passed with flying colors.
This is a top-notch scientific research facility.
National, provincial, and city-level teaching and research innovation platforms (bases) totaling 26 are available at the college, including a national experimental teaching demonstration center, a Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory, and an engineering laboratory of the Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission. The college has three agricultural innovation centers at the Ministry of Agriculture, Guangdong Province, and more than 102 million yuan worth of devices occupy a total laboratory space of 20,000 square meters.
The college hosts a variety of excellent teaching teams.
At present, the college has 120 faculty members (including 96 full-time teachers and 88 Ph.D. teachers), with 35 senior title and 33 senior associate title holders, 36 doctoral tutors, and 77 master tutors. Thirty-three members of the Ministry of Education's New Century Talents, National Women's Red-Banner Pacesetter, Guangdong Provincial Teaching Teachers, Southern Guangdong Excellent Teachers, and other provincial and above-talent (honorary) titles have been authorized. Thirteen teams of the college have been selected as outstanding research teams and teaching teams with distinctive characteristics in Guangdong Province. The college boasts of 2 people chosen as high-yield authors in global fisheries science, and 5 of its members have been selected as the top 2% of global scientists in 2023. Also, there is a national chief scientific communication expert, two scientists in the national modern agricultural industry system, and 4 members noted as experts in the Guangdong Province " Modern Agricultural Industry System Innovation Team".
Talent development has yielded extraordinary achievements.
There are over 20 national first-class undergraduate courses, provincial-level first-class undergraduate courses, high-quality courses, and graduate demonstration courses. In the past 5 years, more than 10 provincial-level and above awards, including the first prize for educational and teaching achievements in Guangdong Province and excellent teaching cases, more than 100 gold, silver, bronze awards, and various professional skills (innovation and entrepreneurship) awards at provincial and ministerial levels and above in the China International Internet plus Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition have been won. More than 50 provincial-level and above college student innovation and entrepreneurship projects have been approved. The graduate employment rate is stable at above 91%. Students have published over 800 papers as the first author, including over 300 indexed by SCI and EI. International students have published high-level reviews in the international authoritative journal “Reviews in Aquaculture”. There are a total of 2235 students in college, including 1687 undergraduate students, 49 doctoral students, 482 master’s students, 11 international doctoral students, and 6 international master’s students.
Academic study yields positive results.
In the past 5 years, the college has undertaken 355 national, provincial, and ministerial-level scientific research projects, with a total received budget of 167.38 million yuan. Again, the college has published 1088 papers, including 694 indexed by the three major indexes, edited (co-edited) 10 monographs, authorized 102 patents (excluding software copyrights), and received 32 scientific research awards, including 15 provincial and ministerial level awards. Pearl oyster "Hai Xuan 1" andvannameishrimp "Xing Hai 1" have been approved as new national aquatic species. The research in the fields of shrimp fry breeding and breeding, marine fish fry breeding and breeding, prevention and control of marine fish diseases, high-quality and efficient feed, pearl oyster breeding and cultivation, and sustainable utilization of South China Sea fishery resources has reached an international and domestic leading (or advanced) level. The widespread dissemination and use of scientific and technological breakthroughs have aided the country's long-term fisheries development while providing significant economic and social advantages. Currently, Zhanjiang produces two-thirds of all seawater pearls produced in the country. Zhanjiang is rated top in the country for shrimp seedling production, aquaculture area, aquaculture production, feed production, processing scale, export volume, and transaction volume. It has been very instrumental in the development of the "Shrimp Capital" as well as the "Southern Sea Valley."
In recent years, foreign exchange has become more intensive.
The college adopts a foreign collaboration strategy, improves all-around cooperation and goodwill, encourages joint innovation, and aims at achieving sound and quick development of its fields of study. There have been more than 10 high-level domestic and international conferences and contests, and more than 50 invited experts, researchers, and business executives who have been to the college to offer lectures. Tongwei, Haid Group, Hengxing Group, Dabeinong Group, Haimao Investment Company, Weilangshi Company, and Tunfeng Aquatic Products Company are some of the well-known domestic and overseas companies that have collaborated with the college on scientific and technological innovation. The collaboration with East Carolina University (US), Auburn University (US), Deakin University (Australia), and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, as well as more than 20 foreign (overseas) universities and more than 40 domestic universities and research institutes, including Sun Yat-sen University, is aimed at cultivating high-end fishing talents that meet social needs. East Carolina University (ECU) in the United States inked a cooperative training agreement with 3+2 students. At the same time, Deakin University in Australia signed the "Undergraduate Double-Bachelor School Cooperation Project Based on Credit Reduction" with 3+1 students. Nineteen (19) graduate students and fourteen undergraduates from our college have attended East Carolina University and Taiwan Ocean University in the last five years to participate in exchange programs and further their education. The School of Fisheries and renowned overseas universities have agreed to a cooperative training program, which comprises the following elements:
East Carolina University (3+2) project: That is, eligible distinguished students are enrolled in Guangdong Ocean University for three years and East Carolina University for two years, respectively; thus, a bachelor's degree from Guangdong Ocean University and a master's degree from East Carolina University will be earned by such students. Foreign tuition and living expenses (including medical insurance) are about $43,000 per student per year.
Australia Deakin University (2+2) program: That is, two years of study at Guangdong Ocean University and two years of study at Deakin University, which in the end, a bachelor's degree from Guangdong Ocean University and Deakin University will be earned.
