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 created the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture in 1935, and in January 1997 Zhanjiang Fishery University and Zhanjiang Agricultural College merged to establish Zhanjiang Ocean University which was renamed as Guangdong Ocean University in 2005. The Fisheries College is one of the university's founding secondary institutions.
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. There are four undergraduate majors, one doctoral degree program in aquaculture, and one master's degree program in agriculture at the college (fishery development). Aquaculture was chosen as a major discipline in peak-climbing and as a key construction discipline for high-level colleges in Guangdong Province in 2015 and 2018 as a first-level discipline, and it now occupies the rank of Pearl River Scholars. It came in sixth in the fourth round of 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 at 150, ranking second among domestic marine colleges. The aquaculture major is the first batch of pilot majors in the Ministry of Education's great agricultural and forestry talent training strategy, as well as a national-level characteristic major and a provincial-level well-known brand major. It was chosen as a national first-class undergraduate major construction site in 2020. The Guangdong Provincial Department of Education reviewed and evaluated the newly introduced bachelor's degree programs in 2020, 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 25 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. At the Ministry of Agriculture, Guangdong Province, there are three agricultural innovation centers. More than 102-million-yuan worth of devices occupies a total laboratory space of 20,000 square meters.
The college hosts a variety of excellent teaching teams. As of recently, the college has 120 faculty members (including 96 full-time teachers, 86 doctoral teachers, and 41 foreign (overseas) visiting teachers for more than a year), as well as 43 senior titles and 41 senior associate titles, 42 doctoral tutors, 68 master tutors, 5 chair professors, and one visiting professor. Twenty-nine members of the Ministry of Education's New Century Talents, National Model Teachers, Guangdong Provincial Teaching Teachers, Southern Guangdong Excellent Teachers, and other provincial and above-talent (honorary) titles have been authorized. At least five of these teams have been designated as Guangdong Province's innovation teams, and five of these teams have been designated as Guangdong Province's outstanding teaching teams. There are a total of 1986 students on campus. There are 1562 undergraduate students, 368 master’s students, 44 doctoral students, and 12 third-year students from outside the country.
Talent development has yielded extraordinary achievements. Five provincial-level first-class undergraduate courses, one provincial-level online open course (golden course), ten provincial-level excellent courses, seven provincial-level postgraduate demonstration courses, and 19 school-level excellent open (online) courses have been awarded to the institution. It has won three first prizes for provincial education and teaching achievements in the last five years, two second prizes for outstanding online teaching cases in Guangdong undergraduate colleges and universities, 21 special first and second prizes for school-level teaching achievements approved by the Ministry of Education, one scientific research and reform practice project, and 12 provincial education reform projects such as industrial colleges. Over the last five years, the average employment rate of graduates has been greater than 98 percent, and students have won more than 140 awards for participating in various disciplines and professional competitions above the provincial and ministerial levels, such as innovation and entrepreneurship, aquatic skills, and aquarium landscaping competitions. Since 2014, exceptional undergraduate students have participated in laboratory projects, and a total of 269 projects have been produced, with two national innovation patents and eight utility model patents granted. As first authors, students published 667 papers, 233 of which were included in SCI and 205 of which were included in CSCD. Three international students wrote a review that was published in the prestigious international journal Reviews in Aquaculture (IF = 7.14).
Academic study yields positive results. In the last five years, the college has completed 355 scientific research projects at the national, provincial, and ministerial levels, totaling 123.89 million yuan in funding; published 1,012 papers, of which more than 435 were included in the three major indexes; edited (co-edited) textbooks; more than ten monographs; 190 authorized patents (including computer software copyrights); and received 32 scientific research awards, including ten provincial and ministerial awards. The South China Sea has achieved international standards in the fields of shrimp seedling breeding and aquaculture, rare marine fish seedling breeding, and aquaculture, marine fish disease control, safe, high-quality, and efficient feeds, pearl oyster culture and pearl breeding, and conservation and sustainable utilization of fishery resources. The advanced, domestic leading level 22 accomplishments have been changed. The income was 3.16 million yuan, with 1.2-billion-yuan indirect economic benefit and 23 billion yuan in indirect economic benefit. The widespread dissemination and use of scientific and technological breakthroughs have aided the country's long-term fisheries development while also 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 was instrumental in the development of the "Shrimp Capital" as well as the "Southern Sea Valley."
In recent years foreign exchange has become more active. The college adopts a foreign collaboration strategy, improves all-around cooperation and goodwill, encourages joint innovation, and achieves sound and quick development of its fields of study. There have been more than 10 domestic and international high-level 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, while Deakin University in Australia signed the "Undergraduate Double-Bachelor School Cooperation Project Based on Credit Reduction" with 3+1 students. Nineteen graduate students and fourteen undergraduates have been to 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, Guangdong Ocean University for three years, and East Carolina University for two years, respectively, obtaining a bachelor's degree from Guangdong Ocean University and a master's degree from East Carolina University. Foreign tuition and living expenses (including medical insurance) are about $43,000 per student per year.
Australia Deakin University (2+2) program, two years of study at Guangdong Ocean University, two years of study at Deakin University, and bachelor's degrees from Guangdong Ocean University and Deakin University, respectively.