want to go to school while petting pandas? china's first giant panda academy is now open!
2024-09-12
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sichuan news reporter xu haoxuan
on september 12, the first giant panda college in china officially welcomed its first batch of students at the huafeng campus of china west normal university. 62 new undergraduate students majoring in wildlife and nature reserve management of the class of 2024 have registered one after another, and the giant panda college has officially unveiled its mystery.
last september, china west normal university and sichuan provincial forestry and grassland bureau (giant panda national park sichuan provincial administration) "joined hands" and decided to establish a new giant panda college based on the school of life sciences of the university. it is understood that in the initial operation of the giant panda college, it is planned to set up majors such as wildlife and nature reserve management (referred to as "wildlife protection major"), national park construction and management, etc., with the aim of cultivating a group of professionals who can work at the grassroots level in giant panda national parks, nature reserves, etc., with the construction of a talent team for giant panda protection research as the core.
from cutting-edge technology to the secrets of bamboo forests, as the first batch of freshmen arrives, how will the giant panda academy teach the course "wildlife conservation"?
giant panda academy. photo by xu haoxuan
advantages: more than 50 years of scientific research experience, the "teacher team" is ready
"our school has a nickname, 'panda university'." at the freshman registration site, the name "panda university" was mentioned repeatedly. walking into the giant panda college experimental building, panda elements can be seen everywhere, and the college emblem with pandas as the main element all reflect the origin of this school and giant pandas.
"our research on giant pandas began in the 1970s, and it has a history of 50 years." liao wenbo, dean of the school of life sciences, introduced that from the perspective of the history of the school, as the earliest and longest-lasting university in the country to study giant pandas, it has produced giant panda research experts such as hu jinchu, the "father of the chinese giant panda", and wei fuwen, the "panda academician". the first batch of wildlife conservation majors began to enroll students in 2010, and it has 14 years of school experience. it has sent a large number of outstanding graduates to the giant panda national park, various nature reserves, forestry authorities and other institutions.
it is understood that among the 138 faculty members of the school of life sciences, 91% have doctoral degrees and will participate in the teaching work of the giant panda academy. in the field of animals alone, research directions cover multiple animal groups such as fish, amphibians, and birds.
"in addition to full-time teachers, there are 22 experts who form the giant panda expert committee, who will give lectures to students regularly." wei wei, director of the institute of rare animals and plants of china west normal university and teacher of the giant panda academy, said that in addition to relying on the excellent faculty of the school of life sciences, the giant panda academy has also hired experts from professional institutions such as the china conservation and research center for the giant panda, chengdu research base of giant panda breeding, the institute of zoology of the chinese academy of sciences, and the chengdu institute of biology of the chinese academy of sciences to serve as students' "career mentors" and jointly contribute to the training of students.
view courses: featured courses are gathered in the freshman year and practical courses will be carried out in the protected areas
"there are many field practice courses this academic year, and i believe that students are looking forward to it." in the office building of the giant panda academy, vice dean yang zaijun is discussing the details of the full-year course arrangement for freshmen with teachers of the wildlife conservation major. in his opinion, as the main major of the giant panda academy, the wildlife conservation major has very exciting courses this year.
from the course schedule provided by the hospital, the reporter noticed that in addition to basic professional courses such as botany, zoology, and invertebrate zoology, special courses such as comprehensive field internships in biology, wildlife specimen preparation technology, and wildlife domestication and breeding internships have become the "highlights" of this professional curriculum.
course schedule for freshmen majoring in wildlife and nature reserve management at the giant panda academy.
"compared with other theoretical majors, the proportion of practical courses in the wildlife conservation major is very high, exceeding 50%." fan zengli, vice president of the college, introduced that increasing the proportion of practical courses will mobilize students' interest in learning by mobilizing perceptual knowledge, and support theoretical and logical courses in the senior grades.
however, it is not easy to learn these practical courses outside the classroom and into the nature reserve. take the comprehensive field practice of biology as an example. the specimens collected in the wild must be brought back to the giant panda academy laboratory for specimen preparation and data analysis, and finally a practical report is formed to complete the closed loop of the field practice course.
"this is just the first step to becoming a wildlife conservation talent. it does not mean that you can go to school while petting pandas," liao wenbo said.although a large number of internships and practices will be carried out in the giant panda national park or reserve, the number of wild giant pandas is small and their distribution is uneven, so it is not easy to encounter giant pandas in person.even in panda bases, panda centers, zoos, etc., students who participate in feeding and contact with giant pandas are quite cautious. "students who want to take classes with giant pandas should not be too anxious. they should strengthen their study of basic professional knowledge and actively participate in relevant professional practices, so that they can get closer to giant pandas." liao wenbo said.
giant panda academy biological specimen room. photo by xu haoxuan
looking to the future: new majors that integrate undergraduate, master and doctoral education are expected to enroll students next year
recently, china west normal university "officially announced" that after application from the college, review by experts from inside and outside the school, and approval by the school's degree evaluation committee, the giant panda college's first-level discipline of ecology was successfully admitted to a doctorate.
wei wei introduced that with the existing first-level master's programs in ecology, botany, etc. at the giant panda academy, it is basically possible to realize an integrated training system of 7 years for undergraduate and master's degree and 10 years for undergraduate, master's and doctoral degree.
as a co-builder of the giant panda national park, the sichuan provincial forestry and grassland bureau (sichuan provincial administration of the giant panda national park) is actively connecting with 165 nature reserves across the province, hoping to add a number of practice bases for the giant panda academy.
"the protection scope of national parks and nature reserves covers important wildlife habitats and typical natural ecosystems throughout the province." zhang liming, director of the scientific research and education department of the sichuan provincial forestry and grassland bureau, said that in addition to traditional course practice, the giant panda academy will also use the various reserves as a platform to strengthen cooperation in scientific research, talent training, internships and employment promotion, and provide talent guarantee and technical support for local wildlife protection, field monitoring, nature education and other work. at the same time, each practice base will also take this opportunity to "select seedlings" in advance and promote the development of giant panda protection in the direction of discipline, specialization and systematization.
in addition, another major of the giant panda college, national park construction and management, has completed the registration and approval procedures and will welcome the first batch of students as early as next year. "at present, only beijing forestry university and northeast forestry university have opened this major among universities in the country, and my country has established the first batch of five national parks, and will continue to build a batch in the future, so there is a great demand for talents." wei wei said that after the major is approved, it will follow the method of targeted enrollment to train more professionals in giant panda protection and national park management for the country.
