Training objectives and models

The Bioengineering Innovation Class is a special zone for cultivating top-notch innovative talents set up by our university. The Innovation Class focuses on the frontier of life science and technology, faces the national strategy and regional economic development, and is guided by the requirements of new engineering and the development goal of future technology-oriented colleges, so as to cultivate top-notch talents with patriotic feelings, scientific innovation ability, interdisciplinary thinking, and an international vision for competition.

The Innovation Class takes connecting the bachelor, master and the doctoral students as the mode and "research + innovative learning" as the core, relies on the key direction of "Primate Biomedicine" in KUST, and focuses on the frontier areas of biotherapy and precision medicine, stem cell and regenerative medicine, biomaterial and tissue engineering, organ reconstruction and transplantation, etc. Under the leadership of the Primate Translational Medicine Research Institute, the first-class teachers provide one-to-one guidance to students so they can obtain a doctorate within 8 years. In the first three years, the training program at this stage can be completed, and students entered the postgraduate stage in advance while studying the basic theory courses. The academic tutors are identified in a two-way selection manner via a task group rotation system, and the undergraduate graduation project is directly connected with the postgraduate thesis proposal. In the next five years, students complete the postgraduate training program in the form of master's degree and doctoral degree.

There are 20 students in the Innovation Class, who are recruited from the entire university, and selected by combining application, examination and interview, and dynamically adjusted and distributed every academic year.

Features and advantages

Reform the training mode and encourage innovative research: With "research-oriented learning" playing a leading role, one-to-one "personalized" guidance is offered by academic tutors and research tutors on a per study and research group basis. Students directly participate in scientific research projects and complete professional competitions and projects relying on the "State Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedicine Co-built by the Ministry of Education".

Strengthen the teaching staff and innovate the tutor system: Led by Academician Ji Weizhi, the tutor team is composed of young and middle-aged backbone teachers from Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Faculty of Life Science and Technology, School of Medicine and School of Materials, and famous double-employed professors in the field. Scholars who are active in international academic frontiers are regularly invited to directly participate in teaching or academic exchanges, so that students can really get in touch with and understand the frontiers.

An emphasis on basic subjects and interdisciplinary subjects, and expand comprehensive ability: With an teaching approach that combines mathematics, physics, chemistry, materials and information, students are trained to acquire capabilities of exploring life science problems, critical thinking of raising and analyzing problems, and active communication ability of being good at expressing and willing to communicate. Through bilingual discussion classes, seminars and lectures, students are encouraged to read more, think more, do more and talk more, so as to comprehensively improve their academic level and comprehensive ability.

Close cooperation within the university and strengthen international exchanges: Students' foreign language ability is improved in an all-round way by providing foreign teacher staffing and implementing bilingual or all-English teaching in professional core courses; increasing the funding for students' domestic and international exchanges to ensure that students have domestic and international exchange learning experience.

Enhanced academic atmosphere and scientific research support: Through various activities such as academic salon, author forum and experimental competition, let students experience academic atmosphere and stimulate students' free thinking and scientific research enthusiasm. The Innovation Class implements a dynamic management and elimination system, with independent scholarships in place to provide outstanding students with full-time scholarships at the undergraduate stage.

Curriculums

The curriculum framework includes biology, engineering, medicine and cutting-edge interdisciplinary courses. Curriculum modules such as "Bioengineering Foundation", "Bioengineering Frontier" and "Biomedical Interdisciplinary" are set up in combination with primate biomedical frontier research, and students' individualized development are respected. A small class size is adopted to emphasize teacher-student interaction, inspire independent thinking and encourage students to question.