School of Animal Science and Technology

The School of Animal Science and Technology is a traditional and advantageous school of Jiangxi Agricultural University. In response to modern animal husbandry's practical and long-term needs, the school has continuously reformed, innovated, and strived to make essential contributions to talent cultivation, scientific research, social service, and cultural inheritance. As a result, it has developed its strengths and characteristics.

History of the School: The School of Animal Science and Technology traces its roots back to the establishment of Jiangxi Veterinary Specialized School in 1938. Its main predecessor can be traced back to the Livestock and Veterinary Department of National Chung Cheng University, founded in 1940. In September 1949, National Chung Cheng University was renamed to Nanchang University. During the nationwide restructuring of faculties and departments in 1952, the Veterinary Department of Nanchang University was merged with the Veterinary Departments of Henan Agricultural College, Hunan Agricultural College, Guangxi Agricultural College, and Jiangxi Veterinary Specialized School to form the Veterinary Department of Jiangxi Agricultural College. Another significant school branch originated from the Livestock and Veterinary Department of Jiangxi Communist Labor University, established in 1958. In 1969, the Veterinary Department of Jiangxi Agricultural College was merged with the Livestock and Veterinary Department of Jiangxi Communist Labor University to form the Livestock and Veterinary Department of Jiangxi Communist Labor University. In 1980, it was renamed to the Livestock and Veterinary Department of Jiangxi Agricultural University. In 1992, the School of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine was established at Jiangxi Agricultural University, and in 1996, it was renamed the School of Animal Science and Technology.

Since its founding, the school attracted a group of renowned educators. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, a significant number of distinguished scholars and professors emerged, such as Xiang Tao, Zhou Zheng, Lin Qipeng, Fan Pu, Yan Ruoyu, Zou Yi, Wang Chenghao, and Zhu Yunsheng. From the 1950s to 1960s, the Veterinary Department of Jiangxi Agricultural College recruited students from across the country and excelled in terms of faculty, equipment, teaching, and research capabilities, ranking among the top in the nation. The Livestock and Veterinary Department of Jiangxi Communist Labor University adhered to the principles of self-reliance, hard work, and study while working, combining work and frugality. They carried out a new exploration of vocational education that integrated theory with practice, established a new system combining teaching, production, and research, and developed a university school that aligns with China's reality, innovative and distinct. Since the reform and opening-up era, the school has upheld its traditions, made continuous progress, and nurtured a large number of administrative and managerial talents represented by provincial and county-level leaders. It has also produced winners of the National Science Foundation for Distinguished Young and outstanding professionals, entrepreneurs, and technical professionals on the production frontlines.

Talent Cultivation: The School has established a comprehensive talent cultivation system, offering bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and postdoctoral programs. It is one of the first units authorized by the Ministry of Education to confer bachelor's degrees. Currently, the School offers four undergraduate majors: Animal Science, Veterinary Medicine, Animal Pharmacy, and Aquaculture. Both Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine were designated as key majors in Jiangxi Province as early as 1984. In 2000, they were approved as part of Jiangxi Province's first batch of 100 branded majors. In 2007, the Animal Science major was recognized as a national second-class characteristic major. Animal Science (2012), Veterinary Medicine (2013), Animal Pharmacy (2014), and Aquaculture (2018) were all included in the Jiangxi Province's first-tier enrollment for undergraduate programs. In 2019, Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine were listed as first-class undergraduate programs at the national level, while Animal Pharmacy and Aquaculture were listed as first-class undergraduate programs in Jiangxi Province.

The School initiated enrolling graduate students in 1964 and became one of the first institutions in the country to be authorized to confer master's degrees in 1981. Currently, it has two primary doctoral programs: Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, with six sub-disciplines. There are three primary academic master's programs, including Animal Science, Veterinary Medicine, and Fisheries Science, along with seven secondary master's programs in Animal Genetics and Breeding, Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, Special Economic Animal Breeding, Aquatic Biological Production, Basic Veterinary Medicine, Preventive Veterinary Medicine, and Clinical Veterinary Medicine. Additionally, the School has Postdoc programs in Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science. The School has over 2,500 doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.

The School has taken multiple measures to enhance students' overall quality. They foster undergraduate students' professional competence through activities such as professional interest groups, professional skills competitions, innovation and entrepreneurship projects, and virtual classes in collaboration with enterprises. They also enhance the academic and innovative abilities of graduate students through academic salons, guest lectures by renowned experts, and participate in academic conferences.

The school has been recognized for its achievements in various areas. They have received recognition as an outstanding team in the national summer volunteer social practice activity to bring culture， technology, and healthcare skills to the countryside. One student from the school was selected for the National Scholarship Top 100 Student Representatives list (only two students from Jiangxi province were selected), and one student won the nomination as Jiangxi Province College Student Star of Self-improvement. They also had a nominee for the first batch of Jiangxi Province Graduate Student Top Ten Academic Stars and a nominee for the National Excellent Doctoral Dissertation award. This fulfilled the breakthrough from zero in the National Excellent Doctoral Dissertation from Jiangxi Province. Moreover，two master's theses in veterinary medicine were awarded the Excellent Master's Thesis in the second and third National Veterinary Professional Degree programs. The School has produced 22 excellent doctoral dissertations and 28 excellent master's dissertations in Jiangxi Province.

In national professional skills competitions, they have won more than 20 national-level awards. In innovation and entrepreneurship competitions, they have won over 50 provincial-level and higher awards. The rate of students pursuing further education through graduate entrance exams has been increasing year by year, with the School consistently ranking first in the university in the past three years. Nearly 1,500 students have pursued further studies, and the postgraduate admission rate for the graduating class of 2022 reached 60.06%.

The school currently has 130 faculty members, including 121 full-time teachers, of whom 74 hold senior professional titles (including 1 academician from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and 9 second-level professors) and 93 hold doctoral degrees. There are 22 master's degree holders, 26 doctoral supervisors, and 85 master's supervisors. The School boasts of more than 50 talents at the provincial and ministerial levels, including 1 academician from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1 academician from developing countries, 1 foreign academician from the Russian Academy of Sciences, 1 recipient of the National Distinguished Young Scientist Fund, 1 national-level professional technical talent with outstanding contributions, 1 leading talent of the national special support program for high-level personnel, 3 young and middle-aged experts with outstanding contributions at the national level, 1 national outstanding teacher, 2 selected for the Ministry of Education's New Century Excellent Talents Support Program, 1 national advanced collective of outstanding professional technical talents, 4 scientists in the national modern agricultural industry technology system positions, 5 national-level candidates for the Hundred and Thousand and Ten-Thousand Talent Project and 4 experts receiving special allowances from the State Council.

The School has cultivated 5 leading figures in major academic and technical disciplines in Jiangxi Province, 10 candidates in the Gan-Po Talent 555 Project in Jiangxi Province, 10 recipients of the Jiangxi Provincial Distinguished Young Scientist Fund, 2 provincial-level teaching masters, 8 recipients of special allowances from the Jiangxi Provincial Government, and 11 candidates in the Jiangxi Provincial Hundred and Thousand and Ten-Thousand Talent Project . The School has appointed a group of renowned scholars from domestic and international institutions as part-time or visiting professors. They have previously received the titles of Chief Professor (3 individuals) and Future Star (24 individuals) in talent positions at the university level, ranking among the top in the university quantity.

Education and Teaching: The School relies on a series of talent cultivation systems, such as the undergraduate mentorship program and integrating bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. The project New Era Talent Cultivation Practice Model for Animal Science and Technology, led by Academician Huang Lusheng, was awarded the second prize of the National Teaching Achievement Award in 2018. Virtual Simulation Dissection of Cattle Muscles and Organs was selected as one of the first national-level top-notch courses. The Jiangxi Agricultural University - Jiujian Bolai Agricultural Group Agricultural Science and Education Cooperation Talent Cultivation Base was approved as a national-level teaching base, and the Experimental Teaching Center for Animal Production and Disease Control was recognized as a national-level experimental teaching demonstration center. Over the past decade, faculty members of the school have authored or co-authored 65 nationally compiled textbooks or monographs, received 11 provincial-level awards for teaching reform achievements, and implemented 24 provincial-level teaching reform projects. The School has obtained 6 national-level quality engineering projects, 1 national-level experimental teaching demonstration center, 2 national-level talent cultivation bases, 3 provincial-level talent cultivation bases, 1 provincial-level teaching team, 1 national-level virtual simulation practical teaching project, and 1 provincial-level virtual simulation experimental teaching project.

Discipline Construction: The school was one of the first institutions to be granted the authority to confer bachelor's and master's degrees after the reform and opening-up policy. Significant achievements have been made in discipline (major) construction through continuous efforts. Currently, the school has 1 postdoctoral mobile station, 2 first-level doctoral programs, 4 second-level doctoral programs, 7 academic master's programs, and 2 professional master's programs. Animal Husbandry is among the first batch of Double First-Class advantageous disciplines in Jiangxi Province, while Veterinary Medicine is among the first batch of characteristic-specialties in Jiangxi Province's universities. Both Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine are key construction disciplines in Jiangxi Province. Animal Husbandry is a high-level construction discipline in Jiangxi Province and a key discipline supported by the central government for local universities. Animal Genetics, Breeding, and Reproduction is also a superior discipline in Jiangxi Province, while Animal Nutrition and Feed Science is a second batch of demonstration master's programs in Jiangxi Province. Through long-term cultivation and refinement, each discipline in the school has formed a well-structured team with a reasonable age distribution and high academic qualifications and professional titles. The discipline leaders are experts and professors with high educational attainments and considerable prestige among their domestic counterparts.

Research Platforms: The school has the National Key Laboratory of Swine Genetic Improvement and Innovation, the first independently established national key laboratory in Jiangxi Province and the only national key laboratory in the field of swine in the country. It also has seven laboratories (research institutes) at the provincial and ministerial level, including the National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Swine Breeding Improvement, the Key Laboratory of Pig Biotechnology of the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Feed Science Institute of Jiangxi Province. Other key laboratories include the Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology in Jiangxi Province, the Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition in Jiangxi Province, the Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Control of Animal Diseases in Livestock and Poultry in Jiangxi Province, and the Key Laboratory of Bee Biology and Breeding in Jiangxi Province. Additionally, there are key laboratories at the municipal level, such as the Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology in Nanchang City, the Key Laboratory of Animal Health and Safety Production in Nanchang City, and the Key Laboratory of Nutritional Physiology and Health Breeding of Special Aquatic Organisms in Nanchang City. The school also has research institutes, including the Institute of Animal Biotechnology at Jiangxi Agricultural University, the Institute of Livestock and Poultry Disease Prevention and Control at Jiangxi Agricultural University, the Institute of Veterinary Medicine at Jiangxi Agricultural University, the Bee Research Institute at Jiangxi Agricultural University, and the Institute of Monitoring and Prevention of Animal Epidemics at Jiangxi Agricultural University. These laboratories and research institutions at the city and provincial levels contribute to the school's research endeavors. The research facilities in the school cover an area of over 25,000 square meters, with a total value of nearly 100 million yuan in instruments and equipment. Several large-scale advanced instruments and equipment provide strong support for teaching, research, and talent cultivation.

Scientific Research: The school has a strong research capacity and has achieved fruitful results. Since 2010, the school has undertaken over 430 research projects of various kinds, including the National 863 Program, the National 973 Program, the National Modern Agricultural Industry Technology System Post Expert Special Project, the National Public Welfare Industry Scientific Research Special Project, international cooperation critical project, the National Agricultural Science and Technology Achievement Transformation Fund Special Project, the National Major Science and Technology Special Project, the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, the National Natural Science Key Fund, and the National Natural Science Foundation General Program. The accumulated research funding has reached 400 million yuan. Over 2,000 papers have been published in national academic journals, including over 700 papers indexed by SCI. Among them, the school has published the first Nature research article in the field of animal husbandry in Jiangxi Province and China. Over 40 textbooks and monographs have been published, and more than 20 patents have been granted. Since 2004, the research achievements have received 19 national, provincial, and ministerial awards.

Social Services: The school actively adapts to the needs of national and local economic and social development. The genetic chip technology of the domestic pig breeding Zhongxin-1 has become the mainstream technology guarantee for the national pig breeding industry, widely promoted and applied in all major pig-producing provinces across the country, with a cumulative promotion of over 300,000 pigs. The technology for simulating natural bee colonies to raise queens has been promoted to 32 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in China and countries such as the United States, Italy, and Turkey. The production of A4-grade high-quality Snowflake Beef, with key core technologies such as nutrition regulation and controlled feeding programs, has been successfully promoted and transformed in over 10 provinces nationwide. The transfer of the inactivated vaccines for variant strains of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus and porcine delta coronavirus, created using new inactivation techniques, has amounted to 22 million yuan. The School actively responds to the call of the provincial party committee and government for rural revitalization. It conducts technical training through methods such as technology small courtyards, technology envoys, agricultural lectures, and expert visits to rural areas, supporting targeted poverty alleviation and rural revitalization. It has established several comprehensive agricultural science and technology service demonstration and experimental bases as well as characteristic industry demonstration bases. Over 1,200 technical training sessions have been conducted, benefiting more than 20,000 agricultural technicians and farmers, promoting and solving over 200 key technologies, and helping enterprises and impoverished farmers increase their income by over 100 million yuan.