Universities change courses to better reflect nation's needs
Some majors disappear, others added as education aligns with development
Development needs
Coffee Science and Engineering is one of 24 new undergraduate majors approved by the Ministry of Education this year. Many of the new majors cover fields at the forefront of China's technological advancement and are intended to boost national economic development.
A resolution adopted in July by the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China stipulated that "extraordinary moves" will be made to improve or introduce disciplines that are in urgent demand.
The structure of talent cultivation in China needs to be optimized, Cao Weixing, a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the nation's top political advisory body, said.
Some universities are excessively enrolling students for popular majors, resulting in the irrational allocation of educational resources and a structural imbalance in discipline layout, Cao added.
Lu Shuohua this year enrolled in one of the new majors at South China University of Technology in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.
The top candidate from Zhejiang province to the university, he was admitted to the pioneering Soft Matter Science and Engineering program, which aims to develop students' ability to solve technological and engineering problems in interdisciplinary frontiers.
"I hope to conduct in-depth research on advanced soft materials to enhance people's quality of life," Lu said, adding he wants to obtain a master's degree and PhD in the field to lay a solid foundation for his future career.
The university is also offering a new program in Intelligent Ocean Equipment. Both the new majors focus on cultivating high-level talent to support national industrial upgrading strategies and address the urgent demand for skilled professionals in high-tech industries in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, according to the university.
Other new programs include Beijing University of Agriculture's Biological Breeding Technology major and Guangzhou Sport University's Sports Health Care program.
