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Department of Biotechnology
Department of Biotechnology is one of the most fundamental
academic departments at Beijing University of Agriculture (BUA).
Our department was established in July 2002. It is one of the
youngest departments at BUA. In the short span of 5 years, our
department takes active part in teaching at the undergraduate
and the postgraduate level at BUA. Biotechnology Department is
mainly involving in the teaching management of undergraduate
students majoring in biotechnology and bioengineering. Now the
department is responsible for 64 undergraduate courses and at
least 5 courses for postgraduate students.
Fig .1 Subject constructions
Areas of Specialization
Department of Biotechnology comprises about 40 faculty members,
whose expertise spans the breadth of modern biological sciences.
The department now has 4 Professors, 11 Associate professors and
7 lectures. They are experienced in teaching and research in the
fields of biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetic
engineering and so on.
There are two staff rooms in our department: Staff room of
Biotechnology and Staff room of Bioengineering, a key laboratory
of new technology in agriculture application in Beijing and a
center of tissue culture. There is significant cross-talk and
cross-fertilization of ideas between members of the research
teams in the department.
Fig .2 Research activities at the department of biotechnology
Research Activities
The research activities at our department are focused on various
aspects of environmental-, food- and agricultural biotechnology
and consist of both basic and applied research. Research areas
include biochemistry, molecular biology and genetics, cell
biology, proteomics and physiology of plant nutrition and stress
biology, utilization of natural resources, development of
microbial prod-ucts and pesticides, protein and gene
engineering, etc.
Research in the Department is supported by state-of-the-art
equipments, including protein sample preparation and
purification equipments, isoelectric focusing systems, submerged
horizontal electrophoresis systems, vertical electrophoresis
systems, high-throughput electrophoresis, 2-D systems, blotting
equipments, Imaging Instruments, amino acid analyzer, automatic
DNA sequencer, oligonucleotide synthesizer, PCR machines,
ultracentrifuges, spectrophotometers, spec-trofluorimeters,
atomic absorption, HPLC, patch clamp, flow cytometer,
fluorescence microscopes, computer-enhanced video microscope,
intensified CCD detector with image processor and several
ratio-image microscopes, which allow us to conduct research on
topics at the frontier of biological sciences.
Fig. 3 State-of-the-art equipments at the department of
biotechnology
We also have special software such as statistical packages SPSS,
MATLAB, SigmaPlot, Quantity One, PD Quest, Origin, PrimerPremier;
Microsoft Windows or Apple Mac OS X operating system, and other
software for analysis, bioinformatics, databases, graphics,
References management and network operation.
Our Mission
The aim of our department is to educate undergraduate students
adapt themselves to any fields of biotechnology or
bioengineering in Beijing. In our four-year college education,
general education and specialized education combine effectively
in order to attain this aim. We lay stress on fundamental
knowledge (such as math, physics and chemistry, computer
sciences and statistics), dual-language courses for quickly
developed fields such as biochemistry and molecular biology, and
experimental practices for some skill-development courses such
as genetic engineering, plant tissue culture and bio-informatics
and data processing. The newest technological innovations are
also coped with the teaching program.
Fig. 4 Research equipments in key laboratory of new technology
in agriculture application
Our department offers comprehensive teaching and research
programs in both basic and ap-plied aspects of biotechnology and
engineering. At the same time it maintains a close relationship
with the department of plant science and technology, the
department of animal science and tech-nology and the department
of food science, reflecting the fundamental significance of
biotechnol-ogy in those field.
We have a history of innovation and tradition of excellence in
both teaching and research. We offer outstanding opportunities
to learn and work with an exceptional faculty dedicated to
providing a rich educational environment and exciting research
atmosphere in biotechnology.
The significant discoveries we make in a wide number of fields
are frequently published in scientific journals. We pay great
attention to keeping our undergraduate education in
biotechnology and bioengineering relevant to the most exciting
fields of contemporary research and provide an excellent level
of personal attention to each of our students.
Features and Highlights
The department offers undergraduate programs of studies designed
with the aim of training our students to have fundamental and
excellent knowledge of modern biotechnology and bioengi-neering.
The curriculum not only includes formal lecture and laboratory
sessions, but also provides the students with ample
opportunities for developing communication and presentation
proficiency through tutorials, and seminars.
For the undergraduate program, its curriculum design first
allows students to learn the basic knowledge and experimental
skills in the life processes of microbes, plants and animals at
the molecular, cellular and organismal levels. In the senior
year, students focus on microbial, animal and plant
biotechnology and the business and social aspects of
biotechnology. Having built up a strong foundation in the first
two years of study, students may then take a series of electives
spe-cializing in various subfields of biological sciences. These
specialties reflect the current and future needs.
Research projects are designed to train students in laboratory
research. The study covers a wide range of life sciences from
molecules, cells, tissues, organs, to organisms and populations
in microbes, plants and animals. In addition, they gain hands-on
training and experience in the me-thods and techniques in
biotechnology through laboratory courses. The highlight of
training is a year long senior experimental project which is
individually supervised and the research results are presented
in a symposium-type seminar.
Undergraduate Programs
The B. Sc. program in Biotechnology consists of 181 credit
courses to be covered in eight semesters and the B.E. program in
Bioengineering consists of 180.5 credits. Each theory course is
of either 1 to 6 credits and each practical course is of 1 to 3
credits. Each credit course consists of 24 lecture hours
(theory) or 1-2 laboratory experiments of total 3h duration
(practical). In all the courses, 30% of the total assessment for
each course is based upon teacher¡¯s evaluation of the student
over the entire semester period (continuous internal assessment)
and the remaining is as-sessed by the semester-end examination.
Each teacher is given complete freedom to devise and conduct a
particular mode of assessment.
We provide students with a distinctive education and training in
biotechnology and bioengi-neering. The undergraduate students
are required to complete 4 years of study and research training
to obtain their Bachelor degree. Their major courses include
General Biology, Biochemistry, Cellular Biology, Genetics,
Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Animal Physiology, Plant
Physiol-ogy and Bioinformatics etc. A series of optional courses
that reflect the frontiers of biological sciences and
technology, such as bioengineering, immunology, developmental
biology are also available. All students are encouraged to join
a lab for research training after two years of study under the
faculty¡¯s guidance.
Fig. 5 Teaching and talent training at the department of
biotechnology
Course Requirements
Degree awarded: B.Sc. (Biotechnology); B.E. (Bioengineering)
Program Duration: 4 years
Planned Intake: 181 (Biotechnology); 180.5 (Bioengineering)
Required Courses: General Biology, Biochemistry, microbiology,
General Genetics¢ñ, Cell Biology, Plant Physiology, Animal
Physiology¢ñ, Molecular Biology, Principles of Gene Engi-neering,
Cell Engineering, Protein and Enzyme Engineering, etc.
Elective Courses: Cultural Techniques of Plants, Biological
Instruments Analysis, Biostatistics, Phytochemistry, Plant
Breeding, Plant Tissue Culture, Animal cell Engineering, Animal
Em-bryonic Engineering, Immunology, Animal Reproductive
Physiology, Bioinformatics, Develop-mental Biology, Resources
and Development Utilization of Plant Resources, Biopharmacy &
Technology, Animal Behavioral Ecology, Bio-technology Safety
Legislation & Intellectual Prop-erty Protection, Biological
Evolution, Bio-active Substance and Its Application, Proteomics,
Mi-crobial Genetics and Strain Improvement, Bio-engineering
Equipments, Biopreparatics, Bio-separation Engineering, etc.
Fig. 6 Developing agriculture by science and technology
Career Prospects
Like many other science disciplines, many graduates choose to
pursue further studies after graduation. Others have developed
careers in areas such as system management and administration,
medical and health services, scientific research sector,
education sector, etc. The training in the program nurtures and
equips our students, enabling them to handle challenges
effectively and to succeed in a variety of professions.
In the past 5 years, the programs has attracted and graduated
very high quality students. As the application of
biotechnologies to agricultural, biological, biomedical,
pharmaceutical, and other bio-industrial and health-related
industry continues to advance and more beneficial products are
produced, the demand of this area of expertise and manpower is
increasing. The future research, development and employment
prospects and opportunities for the graduates in biotechnology
are good.
Contact us
Department of Biotechnology
Beijing University of Agriculture
No. 7 Bei Nong Street, Zhu Xin Zhuang, Hui Long Guan Zhen
Chang Ping, Beijing, 102206, P. R. China
Tel: +86 010 80799116
Fax: +86 010 80799116
E-mail : shengwuxi@gmail.com
http://www.bua.edu.cn
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