On July 10th, Jiangsu Open University’s Rural Revitalization College, the first independent, physical rural revitalization college in Jiangsu Province, was officially unveiled. The College will take root in the land of Jiangsu and provide an innovative engine to the overall rural revitalization in China. More than 600 people participated in the event offline or online.
The College was inaugurated by Ke Bingsheng, Chairman of China Rural Professional and Technical Association and former President of China Agricultural University, Zhang Hongcheng, Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering and Professor of Yangzhou University, Wang Jianming, Party Secretary of Jiangsu Open University, and Cui Xinyou, President of JSOU. President Cui Xinyou awarded certificates of appointment to members of the Expert Advisory Committee of the College, while other leaders of JSOU signed cooperation framework agreements and Industry-University-Research cooperation agreements with Nanjing National Agricultural Innovation Center and Nanjing Yumin Ecological Agriculture Technology Co., Ltd. The College signed a cooperation agreement with Rural Technical Service Center of Jiangsu Association for Science and Technology to jointly serve rural revitalization.
Secretary Wang Jianming said that the establishment of Rural Revitalization College is a concrete action to implement the strategic decision-making and deployment of rural revitalization by the CPC Central Committee, the State Council, the provincial party committee and the provincial government, as well as an important measure to actively serve the construction of a lifelong learning system for all people and a major event in the construction and development of a high-level open university. After its establishment, the College will devote itself to the education and training of rural talents, the innovation and demonstration of agricultural science and technology, the theoretical research and practice of agricultural socialized services, the research and design of rural revitalization planning and the construction of think tanks, the implementation of the Open Education-Rural Revitalization Support Plan, and the responsibility of JSOU’s school-running system for rural revitalization.
In recent years, our university has made explorations and laid a profound foundation in rural revitalization. It anchors itself to the last kilometer of rural revitalization, and carried out the education improvement project among village (community) officials; constantly polishes the project brands; actively promotes the connections with industrial parks, campuses and communities, and give full play to the role of university as a think tank. Several bases, such as Jiangsu Grassroots Social Governance Research Collaborative Innovation Base, have been established, and 23 courses have been selected as open courseware for rural revitalization among Jiangsu universities.
During the establishment of the College, JSOU has been approved for several key projects at national and provincial levels. It also has declared a number of invention patents and won Jiangsu Science and Technology Award, among other achievements. After its establishment, the College will focus on organizing theoretical innovation of improving agricultural socialization service system, urban and rural planning, and teaching, scientific research and social services in related fields, aiming at the problems of small and medium-sized farmers' difficulty in effectively connecting modern agriculture, insufficient supply of rural planning science, and agricultural production in Jiangsu.
President Cui Xinyou said that taking the lead in setting up a physical rural revitalization college in Jiangsu is an active exploration to help speed up the construction of China’s new countryside. The College will revolve around the development of the discipline of Plant Nutrition and promote the establishment of the undergraduate major of Plant Science and Technology; strive to be the first in the country to add a specialization of Agricultural Socialization Service to the major of Agricultural and Forestry Economic Management; promote undergraduate open education among agricultural workers, rural officials, rural residents and other people.
The 2022 Rural Revitalization Open Forum was held after the opening ceremony. The forum was guided by China Rural Professional Technology Association and jointly sponsored by Jiangsu Open University and Jiangsu Rural Professional Technology Association. Through thematic reports, keynote reports, keynote speeches and interviews, more than ten renowned domestic experts and scholars exchanged ideas on the scientific and technological frontiers and industrial technologies, including agricultural innovation helping rural revitalization, technological innovation of crop cultivation, agricultural socialization services, soil health and green development of agriculture, oil-bearing biological breeding, carbon reduction and fixation in agriculture and rural areas, working together to promote rural revitalization.
The Rural Revitalization Open Forum marks an open academic exchange platform for agricultural and rural modernization in our province. By discussing the scientific and technological frontier and industrial technology needed for economic and social development, it has effectively promoted the rural talent training and Industry-University-Research cooperation.
