Chemical engineering education returns to nurturing both people and careers
The education cause is the cradle of new knowledge, new technology and new ideas, and a highland for cultivating innovative and high-quality talents. At the sixth Member Congress and the first council meeting of the sixth term of the China Chemical Education Association held on May 10th, Hao Changjiang, the president of the fifth council of the association, when reviewing the progress in the field of chemical education from 2019 to 2024, sighed with emotion: "The greatest feeling is that chemical education has returned to nurturing people and to the industry."
In recent years, in response to the new situations such as green development, digitalization and new industrialization faced by the petroleum and chemical industry, a number of innovative platforms have emerged in the field of chemical education. According to Hao Changjiang, over the past six years, the China Chemical Education Association has taken innovation as a breakthrough point, actively sought the convergence point of talent cultivation and industrial development, and built innovative platforms in serving industry development, teacher development, student growth, and textbook construction, providing a solid guarantee for the mutual pursuit of chemical education and industrial development.
The "circle of friends" of chemical engineering education is constantly expanding and its activity level is increasing day by day. Take the number of member units of the China Chemical Education Association as an example. Over the past six years, the number of member units has grown from the initial 277 to 401. Based on this, a number of outstanding teaching achievements have emerged in the field of chemical engineering education. Meanwhile, the work of discipline accreditation for chemical engineering, the construction of a standard system for chemical education, the establishment of industry-education alliances and communities, etc. is also advancing steadily and rapidly. The relationship between chemical education and the development of the industry is becoming increasingly close.
The teacher development platform has been continuously enriched, and the level of teaching and research has significantly improved. To support the development of teachers, the China Chemical Education Association has successively launched a number of innovative projects, such as targeted training and teaching ability competitions. In 2021, the association held the first national ideological and Political Education Ability Competition for teachers of chemical Engineering majors in Higher Education institutions, marking an important progress in chemical education. Hao Changjiang pointed out that the competition can not only guide teachers to think actively during the competition process, deeply explore the ideological and political elements in the curriculum, promote the construction of ideological and political education in chemical engineering courses, and cultivate students' sense of responsibility for loving the Party, the country and the people; It can also guide students to have a correct understanding of the petroleum and chemical industry and jointly shape a beautiful image of the industry.
The stage for students to compete in skills is getting larger and larger, and their potential is constantly being stimulated, injecting new vitality into the development of the industry. From 2019 to 2024, 11 student skills competitions hosted by the China Chemical Education Association, including the National College Students' Chemical Engineering Design Competition, the National College Students' Chemical Engineering Experiment Competition, and the National College Students' Digital Innovation Competition in Chemical Engineering Processes, were carried out in full swing, attracting a total of over 200,000 participants. In addition, a number of highly praised brand activities have been held as scheduled for many consecutive years. For instance, the National College Students' Chemical Engineering Experiment Competition was included in the national ranking of ordinary higher education discipline competitions in 2023, officially upgrading from an industry competition to a national one. There have been qualitative changes in its coverage, influence, and scale of the event.
The continuous improvement of teaching material quality has promoted the innovation of chemical engineering education. In Hao Changjiang's view, textbooks are not merely carriers of knowledge; they also have the functions of building a systematic knowledge framework, assisting teaching, and cultivating students' logical thinking abilities. Therefore, he led the China Chemical Education Association to devote himself wholeheartedly to the construction of teaching materials. During the fifth council period, the association initiated the construction of teaching materials for the "14th Five-Year Plan" of the petroleum and chemical industry, completed the project initiation of 20 digital teaching materials, closely followed the pace of The Times, promoted the precise connection between industry demands and teaching practices, and empowered the cultivation of modern industrial talents.
The coverage of lifelong education is constantly expanding, and more and more employed people have access to education. In 2019, the China Chemical Education Association launched the enrollment for lifelong education and established the first batch of 14 learning centers. After six years of development, the number of students has risen from hundreds to tens of thousands. At a graduation ceremony, I, with my silvery hair, presented graduation certificates to students with the same silvery hair, thus materializing the concept of lifelong education." Hao Changjiang said.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the China Chemical Education Association. Hao Changjiang is full of confidence and expectations for the future of chemical engineering education: It is hoped that the association will continue to be guided by the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, take the strategic demands of building an education power and a manufacturing power as the orientation, focus on the large-scale chemical industry and coordinate the large-scale education, continuously play the role of a bridge and link, constantly improve the service level for members, and strive to develop and expand the chemical education cause. Promote and leverage the ideological and political guidance, talent competitiveness, scientific and technological support, people's livelihood security, social synergy and international influence of chemical engineering education to make new contributions to China's progress from a major country in the petroleum and chemical industry to a powerful one!