National Taiwan Ocean University Bachelor Degree Program in Marine Biotechnology

I. Background of program establishment

Lienchiang County (Matsu) is composed of 36 islands, including Nangan and Beigag. With a total area of about 36 square kilometres. It is known as a string of pearls sprinkled from the sky outside the Minjiang Estuary. Because of the lack higher education in Matsu, high school graduates must leave their homes to study in universities elsewhere, resulting in population migration that may affect the economy of the islands. Therefore, all residents were eager to set up a university in Matsu.

Matsu has a population of over 10,000 people approximately, that is difficult to set up an independent university in consideration of cost-effectiveness. The feasible way is to set up a branch of an existing university to share the research resources of the school-based departments through appropriate curriculum design so as to accord with economic benefits. National Taiwan Ocean University (hereinafter referred to as NTOU) is an internationally renowned marine professional university with complete departments of marine related disciplines. Accordingly, with the request of the mayor of Lienchiang County and the legislators, a branch of NTOU was established in Matsu to demand for higher education in Matsu satisfy and increase employment opportunities.

NTOU after the approved by the Ministry of Education on October 16, 2015 by letter No. 1041139513 of Taiwan Higher Education (3) since the 106 academic year (August, 2017), established three types of bachelor degree programs (Marine Biotechnology, Marine Engineering Science and Technology, and Marine Management) in Matsu campus, integrating the teaching resources of NTOU, emphasizing cross-disciplinary, integration and professionalism.

II. Purpose of establishment

1. Matsu campus was established to implement the Legislative Purpose of Offshore Islands Development Act. It promotes the development of education according to Article 5-5 in the Ordinance (Implementation Plan of Integrated Offshore Development) and enhances the welfare of residents.
2. Cultivate students’ knowledge related to Marine Biotechnology, train and counsel their future employment ability and opportunities in both public and private fields of Marine Biotechnology (Awareness of the urgent needs of affairs and manpower within international and domestic development in aquatic science and technology).
3. Inherit the glorious tradition of teaching pioneers of Marine Biotechnology in Taiwan, and cultivate the professionals in Marine Biotechnology with second expertise (Life Science, Aquaculture Science, and Food Science), and integrate with international marine biotechnology education.

III. Objectives of education

The teaching objectives of this department are to cultivate students to own five core competencies such as “professional and analytical abilities in basic theory”, “insight vision into internationalization and industry outlook”, “empirical and practical abilities in Marine Biotechnology research”,” planning abilities in Marine Biotechnology policy and industrial development”, and “employment, learning and adaptation in marine biotechnology-related industries”.

IV. Future Prospects

1. The top university features aquatic professional teaching and research type

NTOU is the leader of aquatic teaching and research in Taiwan. With the advantage of “Marine and Maritime Fisheries”, NTOU is not only the top one in Taiwan, but also the top 400 universities in the world ranked by the British Times Higher Education Journal in 2011-2012. There are several ocean-related colleges in NTOU, such as College of Maritime Science and Management, College of Life Sciences, College of Ocean Science and Resource, College of Engineering, College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Ocean Law and Policy. The results of years’ operation of all the colleges not only benefit the faculty, the equipment and the curriculum in Department of Aquatic Science and Technology, but also enrich the connotation of the recently established Department of Aquatic Science and Technology. In addition, the faculty of our department's professional courses are mainly from Department of Aquaculture, Department of Food Science, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, and Institute of Marine Biology, that shows the overall development scale and environmental resources considered as a strong foundation of the program in Marine Biotechnology degree.

2. Benefits of long-term cooperation and consensus among domestic aquatic-related industry, government, and academia

Since its founding in 1953, with the excellent leadership of successive principals and the efforts of all faculty and students, NTOU has been cooperating with domestic and foreign aquatic-related institutes and corporations, including both public and private sectors (such as National Fisheries Administration, Fisheries Research Institute, Marine Science and Technology Museum, Fishing Association, Fisheries Company, Food Company, and Biotechnology Company, etc.), resulting in building good cooperation and consensus. Our alumni are all over the world, not only dedicated to the cultivation for the ocean, but also an important source of manpower and material support in the development of this program.

3. Training modes for talents with three different specialities in different fields by single degree program

Due to the existing conditions and abundant resources, the integrated planning of the courses in Marine Biotechnology will broaden students' horizons. Through the courses, students can learn the basic knowledge of marine biotechnology and choose one of the required courses from 3 professional domains of universities: Life Science, Aquaculture Science and Food Science. Acquire the second major within 3 professional domains, and emphasize the cooperation and practice within industry, government, academia, and it may promote students to enter the working society early, also participate in both public and private sectors of marine biology-related examinations, or obtain professional certificates or licenses of marine biology. In addition to basic knowledge and competence in marine biotechnology, each graduate has a second field of practical expertise to cultivate diverse talents from a single department.