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As
one of the key national universities directly under the Ministry
of Education in China, Beijing Forestry University (BFU) provides
the advanced education in the studies of forestry and ecological
environment. It was one of the first universities to be admitted
into the "211 Project" (the major project sponsored
and funded by the government for the construction of top 100
key universities in China in the 21st century) and the 21st-century
Educational Vitalization Action Program.
Located in the internationally
well-known Zhong Guan Cun Hi-Tech Zone, the university was originally
the forestry department of the Royal University (the predecessor
of Beijing University) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). After
the foundation of the university in 1952, a number of distinguished
experts and professors from Peking University (now Beijing University),
Tsinghua University and Beijing Agriculture University were
transferred to the university, which has inherited their rigorous
style and discipline in academic pursuits. Decades of effort
has developed it into a comprehensive university characterized
by forestry, environmental science and biology, with well-coordinated
multi-disciplines of science, engineering, management, economics,
law, liberal arts and agriculture.
After entering the "211 Project"
in 1995, the university reached the standard set by the municipal
government for the beautification of campuses in 1996, and won
the title of the "Campus as Beautiful as Gardens in Beijing"
five years later. In 2000, it established the Graduate School,
the only one among the forestry universities and colleges nationwide,
and a stock company of science and technology.
BFU, as one of the key institutions
of higher education in China, is the cradle of professionals
specialized in advanced technology of multi-disciplines including
forestry, soil and water conservation, landscape gardening,
biotechnology, construction of ecological environment and economic
management.
Since its establishment 50 years
ago, more than 30,000 students and a number of foreign students
have graduated from the university, and among them 11 have attained
to the positions of academicians. The university possesses a
well-formed faculty composed of 956 full-time teachers, including
5 academicians, 496 full and associate professors
While making an effort to enrich its discipline category and
optimize the discipline structure, the university not only possesses
the traditional disciplines which are recognized for their high
quality both at home and abroad, but also has established a
large number of new disciplines to meet the development of the
society. There are 15 schools subordinate to the university,
namely Graduate School, Biological Science and Technology, Landscape
Architecture, Forestry, Environmental Science and Engineering,
Soil and Water Conservation, Industry, Information Science,
Material Science and Technology, Science, Natural Conservation,
Economic Management, Humanistic and Social Sciences, Foreign
Languages, Vocational Training and Adult Education.
The university boasts advanced
Computer Center, Computer Network Center, Modern Educational
Center, Audio-Visual Teaching Center, Biological Center, Micro-Technology
Center, Forest Organism Center, and a forest farm for teaching
and research (Jiu Feng National Forest Park). Attached to the
university are the Foreign Language Training Center of the State
Forestry Administration, the Research Center of Soil Control
Technology of Loess Plateau in China, the Training Center of
Desertification Control of ChinaQuiet and beautifully laid out,
BFU is a well-equipped modern university featured by the magnificent
Central Building of Teaching, the first-rate gymnasium, advanced
laboratories and practice bases, and the colorful, high-speed
campus network. The computerized checking system has been set
up for all the books in the library, and located in the library
building is the Imported Teaching Materials Center for the forestry
universities and colleges nationwide. The construction of the
modern high-rise student apartment building and the new classroom
building was completed in 2001, both of which have been put
to use.
In recent years, nearly 200 achievements
of scientific research received rewards from the national, provincial
and ministerial authorities, and more than 20 achievements of
teaching were rewarded by the national and municipal governments.
BFU is engaged in the international academic exchanges and cooperation
with more than 150 universities and research institutions of
over 20 countries and districts in the world, providing opportunities
for the contacts between China and the outside world in the
researches of forestry and ecological environment.
BFU also provides a favorable
atmosphere for teaching and learning, combining the acquisition
of professional knowledge with the improvement of the all-round
abilities, with the emphasis on forging the rigorous style in
academic pursuit and creativity. The systems of optional courses,
subsidiary courses, course exemption and bachelor-to-master
continuation education have been established so that the students
are able to develop themselves according to their own interests
and wishes. The university also offers colorful extracurricular
activities to enrich the life on the campus, which are organized
by numerous student societies and associations in science and
technology, art, sports, environmental protection, and politics,
etc. Some of them have become quite influential in the society,
such as the Society of Scientific Exploration and Wilderness
Survival and the Association of Beijing College Volunteers for
Environmental Protection, and the former received the "Prize
of the Earth", the highest prize from the National Bureau
of Environmental Protection. In recent years, the students of
BFU won 4 prizes consecutively at the College Students' Landscape
Gardening Architecture Design Competitions sponsored by UNESCO
and the International Association of Landscape Gardening Architects,
as well as the Golden Prize of International College Students'
Architecture Design and the prizes for Gardening Design Competitions.
Excellent achievements were also made in the competitions of
scientific inventions, mathematics, and art organized domestically.
In the new century, Beijing Forestry
University will continue the construction of disciplines, strengthen
educational reform, and promote academic exchanges with the
universities in the other countries, and strive for greater
development and new contributions.
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