The 1st National Seminar on Carbon Storage Science and Engineering Talents Nurturing was held in Chongqing on May 21. The reporter learned at the Seminar that the carbon storage science and engineering program of Chongqing University was approved to be established in 2021 and the first 30 undergraduate students of the program will arrive in September this year.
A picture taken at the Seminar. Photography: Shan Qianlan
This new program is established to train inter-disciplinary talents in carbon storage.
It is reported that at present China has very few professional inter-disciplinary talents in carbon capture, carbon utilization, carbon storage, carbon management and carbon trading. To fill the gap, the Ministry of Education printed and issued the Work Scheme for Strengthening Construction of Higher Education Talent Training System for Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutralization in April, which identified expediting construction and nurturing of related disciplines, talents and scientific research platform of carbon storage area in China as the key task.
In response to the major strategic demands of China, Chongqing University obtained the approval to launch the carbon storage science and engineering program in 2021. This program is an undergraduate program co-established by Chongqing University as the leading university, in collaboration with China University of Geosciences (Beijing), China University Of Petroleum (Beijing) and China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing). It is one of the approaches to nurturing high-end talents in carbon capture, carbon utilization, and carbon sequestration. Topics to be discussed at the Seminar included construction and exploration of the talent nurturing mode of the program, improvement of talent nurturing quality and promoting construction and development of the program. The Seminar was held both physically and virtually, and was attended by 8 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, including Xian Xuefu and Xie Heping, and more than 150 experts from key universities, scientific research institutes and enterprises and public institutions from all over China.
"Sectors such as energy, material and transportation are crying for talents in carbon storage science and engineering. Chongqing University will concentrate efforts on nurturing highly inter-disciplinary talents with an international vision, and explore the way to build a Carbon Neutrality and Emission Peak talent nurturing system with CQU characteristics." Li Zhengliang, Dean of the Undergraduate School of Chongqing University said. According to Li, the carbon storage science and engineering program of Chongqing University is going to usher in its first 30 undergraduates in September 2022.
Lu Yiyu, Vice President of Chongqing University said that Chongqing University is a University under the National World-First-Rate University Construction Program (Class-A) and have 11 disciplines, namely, science, engineering, economics, management, law, literature, history, philosophy, medicine, education and art. It is committed to creating a world-first-rate teaching mode featuring "diversity, multi-dimensionality, individuality and all-inclusiveness", and building the carbon storage science and engineering program into an inter-disciplinary new engineering program with solid foundation and wide coverage. Besides it will make efforts to boost inter-disciplinary development of the program with its courses as the main line, and develop high-quality talents in innovative technology and management with remarkable innovation consciousness and practical ability and the ability to adapt to and lead low-carbon utilization of coal, carbon capture, carbon utilization, carbon storage, and carbon economy industry.
This new program is going to adopt a novel talent training mode.
Lu Yiyu went on and said that Chongqing University boasts a solid scientific research foundation in the field of Carbon Neutrality and Emission Peak, and has established considerable industry-university-research foundation with high-grade, precision and advanced research institutes and enterprises with international fame. Moreover, it is offering a number of international courses on carbon storage taught in English and international training class for undergraduates. It also has a complete and sound training plan of talents in carbon storage science and engineering in place.
“The carbon storage science and engineering program of Chongqing University will build a completely new talent training mode in 3 ways.” According to Nie Baisheng, Dean of the School of Resources and Safety Engineering, the first is to integrate new engineering concept, offer core courses including fluid mechanics, engineering thermodynamics, geological storage of carbon dioxide, principles of carbon conversion and synthesis, principles and technologies of carbon capture, and carbon monitoring and accounting, and characteristic course such as frontier of carbon storage science and engineering, carbon resource recycling, and carbon economics and finance, so as to boost inter-disciplinary development and integration of liberal education and professional education.
The second is to build inter-disciplinary innovation center labs for students, and develop the students' innovation and entrepreneurship ability by utilizing the lab and practical training base. Moreover, Chongqing University is going to work with top foreign universities in talent training, with a focus on developing students' international vision.
"Hopefully, 60% to 70% of the students of this program will go for continuing education, and make contribution to the 'Carbon Neutrality and Emission Peak' goal of China." Li Zhengliang said that in the future, with progress of the discipline plan, Chongqing University will establish postgraduate programs and doctoral programs of carbon storage science and engineering, and take in postgraduate students and doctoral candidates.
Each of other 3 universities among the first ones to launch the carbon storage science and engineering program has its own focus in talent training orientation. The carbon storage science and engineering program of China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing) involves a number of disciplines, including mining engineering, power engineering and thermophysical engineering, chemical engineering and technology, geological resources and geological engineering, environmental science and engineering. China University of Geosciences (Beijing) requires students of the program to have knowledge of basic theories of various disciplines, including geology, energy, mining, chemistry, and physics. With "carbon capture, utilization and sequestration" as the core, China University Of Petroleum (Beijing) will build on its first-rate discipline, oil and natural gas engineering, expedite inter-disciplinary development, integrate high-quality disciplinary resources in geology, chemical industry, storage and transportation, economics and management, literature and law, and develop inter-disciplinary research-oriented leading talents with insights into oil and gas engineering and the ability to lead the future development of carbon storage science and engineering.
Source: Science and Technology Daily
