AU Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures Chosen for New Foreign Exchange Program

Auburn University’s fisheries and allied aquacultures department already has an international reputation, but its global reach and renown is about to expand thanks to financial support from China through a new—and novel—exchange program.

According to David Rouse, department head of AU’s fisheries program, the Chinese government has established a national initiative to partner its premier universities with similarly exceptional universities across the globe.One of the first of those international partnerships will be between AU and The Ocean University of China in Qingdao, China.

Rouse explained that the Chinese government, which is investing aggressively in its educational system, established a federal plan to identify 100 Chinese universities as top in their disciplines.The Ocean University of China, which focuses on marine aquaculture working with species such as marine fish, shrimp and shellfish, received that national designation for fisheries.Other universities across China have or will be chosen for other fields of study, ranging from business to engineering to liberal arts.

Once a Chinese university obtains this outstanding designation, it receives federal funding from the Chinese government to send graduate students and faculty members—10 graduate students each year for the next five years in the area of fisheries—to study and network abroad.

Last June, officials from Ocean University visited Auburn and several other universities in the United States and around the world to test the waters for a partnership.Out of all those options, they chose Auburn.

“Their goal was to choose the very best university in the world to partner with,” said Rouse.“The fact that they chose us is a real honor.” In fact, during the selection process, Ocean University’s exchange program organizers contacted fellow Chinese scientists around the world for recommendations before making the final selection.“Every one of them said Auburn was the one for fisheries, which was an even bigger honor for us.”

Following the Chinese delegation’s June visit to Auburn, Rouse and John Liu, the AU College of Agriculture’s associate dean for research, went to China in August to meet with Ocean University officials.Liu, a native of China, is also a faculty member in the AU fisheries and allied aquacultures department and is a world-renowned fish geneticist.He and Rouse helped cement the agreement with China and an official memorandum of understanding was signed between Ocean University and AU in December.

According to Rouse, this is a unique opportunity because, while AU has for many years hosted foreign graduate students and visiting faculty, this is the first time that a foreign country has paid the way for so many students and for the faculty exchanges as well.

The first 10 students, who will be hand-selected by Ocean University and by AU fisheries and Graduate School staffs, will arrive in fall 2008.Rouse noted many will be in the fisheries program but some will also affiliate with other AU departments, such as agricultural economics and poultry science.

“We expect the students to be among the best in China,” Rouse said.“This arrangement is exceptional because it is being funded by the Chinese government, but it also is exceptional because it brings excellent students here to Auburn who will greatly enhance our research capabilities.”

“Ocean University is like the MIT or Harvard of China in the fisheries arena,” he added, “and China is the leading producer of fish in the world. To have this kind of exchange program will be a great experience for our faculty, too.”

To kick off the program, Ocean University will host AU fisheries faculty in China during May 2008 to meet with Ocean University faculty and work out details of the exchange program.And the flow will continue for four more years as, each year, 10 new students and various faculty members will arrive at AU.In addition to sending their faculty here to sit in on classes, they will be paying for AU professors to travel to China to teach short courses.The program also may involve study abroad opportunities for AU undergraduates in colleges throughout Auburn.

“This appears to be a great opportunity to enrich students and faculty of both great universities.We are excited to have been selected and to be able to be involved,” Rouse said.

“We are the best school in fisheries in China, said Ocean University Vice President Shuanglin Dong.“We are required to choose the best in the world, and we chose Auburn.The two universities have many complementary facilities and expertise that will enhance education of students for both the Chinese students and American students.”