College of Biotechnology
The College of Biotechnology of Tianjin University of Science and Technology (TUST) originated from the Fermentation Engineering program of Hebei Light Industry Institute, which was established in 1958. During the nationwide integration of institutions in 1964, the Fermentation Engineering program of Beijing Institute of Light Industry was transferred to our college, becoming one of the two strongest Fermentation Engineering programs in Chinese universities. In 1993, it was renamed the Biochemical Engineering program, and in 1998, according to the Undergraduate Major Catalog of Institutions of Higher Learning issued by the Ministry of Education, it was renamed again as Biological Engineering. With the rapid development of biotechnology, the broadening of research fields, and the development needs of the domestic biological and pharmaceutical industries, the Pharmaceutical Engineering program was newly established in 2000. In 2004, the Biological Engineering and Pharmaceutical Engineering programs were combined to form the College of Biotechnology. In 2014, in collaboration with Heriot-Watt University in the UK (ranked 235th globally in the QS World Rankings of Year 2024), a Sino-British cooperative education project was launched for the Biological Engineering (Brewing and Distillation) program, and in 2017, a Biological Engineering program was opened for international students. In 2020, a Modern Industry Institute of Biomedicine was jointly established with leading enterprises in the industry, including Ringpu (Tianjin) Bio-Technology Co., Ltd., CanSino Biologics Inc., Bloomage Biotech Co., Ltd., Tianjin Institute of Pharmaceutical Research, and Dynami Biotechnology Co., Ltd. In 2021, the construction of the TUST-Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Engineering Biology was initiated. Among these, the Biological Engineering program is recognized as a National First-Class Undergraduate Major Program, a National Signature Program, a program selected for Outstanding Engineer Education and Training Program from the Ministry of Education, a Tianjin Brand Program, a Tianjin Advantageous and Characteristic Program, and has been approved from the Accreditation Board for Engineering Education. The Pharmaceutical Engineering program is also a National First-Class Undergraduate Major Program, a Tianjin Strategic Emerging Industry-Related Program, and a Tianjin Application-Oriented Program.
Faculty Strength
The College currently has 154 faculty and staff members. Among them, there are 112 full-time teachers, 85 of whom hold senior professional titles, and 100% of the teachers have doctoral degrees. It includes 2 members of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council Discipline, 1 National Famous Teacher, 3 recipients of the national WR Program, 1 member of the National People’s Ten Thousand Talents Program, 1 national expert with outstanding contributions among young and middle-aged people, 1 national QNBJ honoree, 4 experts who obtain the State Council special allowance, and 2 foreign academicians. Additionally, there are 20 University-Appointed Professors. The college has established 1 National Teaching Team and 3 Tianjin Teaching Teams; it also has 1 innovation team under the "CJ Scholar Reward Program" of the Ministry of Education, 2 "131" Innovative Talents Teams of Tianjin, and 1 Tianjin Key Field Innovation Team.
Discipline and Degree Program Construction
The College has a doctoral degree program, a master's degree program, and a postdoctoral research station in the first-level discipline of Light Industry Technology and Engineering. It also offers master's degree programs in the first-level disciplines of Biological Engineering and Pharmaceutical Sciences, as well as professional doctoral and master's degree programs in Biology and Pharmacy. Among these, the discipline of "Fermentation Engineering" is a national key discipline, while Light Industry Technology and Engineering is a top-tier discipline in Tianjin, a first-class discipline in Tianjin, and Pharmaceutical Sciences is a key discipline in Tianjin. The College supports five disciplines, namely Agricultural Sciences, Chemistry, Biology & Biochemistry, Engineering, and Materials Science, to rank within the top 1% globally in ESI rankings, with Agricultural Sciences ranking among the top 0.1% globally. As the leading institution, the college has established a national city-level industry-education integration alliance for biomedicine and co-constructed a characteristic discipline group for industrial service among Tianjin universities in "Industrial Biotechnology" with multiple universities, research institutes, hospitals, and enterprises. The College also conducts joint graduate training with outstanding research institutions and enterprises such as Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, CanSino Biologics Inc., Ringpu (Tianjin) Bio-Technology Co., Ltd., and Guotai Liquor Co., Ltd. Furthermore, it has established a dual master's degree program with the University of Bradford in the UK. These robust disciplinary advantages have laid a solid foundation for the enhancement of specialty construction and teaching quality.
Teaching and Research Platforms
The College possesses a comprehensive system of national and provincial-level teaching and research platforms, including the "National Key Laboratory of Bio-based Fiber Materials," the "State Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety," the "National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center for Biotechnology," the "National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Metabolic Control Fermentation Technology," the "International Science and Technology Cooperation Base for Food Nutrition and Safety and Pharmaceutical Chemistry," the "National Engineering Research Center for Industrial Enzymes," the "National Synthetic Biology Innovation Center," the "National Demonstration Base for Joint Cultivation of Graduate Students in Biopharmaceutical Technology," the "Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of Education," the "Research Center for Food Bioengineering of the Ministry of Education," the "Inauguration of Industrial Innovation Technology Research Institute of China Alcoholic Drinks Association," the "Key Laboratory of Microbial Engineering in China's Light Industry," the "Tianjin Engineering and Technology Center for Microbial Fermentation and Metabolic Control," the "Tianjin Key Laboratory of Industrial Microbiology," the "Tianjin Engineering Laboratory for Efficient and Green Manufacturing of Amino Acids," the "Tianjin Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center for Bioengineering in Ordinary Colleges and Universities," the "Tianjin Haihe Laboratory for Synthetic Biology," the "China-Thailand Joint Research Institute for Modern Biomedical Technology," and the "Tianjin Engineering and Technology Center for Fermentation Industry." Currently, the College serves as a member of the Teaching Guidance Committee for Bioengineering and Biotechnology Majors in Higher Education Institutions under the Ministry of Education, the Vice Chairman Unit of China Biofermentation Industry Association, and the Vice Chairman Unit of Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology.
Scientific Research
Relying on its traditional strengths in light industry fermentation, the College has established six scientific research directions: Biological Reaction Engineering, Modern Brewing Technology, Enzyme and Biocatalysis Engineering, Metabolic Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Biopharmaceuticals, and Pharmaceutical Chemistry. In recent years, the College has seen a continuous increase in scientific research projects, having undertaken and completed over 600 national, provincial and ministerial, and commercial research funding projects. Among these, it has led 2 national key research and development programs of China, 14 projects from national key research and development program of China, 1 major commercial research funding project worth 20 million yuan, 10 major commercial research funding projects worth 10 million yuan or more, and over 120 commercial research funding projects worth more than one million yuan. Many of these achievements have reached international leading or advanced levels. The College has continuously made new breakthroughs in scientific research, winning 2 National Science and Technology Awards, 6 China Patent Excellence Awards, over 30 provincial and ministerial science and technology awards such as the Tianjin Science and Technology Progress Award, and over 40 Social Science and Technology Awards from organizations such as China National Light Industry Council and China General Chamber of Commerce. In the past five years, the College has published over 1,500 academic papers, including over 600 SCI papers, and obtained over 350 authorized national invention patents. It has also participated in the formulation and revision of over 20 National and Industry standards.
Talent Cultivation
The College currently has nearly 1,500 doctoral and master's degree candidates and over 1,000 undergraduate students. It has 1 National Famous Teacher, 3 National First-class courses, 1 National Teaching Team, 3 Tianjin Teaching Teams, and 4 Tianjin first-class and distinctive courses. In recent years, the College has published over 30 textbooks and completed 5 National and 8 Tianjin projects related to Undergraduate Teaching Quality Engineering or Teaching Reform. Among these, 2 projects, including "Exploration and Practice of Innovative Talent Cultivation Mode in Bioengineering and Biotechnology," have won National Teaching Achievement Awards, and 6 projects, such as "Innovative Undergraduate Talent Cultivation System Oriented to the Bioindustry under the Guidance of International Engineering Education through Industry-Science-Education Integration," have received Tianjin Teaching Achievement Awards. Students have achieved excellent results in innovation and entrepreneurship competitions, including winning gold medals in the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Competition, silver and bronze medals in the China International ‘Internet+’ Competition, and being recognized with "Best Entrepreneurial Project" and "My Favorite Project" at the National College Students’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Annual Conference. In its educational and teaching work, the College closely focuses on the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education, taking the lead in constructing the first nationwide ideological and political education teaching resource library platform with light industry characteristics, and has been approved as an excellent "Holistic Education" work case in Tianjin schools. The College actively explores the integration of vocational and general education, industry-education integration, and science-education integration, and promotes the joint cultivation of undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students. Notably, the Modern Industry Institute of Biomedicine was honored as the "Best Case" in the construction of modern industry institutes in 2022 and was approved as a Tianjin-level modern industry institute in 2023. As the leading university, it supports the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area Biomedical Industry-Education Consortium, which has been selected as one of the first national industry-education consortia.
International Cooperation
In accordance with President Xi Jinping's proposals of "Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind" and the "Belt and Road" initiative, the College attaches great importance to and actively implements the "Opinions of the Ministry of Education and Seven Other Departments on Accelerating and Expanding the Opening-up of Education to the Outside World in the New Era". After years of international expansion efforts, the College has conducted numerous cooperative talent cultivation, scientific research, and academic exchanges with countries such as Japan, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Germany, and the Czech Republic. It has established Sino-British cooperative undergraduate programs, Sino-British dual master's degree programs, fully English-taught undergraduate programs for international students, Sino-British joint brewing laboratories, and the Sino-Thai Joint Research Institute for Modern Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Technology. These initiatives have created an international education, research, and exchange cooperation system featuring "both internal and external" cooperation, while also providing an international exchange platform for all teachers and students and broadening their international horizons.
