Introduction to the College of Light Industry and Food Science

The College of Light Industry and Food Science originated from the Linhua Pulp and Paper Teaching and Research Office founded in 1963. In September 2008, the School of Light Industry Science and Engineering was established independently, and in June 2017, it was renamed as the School of Light Industry and Food Science, with the departments of Pulp and Paper Engineering and Food Science and Engineering.

The college has a strong faculty, with 72 full-time teachers, including 20 professors (19 doctoral supervisors) and 32 associate professors. The teaching staff includes one academician of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and a specially appointed professor of "Metasequoia Scholars", one academician of the International Academy of Wood Sciences, and 12 provincial and ministerial level talents such as the "333" High level Talent Project training objects and specially appointed professors in Jiangsu Province. More than 97% of the teachers have doctoral degrees, and most of them have overseas study or work experience. The college also employs 4 full-time foreign teachers and 11 part-time professors both domestically and internationally.

The college currently has doctoral degree authorization points for the first level discipline of Light Industry Technology and Engineering and master's degree authorization points for the first level discipline of Food Science and Engineering. Among them, Light Industry Technology and Engineering is an A-class key discipline in Jiangsu Province, and Pulp and Paper Engineering is also a second level key discipline of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. The Light Industry Technology and Engineering discipline has four sub disciplines (directions) of pulp and paper engineering, printing and packaging engineering, fermentation engineering, and biomass chemistry and engineering, including doctoral programs and corresponding master's programs. The Food Science and Engineering discipline has four research directions: Linte product storage and processing, food nutrition, food safety, and food biotechnology. The college also has authorized master's degree programs in Materials and Chemical Engineering, Biology and Medicine, and Food Processing and Safety.

The college currently offers three undergraduate majors: Light Chemical Engineering, Food Science and Engineering, and Food Quality and Safety. The Light Chemical Engineering major was selected as one of the first batch of national first-class majors and Jiangsu Province brand major construction points in 2019. In 2021, the Food Science and Engineering major was selected as the second batch of national first-class undergraduate majors and Jiangsu Province brand major construction points, and passed the IFT international certification for food majors. The college has been awarded the first batch of excellent undergraduate international exchange programs by the China Scholarship Council, and has signed agreements with more than 10 universities in the United States, Canada, Finland, etc. It can select eligible undergraduate students to study abroad annually. The college currently has over 600 undergraduate students and 260 graduate students, and has trained nearly 5000 undergraduate and vocational students, as well as over 500 master's, doctoral, and international students for the country. The quality of talent cultivation in the college has been highly praised by society and the industry, and graduates are highly welcomed by employers, with an employment rate consistently above 97%.

The college has established the only paper foundation in China, the Nanjing Forestry University Pulp and Paper Foundation, in collaboration with well-known domestic and foreign enterprises. It provides scholarships to outstanding and disadvantaged students, and relies on the school enterprise cooperation platform to create social practice and high-quality employment opportunities for students. Since its establishment, the foundation has issued nearly 6.82 million yuan in scholarships and supported 975 students, playing an important role in cultivating high-quality professional talents.

The college is an important supporting unit for multiple research platforms and technology research and development centers, including the "National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Biomass Materials in Mechanical and Electrical Product Packaging", the "National Advanced Materials Discipline Innovation Base for Forestry Biomass", and the "International Innovation Highland for Forest Chemical and Materials" jointly built by the province and the ministry. It also has teaching and research platforms such as the Light Industry Technology and Engineering Postdoctoral Research Station, Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Science and Technology, China Light Industry Wood Fiber Functional Materials (Paper) Key Laboratory, Jiangsu Province Light Industry Science and Engineering Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center, and the International Joint Laboratory of Wood Cellulose Functional Materials. The college and enterprises jointly establish 2 provincial demonstration bases for joint training of graduate students in industry university research, and 8 provincial enterprise graduate workstations.

In recent years, the college has undertaken and completed more than 50 national level scientific research projects, including the National Key R&D Program and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. It has won 2 national level scientific and technological progress awards, 15 provincial and ministerial level scientific and technological progress awards, authorized 280 invention patents, and published more than 1500 high-level academic papers, making outstanding contributions to promoting scientific and technological progress, industrial upgrading, and sustainable development in China's light industry and food industry.