Introduction to College of Engineering

The history of College of Engineering of South China Agricultural University (SCAU) dates back to the Agricultural Mechanization Teaching and Research Section of South China Agricultural College in 1958. The Department of Agricultural Mechanization was established in 1961, and then developed into the Department of Agricultural Engineering in 1984. The department was upgraded to College of Polytechnic in 1993, and was renamed as College of Engineering in 2001. There are currently 2,804 students enrolled in the college. The faculty of College of Engineering is composed of 112 teaching and administrative staffs, including 22 professors, 38 associate professors, 52 lecturers , 64 doctorate recipients, 18 doctoral supervisors, 1 academician of China Engineering Academy and National Teaching Master”, 1 Leading Talent of Science and Technology Innovation of the National Ten Thousand Talents Program, 1 member of the Agricultural Engineering Discipline Review Panel of the Chinese State Council Degree Committee, 1 National Advanced Individual of Teacher's Virtue , 6 Scientists of National Modern Agriculture Industrial Technology System, 3 experts with special government allowance.

College of Engineering of SCAU has the post-doctoral work station and the doctoral and master's degree authorization of the first level discipline in Agricultural Engineering, 1 master's degree authorization of the first level discipline in Mechanical Engineering and 1 master’s degree authorization of the second level discipline in Computer Application Technology. In addition, the college has 2 Engineering Master's degree and 1 Agricultural Extension Master's degree authorization. Agricultural Mechanization Engineering has been approved as the National Key Discipline (Cultivating). The first level discipline Agricultural Engineering is now the Climbing Key Discipline of Guangdong Province. College of Engineering of SCAU offers 7 undergraduates majors, including Agricultural Mechanization and Automation(Mechatronics), Mechanical Design, Manufacturing and Automation, Traffic and Transportation, Vehicle Engineering, Industrial Design, Electrical Engineering and Automation, Automation. Agricultural Mechanization and Automation is awarded as the National Featured Major and The Experimental Reform Major Subjects of State-Level Teaching. Mechanical Design, Manufacturing and Automation  is awarded as Guangdong Provincial Featured Major. Traffic and Transportation and Mechanical Design, Manufacturing and Automation  are famous majors of Guangdong Province. The teaching team of the course “Agricultural Mechanics” won the title of the National Teaching Team. The course “Agricultural Mechanics” has become one of the National Excellent Courses and the Chinese University Resource Sharing Courses. The college also Won 1 national teaching achievement award and 6 teaching achievement awards at provincial level.

The area of existing teaching and research buildings is over 13,000 square meters with over 7000 sets of equipment worth more than RMB 1.1 billion yuan. The college is equipped with 15 platforms and Laboratories. There are 2 State level international cooperation and exchange platforms, one is National Center for International Research on Precision Agricultural Aviation Pesticides Spraying Technology, the other is Precision Agricultural Aviation Application Technology Research Overseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation. The laboratory of “Key Technologies of Southern Agricultural Machinery and Equipment  has been approved as the Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China as well as the Key Laboratory of Guangdong Province. The laboratory of “Agricultural Equipment and Technologies for Paddy Fields is the Key Laboratory of Ministry of Agriculture of China. International Laboratory of “Agricultural Aviation Pesticide Spraying Technology” is also the key laboratory of Guangdong Province. There are 4 engineering technology research centers, which are Research Centre of Aerial Application for agriculture of Guangdong Province, Research Centre of Rice Transplating Machinery and Equipment of Guangdong Province, Research Centre of Moutain Orchard Machinery Innovation of Guangdong Province, and Research Centre of Cold Chain Logistics Equipment for Fruit and Vegetable Products of Guangdong Province. There are 6 Mechanization Research Laboratories of National Modern Agricultural Industry Technology System (which focus on rice, citrus, sugar cane, litchi and longan, banana, and cotton separately). Research topics of College of Engineering are distinctively featured in the key technologies of rice production machinery and equipment, southern characteristic crops production machinery and equipment, and precision agriculture with outstanding achievements. A number of world-leading achievements to fill the domestic gap have been gotten. Technology transfer and application of industrialization are realized. In the nearly five years, the college is active in research with more than 150 funded research projects, over 1300 scientific papers including more than 230 indexed by SCI and El, 26 monographs and textbooks, more than 280 authorized invention patents, and over 20 provincial and ministerial level scientific research achievement awards. The project of Professor Luo Xiwen’s team, “Precision Rice Hill Direct Seeding Technology and Machine based on the combination of agricultural machinery and agronomic technology” obtained 1 Second Class Prize of The State Scientific and Technological Progress Award. Currently, nearly 50 major research projects with budge exceeding RMB 1.8 billion yuan are undertaken, including the National Agro-Scientific Research Project in the Public Interest, and projects of the National Twelfth Five-Year Scientific and Technological Support Program.

The college has established wide academic exchange and cooperative relationship with Silsoe College and Silsoe Research Institute of the United Kingdom, Washington State University, University of Massachusetts, University of Kentucky, Kansas State University, and Oklahoma State University in the United States, McGill University in Canada, Montpellier National Higher College of Agriculture and National Agricultural Engineering Research Center in France, the Australian Agricultural Engineering Research Center, University of Queensland, University of Sydney and University of Southern Queensland in Australia, The University of Tokyo， Yamagata University in Japan, Thailand Prince of Songkla University ,Cardiff University, Nanyang Technological University and University of Dundee.