Introduction

School of the Environment in Jiangsu University (JU) was established in 2006 that was derived from a previous college of biology and environmental engineering in JU. There are 70 employed faculty and staffs in this college that include 10 graduate faculty professors for Ph.D. degree and more than 15 graduate faculties for MS degree. In addition to the full time faculty, more than 10 distinguished adjunct professors from various countries are also hired to take part in a variety of jointing research projects and teaching activities. Currently, there are eight professional divisions/departments in this college, which have indeed covered the majority of environmental fields and the relevant challenges: Environmental Engineering Institute, Biofuels Institute, Center of the Safety Engineering, Institute of Marine Resource and Environment, Department of Environmental Science, Department of Environmental Engineering, Department of Safety Engineering, and the Comprehensive Laboratory Center. At present, the college provides two bachelor degree majors, one for environmental science and engineering and the other for safety engineering, where the environmental science/engineering is the one to be recognized as a unique major with the scientific strength in Jiangsu province. For graduate degree study, the college also provides various graduate level degrees that include M.S. degree majored in the fields of Environmental Science and Ph.D. degree majored in the fields of Environmental Science and Engineering that has been expanded to six different graduate programs. Along with many years’ efforts, the college has been recognized as one of the best and esteemed universities in the field of environmental science and engineering in China . Five unique research laboratories in School of the Environment at JU have been well established in the past decade, which include Environmental Engineering, Environmental Chemistry, Biomass Utilization for Fuels and Chemicals, Environmental Biology and Ecology, as well as Safety Engineering. Thus, the research interests derived from these five laboratories are mainly focused on the following directions, but not limited to: 1) Agro-environmental ecology and its protection, 2) Quality of the water environment and its management, 3) Water processing and the relevant equipment development, 4) Environmental chemistry and the novel materials for environmental protection, 5) Biological conversion of biomass for biofuels and chemicals, and 6) Hazard material control and its management.

As one of the important advantages for graduate students studying in this college, the academic and teaching activity in the college are also tightly linked to many other esteemed universities or institutions both from various domestic and international regions as well. Currently, the college has established a long term of the cooperative relationships with a number of universities and organizations in the world, such as with Washington State University (USA), Texas A & MUniversity ( USA ), University of Georgia ( USA ), University of Rochester ( USA ), Mississippi State University ( USA ), University of Leeds ( UK ), Mie University ( Japan ), Kyoto University ( Japan ), Tohoku University ( Japan ), University of Tsukuba ( Japan ), Guplph University ( Canada ), and University of Ottawa ( Canada ), etc. Various international student exchange programs in the college have also been carried out for a number of universities in the world. Every year, there are many oversea and domestic scholars and experts visiting the college and deliver seminars/workshops in the areas of environmental sciences, bioengineering, water processing, and many other relevant disciplines as well.