In the afternoon of March 12, our school and BGI-Shenzhen signed an agreement of genomic science talent co-culture and officially set up an Innovation Class to explore a new educational mechanism of combining learning with research and production. QIU Xue-Qing, Vice President, YANG Huanming, chairman of BGI-Shenzhen and Chinese Academy of Sciences, and more than 200 representatives of college teachers and students participated in the ceremony. QIU Xue-Qing Vice President said that our school and top Research Institute had the principle of "mutual complementarity and common development" to set up the innovation class, which help students combine theory with practice and cultivate outstanding innovative talents in Genome industry.

The innovation class cultivates outstanding innovative talents as the pattern of 2.5+1.5 and selects the best students from the School of Biological Science and Engineering, School of Computer Science and Engineering, School of Software Engineering and School of Science. The students complete their studies in schools in the first five semesters and in the Research Institute in the last three semesters. According to undergraduate students′ professional training programs and professional development of Research Institute, the school develops personalized training plan for the students and the research institute also selects some experts with a certain professional level and teaching ability as a part-time to teach them and guard the students internships and graduate designs. Meantime, they also go on working in the research institute after graduate.

The BGI-Shenzhen China considered as a leading genome research institute internationally, has abundant scientific research strength and the world's advanced level of technology platforms and personnel. In 2008, two sophomores and two juniors were an exception in advance recruitment by the institute; Meantime, two 2004 fresh graduates participated in the "Yanhuang One" Genome Research and contributed and published a paper in the Nature journal as the authors.

A new educational mechanism of combining learning with research and production is an important way and effective model to cultivate high-quality innovative talents, also is one of the main directions and contents which our school carries out educational reform and promotes innovation in education. Therefore, the school invests 100 million Yuan special fund to support the research and practice every year.