On May 18th-19th, Principals' symposium of ocean-related talents cultivation program of China Oceanic Development Foundation was successfully held in Qingdao No. 39 Middle School (Affiliated Middle School of Ocean University of China) in Shandong Province. Pan Xinchun, Deputy President and Secretary General of China Oceanic Development Foundation, Xiang Youquan, Deputy Secretary General of China Oceanic Development Foundation and Deputy Director of Marine Advisory Center of Ministry of Natural Resources, and 19 principals from 10 provinces or cities (including Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Shandong, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guizhou, Chongqing and Yunnan) attended this symposium. Marine libraries of 36 primary and secondary schools in 17 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government have been built under the donation of the ocean-related talents cultivation program. This symposium was the first one held for the ocean-related talents cultivation program since its creation in 2017, and was hosted by Qingdao No. 39 Middle School. Deputy Secretary General Xiang Youquan presided over the meeting.

Group photo of all participants in the Principals' Symposium

Pan Xinchun, Deputy President and Secretary General, delivered an inspiring speech. On behalf of China Oceanic Development Foundation, he expressed a warm welcome to all principals attending this meeting. He pointed out that since the program was established more than three years ago, with the full support and full implementation from every principal, the schools have put in a lot of hard work and also received excellent results. The love for the sea that we saw among the teachers and students in the various activities organized by the Foundation shows that the Foundation has made a correct decision to implement this program and select these schools. He said that many high-tech talents are needed in the development of combustible ice, deep-sea oil and gas and other submarine mineral resources, high-temperature and high-pressure resistant deep-sea biological gene, marine information transmission technology, offshore wind energy, wave energy, tidal energy and many other new energy development that contribute to carbon reduction. And all the fields require attention in elementary education. The Foundation will fully support schools in their exploration of talent training and give full play to their endogenous motivation to carry out marine activities according to their own characteristics. Also, the Foundation will reward schools according to the evaluation results. In the contemporary era experiencing unprecedented changes in the past hundred years, the important task of building a maritime power and cultivating marine talents is urgent. With great responsibility and honorable mission, the Foundation will give national-level rewards to principals who make contributions.

Pan Xinchun, Deputy President and Secretary General of China Oceanic Development Foundation, delivered an opening speech

Xiang Youquan, Deputy Secretary General of China Oceanic Development Foundation and Deputy Director of Marine Advisory Center of Ministry of Natural Resources, presided over the principals' symposium

Principal Bai Gangxun of Qingdao No. 39 Middle School shared the results of marine education and program-based teaching. He said, in the context of the national strategy to promote the building of a maritime power, Qingdao No. 39 Middle School actively cooperates with the Ocean University of China and other universities and research institutes, introduces marine professionals, builds a trinity of "basic courses + extended courses + practical courses" marine education curriculum system, implements the "four-one program" of "one expert lecture per week, one marine practical activity per month, one research program per semester, and one marine scientific investigation per year" and addresses the development of students' core literacy such as learning interest, practical ability, scientific spirit and national sentiment in a targeted manner, which has delivered a batch of excellent talents to ocean-related universities. Principal Bai also introduced the school's use of successful experience in marine education to promote changes in teaching methods -- program-based teaching reform. The school has achieved fruitful results in program-based teaching in the three years since it signed a cooperation agreement with Beijing Normal University, and published program-based teaching cases of nine major subjects in book form. Program-based teaching has become the Qingdao experience that Qingdao No. 39 Middle School offers to the whole province and even the whole country. Therefore the school has undertaken many national, provincial and municipal academic seminars and promotion meetings about program-based teaching . The school has been identified by the Ministry of Education as a national demonstration school for the implementation of the new curriculum and new teaching materials.

Students in Senior One and Senior Two of Qingdao No. 39 Middle School also presented the results of their research on marine topics, which impressed everyone and won high praise from the participating principals, including Deputy President Pan.

Bai Gangxun, principal of Qingdao No. 39 Middle School, shared his experience in marine education

Students of Qingdao No. 39 Middle School reported the research results on the corrosion rate of carbon steel and pure copper in seawater

Yao Siyong, principal of Daozhen High School, shared his experience of exploring marine education in a school residing deep in the mountains. Daozhen High School, located in Gelao and Miao Minority Autonomous County, Zunyi City, Guizhou Province, built the marine library in October 2018, funded by the Foundation. Driven by the four-pronged approach of "support from the government, emphasis by schools, social assistance, and co-building of teachers and students", the school set up an ocean science society at the beginning of the library, carried out a variety of ocean-themed activities, mobilized the whole school and even students from friendly schools to actively participate in national ocean events, and has achieved many excellent results. Marine experts have been invited to the school many times to give lectures and there is growing interest in caring for the ocean among the students. In the 2020 college entrance examination, 25 students of the school were admitted to marine colleges and universities (first tier majors). Among the 36 schools receiving the donation of marine libraries, 33 schools are located in the inland regions and border areas. So the practices and initiatives of Daozhen High School, which has a predominantly rural student population, show a demonstration effect, and its experience is worth promoting.

Principal Yao Siyong of Daozhen High School shared his experience in marine education

Jiao Wei, Principal of the Second Experimental Middle School in Chengyang District, Qingdao, shared his experience of marine education in middle schools under the title of "Inspired by the Sea, Build Dreams and Set Sail". Since its establishment, the school has taken blue ocean education as its main direction and established the curriculum system of "set sail", which is permeated in all courses, school culture development and related activities. First, always remind students to build marine awareness through the "ocean galleries" composed of display boards and wall paintings on all floors of each teaching building, and the knowledge publicity of love the ocean on school newspaper "Set Sail" and the school TV station. Second, set up interest groups such as paper-cutting, fishing net making and pottery art integrating with the national curriculum, local curriculum and school-based curriculum, and the results are gathered and displayed in the local cultural festival. Different forms including writing about the ocean, drawing the ocean, singing about the ocean, speaking about the ocean, acting about the ocean and telling about the ocean are integrated into various activities, in order to mobilize students' enthusiasm for participation in with the form of competitions. Third, stride toward the social lecture from the small school classroom. Experts from local marine enterprises and institutions are invited to give lectures and act as instructor; Social practice bases are built in collaboration with sea-related units to support the study on board of warships and research vessels; Interaction with the Second Middle School in Guizhou Guanling Autonomous County allows study tours to each other's locations and other cooperative activities, achieving collaboration in the middle and west regions, and realizing the integration development of "marine +".

Jiao Wei, Principal of the Second Experimental Middle School in Chengyang District, Qingdao, shared his experience in marine education

Zhu Xuemei, Principal of Qingdao Experimental Primary School in Shinan District gave a report on "Junior Ocean School: Exploration and Practice of Educating People by Ocean", and shared a very professional and systematic experience on marine education in elementary school. Based on the "series of self-developed marine teaching materials" and "researches on special marine topics", the school has built up a unique "marine education model" and a "model of junior ocean school". First, in 1998, the school received the honor "Qingdao Junior Ocean School" from State Oceanic Administration and became the first marine school for teenagers in China, with Yuan Yeli, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, as the first principal. In 2002, the school developed and published the first set of "Junior Marine Science Education Materials" nationwide. In teaching, the teachers guide students to identify problems, investigate them, and solve them, making research a way for students to experience learning. The problems generated and solved by students in the research process were compiled into "Thousands of Questions on marine knowledge", which becomes a knowledge base for students to learn about the ocean, and as a result, the students can achieve excellence in many knowledge competitions. Secondly, the school invites experts from ocean-related units to form a team of experts to give lectures at school on a regular basis for in-depth interaction; sets up a team of professional teachers to build marine classrooms; sets up a marine-theme lecture group for students with divided research groups according to different topics and makes their results presented through micro marine classes; fully explores the resources of parents, establishes a parent classroom, and gives class lectures according to the age of students. Third, the school creates "meaningful + interesting" learning experience, shaping the "borderless" marine education ecological field. It carries out research and practice activities of learning about science, environmental protection, public welfare and society; guides parents to take parent-child research trips during holidays; expands the platform and establishes cooperation with organizations such as the Chinese Society for Oceanography, the Blue Ribbon Ocean Conservation Association, and Xinlei Publishing House, which publishes the magazine "Scientific Exploration - Undersea World". Through the assistance of students' parents, the school flag is flown over the scientific research stations in the Arctic and Antarctic. Fourth, it develops cross-discipline courses and builds a children's university. It has compiled instruction manuals for the Ocean Research Institute's ocean study course, ocean-style graduation course, holiday theme course and ocean handicraft course; established a resource base of ocean experts and ocean bases; introduced the Qingdao Aquarium's mini ocean exhibition hall; established the first blue post office on the island -- the Little Sailfish Post Office; established an ocean air classroom and opened the "Ocean Stories Told by Ocean-style Youth" at www.k618.cn. Fifth, it launches the "Ten Characters learning from the Ocean": tolerance, knowledge, benevolence, ambition, persistence, integration, struggle, toughness, wisdom and balance, to achieve the purpose of nurturing students, enriching teachers and influencing parents.

Zhu Xuemei, Principal of Qingdao Experimental Primary School in Shinan District, shared her experience in marine education.

On the morning of the 18th, the symposium was mainly focused on sharing educational experiences. In the afternoon, the principals exchanged and discussed about the schools' practices of marine activities and the next steps for the ocean-related talents cultivation program. The principals gave their specific opinions and suggestions. Three students who won the 2020 Ocean Scholarship and were admitted to Ocean University of China were invited to speak about their experiences and thoughts on learning about the ocean.

Scene of the afternoon meeting of the principals' symposium

Bai Gangxun, Principal of Qingdao No. 39 Middle School, delivered a speech

Yao Siyong, Principal of Daozhen High School, delivered a speech

He Fang, Principal of Kashgar Special Economic Zone Senior High School, delivered a speech

Cheng Sufang, Principal of Chongqing Wanzhou Senior High School, delivered a speech

He Biao, Principal of Pengshui First Middle School in Chongqing, delivered a speech

Wang Zizhong, Principal of Tongliao Fifth Middle School, delivered a speech

Chen Guangxue, Principal of the No.1 Middle School of Guangnan, delivered a speech

Cheng Xinfu, Principal of Wuyun Middle School, Ganxian District, delivered a speech

Wang Guanfu, Principal of Hefeng Middle School in Yudu County, delivered a speech

Wang Hongxia, Principal of First Elementary School in Yan'an New District, delivered a speech

Zhu Bo, Principal of Hailun Ninth Middle School, delivered a speech

Wang Guohai, Vice Principal of Bijie Dongchen Experimental School, delivered a speech

Xiao Xiaoshan, Vice Principal of Bailuzhou Middle School, delivered a speech

Hu Jinwen, Vice Principal of Shishang Midle School, Ningdu County, delivered a speech

Fang Zili, a student from Pengshui First Middle School and now the student of Ocean University of China, delivered a speech

Li Huiting, a student from Jinggangshan Middle School and now the student of Ocean University of China, delivered a speech

Long Yiru, a student from the First Middle School of Taoyuan County and now the student of Ocean University of China, delivered a speech

Finally, Deputy President and Secretary General Pan Xinchun made a concluding speech. He thought that the symposium had three main results. First, it shows the principals' insight into the development of a maritime power and the cultivation of marine talents. It is believed that the principals will cultivate excellent marine talents to serve the development of a maritime power. Second, although the conditions, regions and strengths among schools are different, they all carry out different marine activities. Through the symposium, the principals will surely have big inspirations and new ideas to develop the ocean-related talents cultivation program better in their schools. Third, the principals made many valuable suggestions and recommendations, which are very useful for the ocean-related talents cultivation program and the Foundation will study and adopt them seriously.

He gave a comprehensive response and reply to the comments and suggestions made by the principals. He also made three suggestions on how schools can make good use of the platform of the ocean-related talents cultivation program: First, schools should win parents' support for the school to realize the cooperation of children and parents and actively plan for the overall development of the school. Second, the schools should establish cooperation and connection with universities. The Foundation will take the lead in promoting it. Through cooperation with colleges and universities, the influence and status of the schools can be expanded in the local areas and they can gain more support. Third, the schools should obtain the support of local government and authorities. The ocean-related talents cultivation program is the national business card of the schools in the local areas. To achieve benign development, the support from the higher authorities holds the key to the success of the program. He said that the ocean-related talents cultivation program is a great program and a big stage. After seeing the principals' sense of mission and responsibility today, he believed that they would be able to achieve a grand career.

Pan Xinchun, Deputy President and Secretary General of China Oceanic Development Foundation, made a concluding speech

Before and after the symposium, the principals visited the laboratory and specimen room of Qingdao No. 39 Middle School to learn about program-based teaching. After the symposium, a visit to the Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology was organized to learn about China's status in the international marine field. Especially after watching the demonstration of Deep Blue Brain System Simulation and Cooperative Control Center, the principals were deeply impressed by China's marine high technology. At the National Deep Sea Center, the principals learned about the significant achievements of our country in the activities in the high seas and international seabed area. Through the meeting and visit, the principals expressed that they had new ideas and full confidence to carry out the ocean-related talents cultivation program of "Donating Marine Libraries, Cultivating Youth Talents", and they would do better with the support of China Oceanic Development Foundation.

Principals visited Ocean Science Exhibition Hall of Qingdao No. 39 Middle School

Principals visited the Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology

Principals visited the exhibition hall of National Deep Sea Center