To further advance practical teaching reform and build a high-quality platform for cultivating interdisciplinary talents in geoscience and environmental studies, the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University officially launched its 2026 summer professional internship on July 4. The internship runs until July 31, covering all first- to third-year undergraduates majoring in Geographical Science, Environmental Science and Engineering, Hydraulic Engineering, and related fields. Drawing on distinctive resources of mountains, waters, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands and deserts both within and outside the province, the School has optimized the practice-based education system from three dimensions—mobilization and deployment, base support, and teaching models—creating a signature "Walking Classroom" that promotes the two-way integration of professional theory and field practice, enabling knowledge and action to reinforce each other.
Strengthening Pre-Internship Mobilization Education to Build a Solid Foundation for Safety and Ideological Grounding
The Department of Environmental Science and Engineering once again joined hands with Xiuzhong College, Tsinghua University to hold a joint internship mobilization meeting, completing the full-process pre-internship education and overall arrangements. At the meeting, supervising faculty gave systematic briefings on internship tasks, learning objectives, and standardized field operation protocols, with field safety protection (reporting any physical discomfort or emergencies to the supervising faculty immediately) and team coordination management as the core of the communication, thereby comprehensively enhancing students'ability to identify field risks and handle emergencies. The meeting clearly defined the practical conduct guidelines for all interns: strictly observe safety discipline and follow unified instructions in all actions; maintain proper etiquette when interacting with teachers, fellow students, and enterprise staff; implement the five learning requirements of "observe more, listen more, record more, ask more, and think more"; uphold the fine tradition of fearing no hardships and helping one another; and focus on developing core competencies in field observation, communication and collaboration, thematic investigation, and result presentation. This internship fully adopts the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) teaching model. Each class, divided into groups, independently selects field research topics and goes to the frontlines with scientific questions to carry out on-site exploration. At the end of the internship, a thematic results exchange meeting will be held, where each group presents its research findings and writes a standardized internship report.
The School provided each internship team with the Party flag and the School flag, fully tapping the ideological and political education elements in field practice. It inherits the scholarly commitment of "writing research papers on the land of Northwest China" and the noble spirit of the older generation of researchers who took root in the West and made silent contributions. It guides students to establish the ecological civilization concept of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, and ensures that professional competency development and ideological-political value guidance advance in tandem.
The School joins hands with Xiuzhong College, Tsinghua University to hold a joint internship mobilization meeting
Internship mobilization meeting for the 2023 Physical Geography and Resource Environment major
Collaborative Linkage Between University and Enterprise Bases, Full-Chain Closed-Loop Management to Strengthen Internship Support
The School continues to deepen regular cooperation with field scientific observation stations and off-campus internship bases. In the pre-internship phase, it proactively coordinates with base managers to refine arrangements for survey sites, accommodation and meals, field routes, professional guidance, and all other aspects, establishing a closed-loop management mechanism featuring daily internship reporting and dynamic safety tracking for faculty and students. Relying on a triple guarantee of advance coordination, on-site reconnaissance, and real-time communication, the School continuously upgrades the software and hardware support for field internships, minimizes the safety risks of fieldwork, and steadily advances the standardization and normalization of field practice teaching.
Innovating the PBL Practical Teaching Paradigm: Conducting Categorized Field-Based Learning to Enhance Educational Effectiveness
The School has fully implemented problem-oriented field teaching reform, abandoning the traditional superficial sightseeing-style survey model. It weaves real-world issues such as ecological restoration, water and soil management, and geographical evolution in Northwest China throughout the entire internship process, constructing a complete teaching chain of "pre-field topic selection—field sampling and evidence collection—mid-term group discussion—final results review and presentation". This guides students to flexibly apply professional theories to tackle the comprehensive governance challenges of mountains, waters, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands and deserts, thoroughly honing their hands-on skills, comprehensive analysis and judgment, and research and innovation capabilities.
On July 4, the internship team of the 2023 Physical Geography and Resource Environment major, led by Dean Professor Li Yu and teachers Zhang Dezhong, Wang Fei, and Li Zaijun, set off for the core area where China's three major natural regions meet. They conducted a comprehensive internship along the route of Riyue Mountain, Qinghai Lake, Qaidam Basin, Qilian Mountain National Park, and the Hexi Corridor. Focusing on cutting-edge topics such as the climatic effects of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau uplift, the ecosystem service functions of the Qilian Mountains, the dynamic evolution of plateau permafrost, and the sustainable development of water resources in inland river basins, the team carried out field observations, sample collection, and comprehensive analyses.
Glimpses of the 2023 Physical Geography and Resource Environment Internship
On July 7, a production internship team specializing in solid waste, composed of 12 junior students majoring in Environmental Science and Environmental Engineering, went to Lanzhou Yingmei Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. under the guidance of teachers Li Zhongguo and Wang Quan for enterprise-based practical training. The internship was closely aligned with Gansu Province's development needs in solid waste recycling, harmless disposal of hazardous waste, and the construction of a "Zero-waste City". Through on-site observation, safety training, process study, and university-enterprise Party-building exchanges, students systematically mastered the entire technological chain of solid waste collection, storage, disposal, and resource utilization. On the industrial front line, they consolidated professional knowledge, strengthened their awareness of safe production, and established a sense of ecological and environmental responsibility, truly achieving learning through practice and integrating learning with application.
Glimpses of the 2023 Environmental Science and Engineering Internship
Next, the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences will fully leverage the unique geographical and ecological resource advantages of Western China, continuously optimize the integrated practical teaching system of "problem orientation + field hands-on practice + ideological and political immersion", and constantly enrich the educational connotation of the "Walking Classroom". Through high-quality field and industrial frontline internships, the School aims to cultivate a new generation of interdisciplinary talents in geoscience and environmental science who possess innovative thinking, practical skills, and a sense of mission and responsibility to root themselves in the ecological construction of Northwest China.
