Sustainable Cultivation of Discipline Competition Programs for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education: An Example of the Food Science and Engineering Major

Abstract

Cultivating innovative and entrepreneurial talents has become the responsibility and mission of higher education. It reflects the effectiveness of education in terms of teaching quality, scientific prowess, and social service. Discipline competitions played a significant role in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship ability, serving as a crucial component of innovation and entrepreneurship education in colleges. This study used the food science and engineering major as an example to address the gap between theoretical knowledge teaching and the actual production process. It aimed to improve the poor performance of innovative practices by establishing a sustainable cultivation model for discipline competition programs. There needs to be an investigation into the conduct of disciplinary competitions and the students’ participation in them. Then, a model comprising a “theory + experiment + practice” course to guide students in participating in competitions should be formed. A rational and sustainable innovation team and a collaborative innovation platform for school–enterprise integration needs to be built. In order to achieve sustainable development education and cultivate applied talents who can solve complex problems in food engineering, the sustainable cultivation model was established. This work could serve as a reference for developing professional discipline competitions and fostering innovative and entrepreneurial talents for sustainable development.