Xiamen University started marine studies almost 100 years ago and is recognized as the cradle of China s marine studies. Its Department of Oceanography, established in 1946, is the first of its kind in China, while its College of Ocean and Earth Sciences has developed into one of China s best marine research institutions with a state key discipline marine science, and has a faculty that includes an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a number of experts involved in Thousand Talents Plan , China s Recruitment Programme of Global Experts.