Construction and Practice of First-class Courses in Local Undergraduate Universities: A Case Study of the Latest Developments in Biological Sciences

In the context of rapid development of global higher education, local undergraduate universities face both opportunities and challenges. Driven by national policies, local undergraduate universities have received unprecedented attention in educational reform and innovation, especially in the construction of first-class courses. By analyzing the current teaching situation of the course on the latest developments in biological sciences, this paper points out major issues in course design, such as an excessive emphasis on high-level learning, insufficient industry-academia-research collaboration, inadequate assessment systems, and low student learning motivation. To address these challenges, this paper proposes strategies to enhance course quality based on capstone courses and industry-academia-research collaboration, emphasizing the importance of optimizing course content, strengthening practical components, and improving assessment methods. By introducing capstone courses, local universities can better adapt to national policies such as "Double First-Class" and "Rural Revitalization, "promote disciplinary development, and achieve a win-win situation for talent cultivation and local economic development. This research provides important theoretical support and practical guidance for the construction of courses in local application-oriented undergraduate universities.