Chinese universities expand AI programs for future growth
March 10, Hong Kong (Reuters) – To focus on what they referred to as “national strategic needs” and cultivate talent in fields like artificial intelligence (AI), several of China’s leading institutions have declared plans to increase undergraduate enrollment.
The announcements follow the February introduction of artificial intelligence courses by Chinese colleges, which were modeled after the widely publicized AI startup DeepSeek.
It has been called a “Sputnik moment” for China since it has produced AI models that are on par with the most sophisticated in the US but constructed for a fraction of the price.
The success of DeepSeek, which is nearly entirely staffed by researchers from prestigious domestic universities, according to analysts, shows how China has caught up to the United States in AI thanks to Beijing’s commitment to creating a sizable pool of local STEM talent and recent U.S. limitations on Chinese student visas.
To concentrate on “national strategic importance,” “emerging frontier fields,” and basic disciplines, Peking University said on Saturday that it would increase 150 undergraduate spaces in 2025.
Their primary fields would be clinical medicine, engineering, and information science and technology.
To boost innovation, Renmin University announced on Saturday that it would add more than 100 spots in fields including artificial intelligence.
The ambition to build China a “powerful education country” and concentrate on developing talent in the digital age is “closely linked” to the expansion, the statement stated.
With an emphasis on “cutting-edge technologies” and “urgently needed” developing businesses in AI, integrated circuits, biomedicine, healthcare, and new energy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University will add 150 spaces.
The first national action plan to help coordinate education development, increase innovation efficiency, and create a “strong country” was released by China in January to create a “strong education nation” by 2035.
Education officials announced in December that they would start teaching AI in elementary and secondary schools to foster students’ creativity, curiosity, and digital literacy.
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