The Symposium on the Mode of Cultivation of Excellent Innovation Talents was held at Room B416, Medical School Building, Tsinghua University at 3:00pm on January 14, 2010. Chen Jinyu, Director of the Counselor’s Office of the State Council and Secretary of the CPC Leadership Group, and Yuan Si, Vice President and Chancellor of Tsinghua University joined and hosted the symposium. Professor Amy Yuexuan Wang, Deputy Director of Institute for Theoretical Computer Science and Project Director of Tsinghua Xuetang Special Pilot CS Class also joined the symposium.

The recorded speech “Innovative Practice Education-- Cultivating Innovative Talents Based on the High-level Discipline Construction System” by President Gu Binglin was displayed at the symposium. The project initiated by Professor Binglin Gu, and joined by Professor Andrew Yao, Director of Institute for Theoretical Computer Science and other three famous scholars won the first prize in the Sixth National Teaching Achievement Award for Higher Education. The report based on the practice of Yao Class model and other first-hand innovative teaching practice of Tsinghua University and showed the results and progress of Tsinghua University in innovative practice education with a focus on ideas such as “innovative models, mechanisms and the establishment of a sound innovative practice education system”.  

Yuan Si, Vice President of Tsinghua University delivered the report entitled “Cultivate Self-renewal Talents and Establish a Sound Foundation” at the symposium. He pointed out that the cultivation of talents has been the fundamental task of the University. And ever since the promulgation of “Suggestions on Further Improving the Teaching of Undergraduate Students and Promoting Excellent Innovative Talents of Tsinghua University” in April 2009, Tsinghua University has played a leading role in talent cultivation, and the “Tsinghua Xuetang Plan” for promoting the cultivation of innovative talents is one of its efforts in achieving the goal. President Yuan emphasized the successful mode of Yao Class, and spoke highly of such prominent results as the Gold Prize Yao Class students had achieved in international competitions. 

At the Symposium on the Mode of Cultivating Excellent Innovative Talents

During the exchange session of the symposium, members of the Counselor’s Office of the State Council asked thoroughly about the scale and mode of cultivation of Tsinghua Xuetang. Yao Class, as the special pilot class of Tsinghua Xuetang has made highlights and frequent quoted among directors and scholars at the symposium. And at the “Symposium of Cultivating Excellent Innovative Talents” joined by students of Tsinghua University in the morning, Zhu Chenguang and Wu Chenggang also introduced the course of Yao Class to directors presented at the symposium and summarized the teaching characteristic of Yao Class as “going global and bringing in”. Since its foundation in 2005, Yao Class has developed a special teaching model. Theoretical courses focus on fundamental disciplines, to lay a solid foundation of fundamental knowledge for students; while in practice, much importance is attached to creating an international platform for academic exchange and practices. Professor Yao, Director of ITCS has designed core courses for Yao Class himself and set up the Chair Professor Team. He joined the teaching practice and has devoted himself to cultivating the independent research and working capability of students.