Four staff members of The Chronicle of Higher Education visited ITCS on April 14, 2009, including Managing Editor Dauid L. Wheeler, Senior Editor International Beth McMurtrie, China Correspondent Mara Hvistendahl and Director of College & University Relations Eric D. Zack.

They interviewed Prof. Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, during which Mr. Wheeler was very inquiring about the reason why Prof. Yao gave up the comfortable living and academic environment abroad and came back to China. Yao said that it was of no surprise, because on the one hand, for a long time, his biggest wish was to cultivate as many as possible CS talents for China. On the other hand, both human resource and policy in China are becoming increasingly favorable for academic study and CS talents education. So he came back and founded the “Yao class”, leading the progress of ITCS, Tsinghua.

Interview

As for why ITCS can develop so rapidly, Prof. Yao introduced the teaching concept, the organization and faculty members of ITCS as well as the financial support from outside. Yao particularly mentioned that ITCS has always been trying its best to attract more and more outstanding postdocs from both home and abroad, to improve the academic level of faculty members, which is a key factor for the cultivation of top CS talents. Furthermore, ITCS founded an advanced class for undergraduate students. Top students are given many opportunities to attend international conferences and participate in academic exchange programs.

Communication between Prof. Yao and the visitor