On April 22, 2010, Prof. Andrew Chi-Chih Yao hosted a meeting with Yao Class 90 students in Room 4-603, FIT Building. Prof. Amy Yuexuan Wang and Assoc. Prof. Sun Xiaoming also joined the meeting.

Prof. Yao is always in high spirits while talking with young Yao Class talents. He said the Ministry of Education is currently promoting the concept of pilot class among ten top Chinese universities, and Tsinghua University Special Pilot CS Class will have a better performance in this regard.

The class meeting mainly focused on the revised Yao Class program which is different from that of the Department of Computer Science and Technology. Its curriculum emphasizes more on the combination of theories and applications of mathematics, computer science and software while optimizing the utilization of the expertise and favorable research environment in the field of computer science at Tsinghua University. For the past five years, Prof. Yao has kept exploring and adjusting the program through his own teaching practices. And the revised program contains fifteen core courses, five more than the original program, among which six courses will be instructed by Prof. Yao. Courses on cutting-edge research projects such as Quantum Computing, Computational Biology, and Internet Algorithm have been added to further improve the Yao Class program.

"The reason I built the Yao Class is that I want to cultivate undergraduates who are competitive to those from MIT, Stanford and Princeton. And I believe we can achieve this goal." Prof. Yao said. Though the revised program will put more pressure on students, Prof. Yao is confident in their learning capabilities. He emphasized that Yao Class students are all talented enough to get enrolled and it is time for them to seize the opportunity.

When some students raised questions on their further development, Prof. Yao encouraged them to lay a solid foundation and explore their interests. He also shared his own experience in learning English which was well-received by the Yao Class students.

Since its foundation, the Yao Class has been striving to nurture top-class creative scientists by providing them with an international platform for practical experience and academic exchange. As time goes by, the Yao Class is ready to cultivate international top computer talents.