A new Tsinghua Xuetang class—Artificial Intelligence Class is launched, announced by Vice President and Provost of Tsinghua University Yang Bin on 18 May, Tsinghua Undergraduate Open Day. It is included in Tsinghua Xuetang Talents Program, and Professor Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, IIIS Dean, is the Chair Professor, and IIIS Associate Professor Longbo Huang the Program Director. The program will receive applications from Tsinghua freshmen this summer and 30 students will be enrolled in the Class of 2019.

Artificial Intelligence has seen impressive advances over the past decade worldwide. We are now in the midst of an information revolution, where AI has an increasing impact on the society as a whole. It is true that the breadth of the talents across this domain will lay the foundations for large-scale growth in this area in China, and this undergraduate program of artificial intelligence will play a key role in enabling us to widen participation in AI field in a competitive way, according to Prof. Andrew Chi-Chih Yao.

Prof. Longbo Huang introduced that Artificial Intelligence Class aims to cultivate high-achieving talents in AI field, and the program offers a range of courses, from the fundamental subject mathematics to cross disciplines. Students will further develop their skills and subject understanding on AI and learn to solve problems or to address problems in this field themselves by coupling rigorous theory with industrial application.

Since its launch in 2009, Tsinghua Xuetang Talents Program strives for promoting the cultivation of innovative talent among undergraduate students and has established eight Xuetang classes including Tsinghua Xuetang mathematics class, computer class, physics class, chemistry class, life science class, and mechanics class, world literatures and cultures class, besides the new artificial intelligence class. The launch of Artificial Intelligence Class marks the expansion of Tsinghua Xuetang Talents Program to incorporating more diverse disciplines.

(By Yuying Chang)