Artificial Intelligence: Chinese universities open AI education for undergrads
Updated 00:00, 10-Jun-2019
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China's Ministry of Education has given the green light for dozens of universities to offer undergraduate degrees in artificial intelligence. One of the lucky few is the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing. CGTN's Sun Tianyuan reports. 
A big statement in China's technological ambitions, undergraduate degrees in artificial intelligence, or AI. If China's high-school students were undecided about where to direct their careers, then this latest offering might just be the ticket for some.
PROFESSOR WANG YU ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING DEPT, TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY "This is the AI era. Every industry will be benefited from AI. Application departments such as automobile, mechanical, medical schools. They all have some kind of connections to artificial intelligence."
Experts believe AI has all the potential in the world, but there's a severe shortfall of talent at the moment. Some enterprises are offering extremely high salaries and packages, but they just can't get the talent they need. Such an initiative could be just want's needed.
WANG YAN NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES "It will generate more talents to fill the skill gap in the labor market. Also I believe it will facilitate research and development in the field of AI in all industries and occupations."
SUN TIANYUAN BEIJING "Experts say both the AI industry and knowledge about it are on the rise. However, they also say people shouldn't get overly excited. After all, AI is only a tool to help the tech industry grow, at least for now."
That's something Professor Wang was very keen to stress. Students who major in AI shouldn't be too narrow in their focus, but allow their knowledge to expand and develop into other tech fields. At the same time, those who major elsewhere - such as networking or programming - should also be encouraged to learn about the power of AI.
PROFESSOR WANG YU ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING DEPT., TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY "Every department has algorithm or application classes for students to learn about AI technology. It's more like a tool or methodology from our perspective. Students in every department can try to learn AI technology, or this tool and methodology to help their own career or research."
WANG YAN NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES "Learning artificial intelligence will help the students to understand the change in future labor market and also help them to do a better job whatever job they're entering into in the future."
But despite the boom and optimism, AI is still a fledging industry. And students are ultimately advised to be vigilant, and choose a program which best fits their personality, skills and interests. Sun Tianyuan, CGTN, Beijing.