The first international training plan for artificial intelligence talents in colleges and universities in China was launched.

　　On April 3rd, the launching ceremony of the international training plan for artificial intelligence talents in China universities and the opening ceremony of the 2018 artificial intelligence training course for university teachers were held in Yingjie Exchange Center in Peking University.　

　　CCTV News:On April 3rd, the launching ceremony of the international training plan for artificial intelligence talents in China universities and the opening ceremony of the 2018 artificial intelligence training course for university teachers were held in Yingjie Exchange Center in Peking University. The activity was jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Education, innovation works Institute of Artificial Intelligence Engineering and Peking University. At the meeting, the organizer of the event announced the launch of the first international training program for artificial intelligence talents in colleges and universities in China. John E. Hopcroft, a foreign academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Turing Award winner, Geoffrey Hinton, inventor of deep learning, and Kai-fu Lee, president of innovation works Institute of Artificial Intelligence Engineering, personally served as teachers. Through multi-level selection, 100 teachers and 300 students are selected from key computer universities in China to participate in the training plan in 2018, so as to explore and practice the teaching content and teaching methods suitable for higher AI talents training in China and cultivate applied talents in China AI industry.

　　Xu Tao, Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchange of the Ministry of Education, Tian Gang, Vice President of Peking University, Kai-fu Lee, Dean of innovation works Institute of Artificial Intelligence Engineering, and John E. Hopcroft, winner of Turing Prize, and other leaders and experts attended the launching ceremony. The "International Training Plan for Artificial Intelligence Talents in Colleges and Universities in China" is jointly directed by the Department of International Cooperation and Exchange, the Department of Higher Education and the Department of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Education, co-sponsored by the Chinese and Foreign Humanities Exchange Center of the Ministry of Education, the innovation works Institute of Artificial Intelligence Engineering and Peking University, and co-sponsored by the Beijing Frontier International Institute of Artificial Intelligence. The supporting unit is the School Planning and Construction Development Center of the Ministry of Education. According to the plan of the Ministry of Education, this large-scale plan will train at least 500 AI teachers and 5,000 AI students in top universities within five years to build the largest batch training plan for AI talents in the world.

　　At present, the competition in the field of artificial intelligence is mainly reflected in the competition for talents. According to the People’s Daily, the talent gap of artificial intelligence in China exceeds 5 million. Under the huge talent gap, AI talent education in schools is an indispensable link.

　　In July, 2017, the State Council issued the New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan, which listed "accelerating the cultivation and gathering of high-end talents in artificial intelligence" as a key task, and emphasized "taking the construction of high-end talents as the top priority of artificial intelligence development, improving the artificial intelligence education system, strengthening the talent reserve and echelon construction, and forming China’s artificial intelligence highland".

　　In 2018, the international training plan for artificial intelligence talents in China colleges and universities is a comprehensive training plan of teacher-student interaction, school-enterprise integration and international cooperation, aiming at the pain points of AI education in China.

　　The training plan consists of two parts, the AI training course for college teachers and the DeeCamp AI training camp for college students. This training program has the following characteristics:

　　First of all, invite top international AI masters as mentors. John E. Hopcroft, a foreign academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Turing Prize winner, Geoffrey Hinton, the pioneer of deep learning and the father of neural network, and Kai-fu Lee, president of innovation works Institute of Artificial Intelligence Engineering, and other famous experts in the field of artificial intelligence in China and the United States were invited as training instructors.

　　Second, build the world’s largest AI batch talent training program. According to the current plan, at least 500 AI teachers and 5,000 AI students in top universities will be trained within five years, and these teachers will be helped to return to school to open AI courses and train more AI talents. Create a "teacher+student" synchronous training mode. Six weeks of teacher training and five weeks of student training overlap in summer. 100 teachers who participate in teacher training will serve as group assistant academic tutors for 300 students, tracking and learning to promote each other and ensuring teaching quality.

　　Thirdly, the integration of production and learning, interdisciplinary, integration of domestic and foreign high-quality artificial intelligence education resources and industrial resources, and create opportunities for teachers and students to practice in practical topics.

　　Wang Yonggang, vice president of innovation works Institute of Artificial Intelligence Engineering, emphasized the characteristics of the curriculum design of this training program: on the one hand, aiming at the international frontier scientific research direction, inviting academic masters to teach the most advanced teaching concepts; on the other hand, starting from the industrial demand, highly emphasizing the important role of project practice in AI teaching, and designing practical projects that are both challenging and fun for students.

　　Xu Tao, director of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchange of the Ministry of Education, said that it is hoped that through the implementation of the project, the following goals will be achieved:

　　First, further improve the strength and level of artificial intelligence teachers in middle and high schools;

　　The second is to further improve the training ability and level of artificial intelligence talents in China universities;

　　The third is to further build and improve the discipline system of artificial intelligence in China universities;

　　The fourth is to promote exchanges and cooperation between artificial intelligence education and scientific research in Chinese and American universities.

　　Xu Tao, director of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchange of the Ministry of Education, also revealed that the Ministry of Education will further improve the discipline system of artificial intelligence in China universities, and is studying the establishment of an artificial intelligence major to promote the construction of the first-level discipline of artificial intelligence. According to reports, the Ministry of Education is studying and formulating the "Action Plan for Leading Artificial Intelligence Innovation in Colleges and Universities" to further enhance the scientific and technological innovation ability and talent training ability of artificial intelligence in colleges and universities through the integration of science and education and interdisciplinary.

　　In addition, based on this training plan, the Ministry of Education also plans to set up the "Sino-American University Artificial Intelligence Talents Cooperation Training Program" to provide special scholarships for college teachers and students to go to the United States for artificial intelligence; It will also establish the "Sino-US University Artificial Intelligence Talent Training Alliance" in conjunction with relevant American universities to promote educational exchanges and cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence between China and the United States.