China’s quest for AI glory leads to 400 new university majors in big data, AI

The Asian superpower is cementing its position as the world leader in big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, as its government announces plans to unleash a massive number of university majors in this field.Its universities will offer around 400 new majors related to these emerging technologies, as well as 612 new engineering research projects, China’s Ministry of Education (MOE) announced last week, as reported by the People’s Daily Online.“AI and big data are newly established majors and will be taught in some directions like computer application technology, information and communication, control science and engineering,” Fan Hailin, Deputy Director of MOE’s Department of Higher Education said.The new courses show China’s ambitions for global leadership in two areas: AI and higher education. Analysts predict it will probably win the former, as the US shows no signs of national technology investment strategies that could compete with China’s. For the latter, China is rapidly climbing global league tables, challenging the old hegemony of the West, with no sign of slowing down. As the world’s largest higher education system – there are 1,245 undergraduate colleges teaching more than 28 million students – the country has the infrastructure to support this expansion. Having seven Chinese universities in the top 20 Asia University Rankings, published by Times Higher Education, is a testament of the quality its system, a result of its 20-year commitment to raising higher education standards.