China to open 400 big data, AI majors in universities for global competition

The press conference of China’s Ministry of Education on Tuesday Photo: Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. China will open around 400 majors related to big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics in universities in 2019, China's Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on Tuesday.  Another 612 new engineering research projects will also be implemented in universities."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, a deputy director of MOE's Department of Higher Education, told the Global Times on Tuesday. China has set the target becoming a major center for AI innovation and world leader in AI technology and applications by 2030, the Xinhua News Agency reported. "New courses of some less commonly taught languages of the countries along the routes of the Belt and Road Initiative, including Belarusian, Kurdish, Maori, Bislama and Dhivehi, will also be open in some universities," Fan said.