(Yicai) Aug. 7 -- China’s education ministry is extending its curriculum reforms aimed at modernizing and improving the higher education system to include the discipline of artificial intelligence and has formed a special advisory committee that includes top Chinese universities.

Along with Tsinghua University and 14 other major universities, the committee also comprises two scientific research institutions, three leading AI companies, and two publishing houses, Yicai learned.

The committee has already determined the first batch of undergraduate and graduate AI degree courses, including 15 core courses and 10 cutting-edge courses to help students deal with the various applications of AI systems, as well as two experimental courses that can better their ‘hands-on’ ability.

The reforms in China's higher education system are part of a broader effort that includes the so-called 101 Plan, which targets the reform and enhancement of curriculum teaching in key disciplines such as AI, with the aim of improving the quality of education and fostering high-caliber talent.

“Courses are the core of talent cultivation in universities, and the '101 Plan' brings together top domestic experts and scholars in the field,” said Rao Yanting, deputy researcher at the Research Center for Higher Education under the China National Academy of Educational Sciences. They will jointly develop textbooks and teaching methods to ensure everything taught in the classroom is new and advanced, Rao noted.

The 101 Plan gets its name from the binary numbering system, which is fundamental to computer science and digital technology, as its first pilot program was for computer science in 2021.

The plan aims to set up about 10 core courses for each of the piloted disciplines, thereby creating a batch of advanced, innovative, and challenging courses to bolster China’s ability to find and nurture top talent in these fundamental disciplines, an official in charge of ministry’s higher education department said at the time.

The ministry has since extended the 101 Plan to include eight more disciplines since April last year, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological sciences, medical school, traditional Chinese medicine, economics, and philosophy. 

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione