Korean Media: Envy of China's University Autonomy, the Power Behind DeepSeek

"Why Did DeepSeek Emerge in Hangzhou?"

The editorial team from JoongAng Daily embarked on this trip to Hangzhou with the aim of finding an answer to this question. During their visit to the Zhejiang Provincial Government, the delegation confirmed the policy stance of "supporting but not interfering." When visiting Brain Co and Deep Robotics, two of Hangzhou's "Six Little Dragons," they felt the vibrant enthusiasm of young entrepreneurs.

The final piece of the puzzle was found at Zhejiang University. "Liang Wenfeng, CEO of DeepSeek, is an alumnus of this university. Does Zhejiang University have a unique secret for cultivating AI entrepreneurship talents?" In response to the question posed by Professor Jeong Yu-sim from Sogang University's Graduate School of Business, Assistant Director Ai Ni said, "You can pay attention to our ITP (Intensive Training Program) course established to support innovation and entrepreneurship." It is reported that Liang Wenfeng is also a graduate of this program.

The ITP program was established in 1999 and belongs to the Zhuyuan College, the elite education college of Zhejiang University. This is a special project aimed at supporting students' entrepreneurship, officially named "Special Class for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Management Enhancement." According to Ai Ni, "About 50 students are selected each year from non-business majors in their second year of study for specialized training in entrepreneurship and business management."

The ITP program is also known as the "Future CEO Class." This program has nurtured many well-known entrepreneurs, including Liang Wenfeng, an alumnus of the Electronic Information Engineering Department; Huang Xiaohuang, founder of Qunhe Technology, one of the "Six Little Dragons"; Huang Zheng, founder of Pinduoduo; and Fang Yi, founder of MRTech, a top Chinese AI data service company, all of whom are alumni of this program.

Discussions also arose regarding the autonomy of Chinese universities. When asked, "Who decides the school's enrollment quota?" Assistant Director Ai Ni answered, "The total number is determined by the Ministry of Education, but the specific teaching operations of each discipline are as much as possible decided autonomously by the schools according to industry needs." She cited the newly established "AI+X" special class as an example to illustrate the flexibility of universities in curriculum design.

This course teaches artificial intelligence knowledge to students who are not majoring in AI. For instance, students majoring in public administration can learn AI, and those studying education can also learn AI. Students from Fudan University in Shanghai can also participate in the "AI+X" course at Zhejiang University. Five prestigious universities in the East China region, including Zhejiang University, Fudan University, Nanjing University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and University of Science and Technology of China, have all offered this course, and they recognize each other's credits. According to the introduction, this approach allows the cultivation of the required talents without expanding enrollment. Park Sei-youn, a professor of International Trade at Hanyang University in South Korea, commented, "This level of university autonomy is nothing short of the ultimate version."

What about the situation in South Korea? Former Yonsei University President Kim Yong-hak lamented, "Just because we didn't follow the bidding procedure when signing a sesame oil procurement contract, we were criticized by the Audit Office, and even selling coffee without the Ministry of Education's permission led to criticism. This is the reality of South Korean universities. How can we cultivate AI talents under such circumstances?" He pointed out that various regulations make it difficult for South Korean universities to flexibly respond to industry needs.

Professor Lee Jung-dong from the Graduate School of Engineering at Seoul National University said as he left the forum, "In a socialist country like China, we envy their university autonomy." After concluding the visit to Zhejiang University, the atmosphere on the bus returning to the hotel seemed somewhat heavy.

Source: JoongAng Daily

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1837134392430603/

Disclaimer: This article represents the views of the author."