Fudan's new schools to cultivate highly needed talent

Fudan University launched four new institutions on Wednesday to cultivate highly needed innovative engineers for Shanghai's three major industries – integrated circuits, biomedicine and artificial intelligence.

The four institutions are schools of Integrated Circuits and Micro-Nano Electronics, Computing and Intelligence, Biomedical Engineering and Technology, and Intelligent Robotics and Advanced Manufacturing. They are expected to welcome the first batch of undergraduates in September.

To join the schools, students will need to apply for the university's Shannon Program, named after Claude Elwood Shannon, an American scientist famous for his work on information theory.

After studying basic courses for a year, the students can choose one of the schools to continue with their preferred direction.

To cultivate top-notch innovative engineers, the university said it will provide high-quality resources and implement a "one-person, one-strategy" education approach for students admitted into the program. Top teachers and international courses will be provided, as well as innovation and entrepreneurship training.

Each student will be equipped with a tutor throughout their studies to improve their core competencies, such as scientific and technological writing. The schools will add more engineering practices and interdisciplinary courses into their curricula to improve students' innovation and problem-solving capabilities.

The university will also deepen cooperation with top international universities and research institutions in the program.