On January 20th, the Fourth Global Forum on Development of Computer Science was held at Tsinghua Sanya International Mathematics Forum (TSIMF) both online and offline. Chen Yuan, Vice Chairman of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Li Luming, President of Tsinghua University, Zhou Hongbo, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee and Party Secretary of Sanya, and Andrew Yao, Dean of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences of Tsinghua University and Turing Award Winner attended the forum and delivered speeches.
The forum, centering on “The Role of Computer Science in University Development Strategy”, invited Jack Dongarra, a Turing award winner and a professor in the University of Tennessee, Arvind, Dean of Computer Science Faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dame Wendy Hall, Fellow of the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering, and a Regius Professor of Computer Science in University of Southampton, Yannis Ioannidis, President of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and a professor at National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and directors (deans) of computer science from National University of Singapore, Yale University, the University of Edinburgh, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Peking University, Harbin Institute of Technology and other universities to attend the forum.
The forum was chaired by Andrew Yao and Yin Xia, Dean of the Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University.
Speech delivered by Chen Yuan
Chen Yuan stated that it is in an era of big discipline, universities should lead the world in exploratory basic research in an organized manner and build a high-quality discipline system on all fronts. He hoped that universities can step up efforts to shaping a forward-looking, strategic and systematic landscape, adhere to the innovation-driven concept to explore the integrated development of computer science and other knowledge systems, establish a guidance mechanism for crossover disciplines, and cultivate high-level interdisciplinary talents, thus blazing a new path for computer science to empower universities’ high-quality development.
Video speech delivered by Li Luming
Li Luming, on behalf of Tsinghua University, welcomed the guests and expressed gratitude to all people who spared no efforts for the hosting of the forum. He said, with computer science’s increasingly important role in strategically supporting technological innovation, its development requires the joint efforts and collaboration worldwide. It is hoped that on the forum, experts and scholars can exchange ideas, enhance mutual understanding, form a consensus and discuss computer science’s development trend and its integration with other disciplines, thus promoting the development of computer science and unleashing computer science’s role in empowering universities’ high-quality development.
Speech delivered by Zhou Hongbo
Zhou Hongbo, on behalf of the CPC Sanya Municipal Committee and Sanya People’s Government, warmly welcomed the holding of the forum as well as the arrival of academicians, experts, and scholars. He said that Sanya is now waging an all-out effort to develop tourism, modern service industry, high-tech industry, and efficient agriculture with tropical characteristics and accelerate the construction of an international tourism destination and a free trade port with new sci-tech strengths. He sincerely hoped that experts could make suggestions for the development of Sanya, promote the application of computer science and technology in Sanya, attract computer talents to Sanya to start business and boost the computer industry of Sanya.
Video speech delivered by Andrew Yao
Andrew Yao sent his congratulations for the hosting of the forum and put forward three points on how to respond to new opportunities and challenges brought by the development of computer science. First, the rapid development of computer science gives rise to a large number of new industries, models, and opportunities, and changes people’s production and life; second, the outcomes realized by computer science and technology hugely affect the research methods of other disciplines; and third, facing new challenges, universities shall break down disciplinary barriers, integrate different knowledge systems, cultivate a talent team dedicated to interdisciplinary research and explore more comprehensive methods and standards for talent evaluation and selection.
Experts are sharing ideas and opinions
On the forum, Arvind Mithal, Jack Dongarra, and Jane Hillston, Dean of the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburg delivered keynote speeches on such topics as the training mode of computer science talents, the curriculum of computer science, research paradigms of computer science, and the integrated development of computer science and other disciplines. Andrew Yao and the three keynote speakers as well as Harry Shum, Chairman of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s council, deliberated on the role of computer science in university development strategy.
Conference chaired by Yin Xia
On the afternoon of January 20th, two sub-forums chaired by Jane Hillston and Zhu Wenwu, a professor of the Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, were held. Attendees exchanged ideas on computer science’s development trend and its integration with other disciplines.
The scene of the forum
Global Forum on Development of Computer Science is a high-level international forum held by Tsinghua University. Since its inception in 2018, it has adhered to its original aspiration of exploring the nature of computer science and pushing forward the development of computer science globally, and has received wide attention by related scholars.
