Undergraduate IT education in China

The world is changing at an ever-increasing pace, where information technology (IT) is playing an increasingly critical role from infrastructure to applications to security. IT covers a wide range of industries such as hardware, software, electronics, semiconductors, inter-net, telecom equipment, e-commerce, and unlimited computing services. Therefore, IT education in universities must keep pace with the times and reflect the characteristics of the current digital age. Information technology education instills creative problem solving capabilities in IT students, preparing them to recognize and exploit opportunities for technical innovations that can lead to a broad range of career paths such as in high tech companies, government agencies, and healthcare industries. Hence, IT programs have gone beyond computer science and technology (CST) and software engineering (SE) with a " big tent " atmosphere that blends numerous educational opportunities and prepares students for various roles. This article systematically introduces recent developments of IT undergraduate education in China. Firstly, it provides an overview of the current state of education system and IT industry in China. Secondly, it describes a general picture of IT programs at national key universities such as Peking University and Tsinghua University. And thirdly, it introduces the latest trends in IT education beyond traditional boundaries, including core courses, curricula, and knowledge systems. There are three important factors that mold the destiny of education in China. There are the national entrance examination, the undergraduate program related to information technology, and the gap that exists between current education and the prospects of employment. We now address these three issues. China has limited education resources for its large population, reaching over 1.354 billion people by the end of 2012 [17] and approximately 1.361 billion people by the end of 2013. Therefore, the notoriously tough National College Entrance Examination, or Gaokao for short, becomes a milestone for young Chinese students. Since its establishment in 1952, except for an interruption by the Cultural Revolution, the two-day exam has placed colossal pressure on the test-taking students. The Gaokao is a departure from America's SAT and ACT exams. Whereas American universities consider test scores as merely a portion of admissions decisions, among extra-curricular, leadership, service and more, the score of Gaokao is almost the exclusive factor in Chinese college admission [19]. T o prepare students with the skillsets required by industry, China has been adjusting its IT education programs at the bachelor-degree level. IT majors (i.e., first-level disciplines) are no …