No haste

"No haste" is the advice that Yang, Bai and many other professors have given to students interested in developing a career in the AI industry.

Duan Xinyu, a doctoral student whose expertise in AI research was learned at Zhejiang University, agrees.

He entered the university in 2010 as a major in computer science and developed an interest in AI in 2013 when discussions and applications of audio and facial recognition were taking off in China.

As one of the country's pioneering institutions in AI research, the university quickly introduced several courses on the subjects in the curriculum of a computer science major. Duan took to them immediately and has progressed well in related research, earning him recommendations and a scholarship to continue his doctoral degree at the university.

"You have great leeway to learn and develop once you have built a solid basic science foundation during undergraduate years," Duan said.

This insight has proved valuable for most prospective college students and parents, such as Li Shuangying and her son. As enrollment by prestigious universities in an AI major is limited to only a few, Li said that for a time the family had hesitated over whether her son should continue to choose AI-related majors at a less-desired university.

After numerous consultations and assessments of her son's interest and potential, Li said the family is now determined to support his dream of becoming an AI professional, even though the journey to achieve it could be arduous.

Xing Yi, Zhou Wenting, Cao Chen and He Qi in Shanghai contributed to this story.