Taoyuan university to require AI programming course for freshmen
桃園大學將要求新生修人工智慧程式設計課程
| TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taoyuan’s Yuan Ze University will require every freshman admitted in 2026 to complete an AI programming course, making it the first university in Taiwan to mandate AI programming for all new students.
CNA reported Tuesday that students entering in the 2026 academic year must take a required “AI programming language” course during their first year. They also must earn at least three credits in AI digital application courses before graduation. “Many local institutions promote AI through electives or cross-disciplinary modules,” the university said. However, it chose to formalize AI as a graduation requirement rather than leave it as an optional track. The school cited overseas examples to explain its decision. It noted Purdue University in the US has introduced AI competency requirements for incoming students, UDN reported. “Yuan Ze University first made programming a general education requirement in 2016,” Academic Affairs Dean Hsieh Chien-hsing (謝建興) said. Now, that course has been upgraded into an AI-focused program tailored by each department. Departments will design course content that fits their professional fields. This approach aims to help students build AI thinking skills and computational logic from their first year, CTS News reported. “Every department has also established AI programs under a structured framework,” Hsieh said. The model trains students to understand, apply, create and lead in AI-related fields. The goal is to strengthen AI literacy and cross-disciplinary ability. Students will also gain experience in model design, system development, and industry-academia collaboration. Starting in 2026, undergraduate students must also complete an interdisciplinary program, micro-program, minor, or double major to graduate. The university said this policy turns cross-disciplinary study from an encouraged option into a formal requirement. In addition, the university is building a shared, enterprise-level AI computing platform. The system will provide high-performance computing resources to support large language model training and cross-disciplinary big data analysis. |
|
| Lai Jyun-tang Taiwan News, Staff Writer | |
| 2026-03-03 |
