China wants more robotics talent.
The country’s elite universities are preparing to launch a new undergraduate major in “embodied intelligence,” an emerging field that combines AI with robotics.
Seven universities — including Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Zhejiang University, Beijing Institute of Technology, and Xi’an Jiaotong University — have applied to offer the new major, according to a public notice published in November by China’s Ministry of Education.
These schools sit at the top of the country’s engineering and computer-science ecosystem, and several are part of the C9 League, China’s equivalent of the Ivy League. Zhejiang University, located in eastern China, is the alma mater of DeepSeek’s founder and a growing roster of AI startup leaders.
The ministry said the major is being introduced to meet national demand for talent in “future industries” such as embodied intelligence, quantum technology, and next-generation communications.
In a June notice, the ministry said that universities should “optimize program offerings based on national strategies, market demands, and technological development.”
China’s embodied intelligence industry is expected to take off. This year, the market could reach 5.3 billion yuan, or $750 million, according to a report republished by the Cyberspace Administration of China. By 2030, it could hit 400 billion yuan and surpass 1 trillion yuan in 2035, according to a report from the Development Research Center of the State Council.
The Beijing Institute of Technology said in its application document that the industry has a shortfall of about one million embodied intelligence professionals.
If adopted, the major would become one of China’s newest additions to its higher-education system.
Beijing’s push into AI and robotics has been underway for a while. Shanghai Jiao Tong University already runs a “Machine Vision and Intelligence Group” under its School of Artificial Intelligence. Zhejiang University has also set up a “Humanoid Robot Innovation Research Institute,” dedicated to “developing humanoid robots that exceed human capabilities in movement and manipulation.”
The Chinese tech industry is moving just as quickly. Chinese companies specializing in humanoid robots and autonomous systems have been racing to keep pace with global competitors. In September, Ant Group, an affiliate company of the Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group, unveiled R1, a humanoid robot that has drawn comparisons to Tesla’s Optimus.
In the US, some universities already offer courses and labs for robotics and AI, including Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, and New York University.
What the Chinese course offers
China’s proposed “embodied intelligence” major is designed with job opportunities in mind.
At the Beijing Institute of Technology, the school plans to enroll 120 undergraduates in the program a year, with 70 expected to continue into graduate programs and 50 headed straight into the workforce, according to its application document.
The university’s filing sketches out where those students are likely to go. State-owned giants like Norinco and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation are expected to take more than a dozen graduates, while others are projected to join major tech players, including Huawei, Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, Xiaomi, and BYD.
The major includes courses such as multimodal perception and fusion, embodied human-robot interaction, and machine learning for robotics, according to the university’s filing.
