This magazine’s exclusive interview with the dean, professor and doctoral supervisor of the w88 casino of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science at the w88 casino
Ni Yaodong: Promote "artificial intelligence +" interdisciplinary research with high quality
Text/Wang Yujun, reporter of "Chinese Talents" bimonthly magazine
Before interviewing Mr. Ni Yaodong, the reporter learned that he is not only the dean, professor, and doctoral supervisor of the w88 casino of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science at the w88 casino, but also a top student with bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees from Tsinghua University and City University of Hong Kong. He was once the top science student in Jilin Province, with impressive results in the city's mathematics competitions. Through the interview, the reporter felt that he is a comprehensive talent who knows management, understands technology, and has an academic background in artificial intelligence. He is also a famous scholar and teacher who loves students, is responsible, and is good at teaching in education.
On November 21, 2025, Ni Yaodong presided over the cutting-edge academic forum on artificial intelligence applications and the founding ceremony of the w88 casino of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science and gave a keynote report
From being a top student in mathematics to becoming an outstanding graduate of Tsinghua University
Ni Yaodong was born in Changchun City, Jilin Province in 1981. When he was a child, his parents were ordinary workers in a large local state-owned enterprise. Ni Yaodong went to primary w88 casino at the Changchun Tractor Manufacturing Factory where his father worked. Ni Yaodong is talented and has shown a high IQ since he was a child. He can achieve good results without exerting effort in studies. When he was in the third grade of elementary w88 casino, he represented his w88 casino in a city-wide mathematics competition. Unexpectedly, he, who had never participated in any competition before, won the second prize in the Changchun Primary w88 casino Student Mathematics Competition in his first competition. From then on, he became increasingly better in mathematics. By the time he was in the fifth grade of elementary w88 casino, Ni Yaodong ranked second in the Changchun City Mathematics Competition. After graduating from elementary w88 casino, Ni Yaodong was admitted to the High w88 casino Affiliated to Northeast Normal University, where he studied from junior high w88 casino to high w88 casino. “Throughout high w88 casino, my academic performance remained relatively stable at the top of the class. Ni Yaodong said proudly. In 2000, Ni Yaodong took the college entrance examination and got 42nd place in Jilin Province. He was admitted to Tsinghua University as he wished. His major was mathematics and applied mathematics.
During his undergraduate studies at Tsinghua University, Ni Yaodong was always diligent in his studies. In 2004, he graduated with the honor of being an outstanding graduate of Tsinghua University and was recommended to study for a master's degree at the w88 casino, majoring in operations research and cybernetics. Speaking of his graduate tutor, Mr. Liu Baoqing, Ni Yaodong's words were full of admiration, "Mr. Liu was a relatively young professor in the Department of Mathematics at Tsinghua University at that time, and his academic achievements were very rich. We felt that this teacher was very powerful at the time, and I admired him very much. It was precisely for this reason that I chose to study with Mr. Liu and started my academic path."
When he graduated from Tsinghua University with a master's degree, Ni Yaodong won the Outstanding Master's Thesis Award and the honor of Outstanding Master's Graduate. He said that he was particularly grateful to his supervisor Liu Baoding for his guidance when he was a graduate student. "Instructor Liu Baoding had a great influence on me. He was very academically rigorous, very diligent, and had many achievements. He devoted himself to academic research. I feel from the teacher that first of all, when you do something, you should treat it as a career, focus on it, and work hard. What is particularly important to mention is that the teacher is a person with a very correct academic attitude. He taught me that I should not be fooled in the academic field, let alone publish it casually for utilitarian purposes, knowing that it is not rigorous. The influence of teachers on us is subtle, but the influence is far-reaching. ”
After leaving Tsinghua University, Ni Yaodong chose to study for a doctorate at City University of Hong Kong, with the research direction being artificial intelligence. The reason why he chose to study in Hong Kong, Ni Yaodong said, “The world is so big and I want to see it. I feel that Hong Kong is a place where Eastern and Western cultures merge and is culturally inclusive. However, the education system is different from that in the Mainland. I want to change the environment and experience Hong Kong’s education methods. "Although the direction of studying and researching for a Ph.D. is artificial intelligence,
But in Ni Yaodong’s view, artificial intelligence is not very different from the mathematics major he studied in the past. From undergraduate and master's degrees to doctoral studies, Ni Yaodong's "always had a thing in his mind", which was the pursuit of change. He said, "I first studied mathematics and applied mathematics as an undergraduate, which is still a traditional mathematics field. When I was studying for a master's degree, I switched to operations research and control theory, which actually started to change to more applied mathematics. Then when I got to the doctoral stage, I studied artificial intelligence, and I have completely walked away from mathematics."
2009 After Ni Yaodong received his Ph.D. in 2011, he considered that the artificial intelligence knowledge he learned in Hong Kong would be more useful in the humanities and social sciences, so he quickly found the w88 casino (hereinafter referred to as the w88 casino) and was hired as a lecturer by the w88 casino of Information (the predecessor of the w88 casino of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science). In a few short years, Ni Yaodong was quickly promoted from lecturer to associate professor, professor, and from deputy dean of the w88 casino of Information to dean of the w88 casino of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science.
After working at the University of International w88 and Economics, Ni Yaodong never left his teaching and scientific research positions. The college's enrollment targets science students. In addition to training its own students, the college also undertakes the teaching of information technology courses across the University of w88 and Economics. Therefore, Ni Yaodong not only teaches basic computer application courses for other colleges of the University of w88 and Economics, but also undertakes a large number of teaching tasks for this college, teaching operations research (bilingual courses) and decision-making methods in business management (bilingual courses) to undergraduates, economic data analysis, advanced operations research and other courses to master's students, and intelligent decision-making theory and methods to doctoral students and many other courses. Among them, the "Economic Data Analysis" course he teaches mainly focuses on some problems in the economy and teaches students to use mathematical and statistical methods to analyze its economic data.
At the end of June 2024, Ni Yaodong participated in the w88 casino’s annual “July 1st” Commendation Conference as an outstanding Communist Party member of the w88 casino
The professional advantages and teaching characteristics of the college
So far, Ni Yaodong has worked at the University of International w88 for 16 years. During this period, due to his outstanding performance, he has won many honorary titles, such as outstanding Communist Party member, outstanding graduate instructor, scientific research pacesetter, and outstanding class teacher. Facing various honors, he said that what makes him even more proud is that the students he has trained not only achieve good results in w88 casino, but also develop better after they enter society. "Students develop better in their respective fields after graduation, which makes me particularly happy." Ni Yaodong believes, "We live in a good era. I tell my students that everyone has a chance to succeed. As long as you aim at a goal, work hard to do one thing, and achieve it to the extreme, you may achieve success."
At the University of International w88 and Economics, some of the graduate students taught by Ni Yaodong in the past few years were majoring in industrial economics and finance. Although Ni Yaodong is not an economics student, he said that there are many problems in economics that need to be studied, but the methods of studying economic problems can be different. For example, we can not only use the traditional economics research paradigm to solve the scientific problems involved in industrial economics. We can characterize them as quantitative problems and then use mathematical modeling and artificial intelligence technology to conduct research.
"Then how do you study these economic issues using this method?" In this regard, Ni Yaodong told reporters that whether it is an economic issue or a management issue, whether it is industrial economics, finance, or management science Like engineering, it may be a relatively complex quantitative problem. That is, when you peel off the coat of economic management, the core inside may be a complex mathematical problem or a complex quantitative optimization problem, which is very difficult to solve using traditional methods. "When solving it, we must comprehensively use mathematical techniques and some cutting-edge technical methods of artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence can solve these problems." Ni Yaodong said.
Today, in order to meet the needs of social development, the w88 casino of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science has launched a master's degree in intelligent science and technology. He introduced, “A new category will be added to the national subject catalog in 2021 - interdisciplinary category. In this category, there is the major of intelligent science and technology. Graduates are awarded a master’s degree in engineering. Students study artificial intelligence, which is also an interdisciplinary subject. ”
Regarding the setting of majors in the college, Ni Yaodong said that the two master's programs of Intelligent Science and Technology and Management Science and Engineering are aimed at cultivating compound talents. We must use quantitative methods and artificial intelligence technology to solve management problems or other humanities and social science problems. He said: "Students should be equipped with quantitative and AI technical methods to become a compound talent with the ability to use advanced tools and the problem-solving abilities needed to work in society. We are not cultivating purely technical talents, we are cultivating application-oriented compound talents."
"What are the characteristics of your teaching? How do you teach?" In this regard, Ni Yaodong said, "I will try to give students some freedom (in class) and create an equal relationship between teachers and students, based on mutual respect. For example, when I am in class, if students feel a little hungry, it is okay to eat something silently, as long as it does not affect my teaching, and it does not affect the students' listening to the class. If the same
If you want to ask questions, you can also interrupt the teacher at any time... These can be tolerated without affecting the overall order of the class. This is one of my ideas. ”
Ni Yaodong opened an operations research course (bilingual course) for undergraduate students. In the bilingual class, he has to teach in English and Chinese. International w88 casino is a w88 casino that attaches great importance to international education. It offers bilingual courses to allow students to experience an international education environment, because many people will continue their studies abroad after graduation. On the other hand, it is also because many people may go to graduate w88 casino and do research in the future and need to read English literature. “I am doing bilingual teaching in the Operations Research class, and there are many important professional English vocabulary in this class. If you have not been exposed to it beforehand, you will not know the meaning of the foreign language when you read English literature in the future. ”
Ni Yaodong standing on the podium of the University of International w88
Cultivation of comprehensive talents who understand artificial intelligence
Looking through Ni Yaodong's resume, the reporter found that he not only held many important social positions in academia, but also made fruitful achievements in the field of scientific research. He published a large number of academic papers in top academic journals at home and abroad, and trained a large number of master's and doctoral students. It can be said that he is full of talents. "Actually, teaching and scientific research are integrated. Teaching and educating people is not only in the classroom. In fact, there is also a very important content, which is scientific research and education. I bring master's students and doctoral students to do scientific research together. There are topics and projects. In the process of tackling difficult problems, I take students with me. In the process of academic research, students' innovative abilities will naturally be cultivated and improved." Ni Yaodong believes that when students reach the postgraduate stage, we no longer need to focus our time and energy on imparting their knowledge system. The knowledge system is basically constructed in four years at the undergraduate level, and at most in the first year of graduate w88 casino. “In fact, the best way to cultivate innovation and problem-solving abilities is through scientific research.”
Ni Yaodong said that whether in teaching or scientific research, he attaches great importance to how to use artificial intelligence methods to empower the humanities and social sciences. "For artificial intelligence, how to use it is very important. This is one of the original intentions of w88 casino of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science at the University of w88 and Economics in cultivating artificial intelligence-related majors. What we want to train students is to not only understand artificial intelligence technology, but also understand where and how the tool of artificial intelligence is used. Our University of International w88 has a background as a financial and economics w88 casino. We have majors in economics, management, law, political science, and linguistics. These are all humanities and social sciences, and they are actually closely connected with industry. "Ni Yaodong said.
“We not only want students to learn artificial intelligence technology and big data technology, but also let them be influenced by a humanities and social sciences environment, and give them the opportunity to learn a lot of humanities, social sciences, and economic management courses. Then in the future, they will not only understand (artificial intelligence) tools, but also know where and how to use the tools. Let students know that they not only understand ‘archery’, but also know where the ‘target’ is. Through study, students not only know the logic of technology, but also know the way of thinking in which fields they need to solve problems. In the future, when they work in society and play a role in all walks of life, they will have their own unique advantages. According to this training method, the students trained by our college not only have technical advantages, but also have a background in humanities and social sciences, and the students’ professional and complex characteristics are very prominent." Ni Yaodong said proudly.
“The University of International w88 has set up a compulsory course on artificial intelligence for all graduate freshmen and all undergraduate freshmen in the w88 casino, no matter which major they are at the undergraduate, master or doctoral level. This shows that the w88 casino has a deep understanding of the powerful empowering role of artificial intelligence in the humanities and social sciences. Our college is honored to undertake this task. We will talk about artificial intelligence in class. What are the applications in various fields, so that everyone can understand this. Then we will focus on the corresponding scenarios of the existing disciplines of the University of w88 and Economics. For example, if we have an accounting major, we will talk about how artificial intelligence empowers accounting work in the company. We have a finance major, and we will also teach students how artificial intelligence plays a role in financial risk management.”
Ni Yaodong holds an academic group meeting for the doctoral students he supervises
Care about the development of the college and the growth of students
As the dean of the w88 casino of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, Ni Yaodong not only devotes his efforts to the daily management of the w88 casino, but also carefully plans and is full of confidence in the future development of the w88 casino. He said that at present, the main work direction of the college is to promote the interdisciplinary "artificial intelligence +" with high quality. The layout of humanities and social sciences at the University of International w88 is relatively mature and complete, and the level is also very high. However, we are the only one in the engineering field. We not only need to do artificial intelligence research, but also cultivate compound "artificial intelligence +" talents. We are accelerating the construction of an outstanding engineering college with the characteristics of the University of International w88 and Economics. He said: "The teachers at the college are very motivated and have the same ideas. Everyone is in the same state as me now, rolling up their sleeves and wanting to have a good fight. We feel that we must run forward with all our strength and run forward together."
From a top student in mathematics to a student at Tsinghua University, from a doctoral candidate at City University of Hong Kong to becoming the dean, professor, and doctoral supervisor of the University of International w88 and Economics, Ni Yaodong can be said to have always been the idol of many students. Asked about his successful experience and his message to college students, he said sincerely: "I think young people must determine their life goals early and have a life plan, so that they have goals and motivation. It is important for young people to make life plans early, to discover your goals, to see what you really like to do and what you are suitable for. ”
Ni Yaodong said that contemporary Chinese youth have caught up with a good era and are fortunate to be born and grow up in China. "China is the best place today. There are still wars in some places in the world, but our country has been developing at a high speed. If personal goals can be consistent with the needs of the country, the goals must be correct, because only in this way can we take advantage of the general trend and think about your micro-goal from the perspective of national strategy. I think young people should devote their goals to the great cause of national rejuvenation and socialist modernization. ”
(Tang Li, an undergraduate student from the University of International w88 and Economics, participated in the interview)
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