In the wake of Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek's overnight success, the country's universities are racing to create courses centred on the home-grown firm shaking up the global AI industry.
Shenzhen University - located in China's southern tech hub - has partnered with Tencent Cloud to introduce a general AI course based on DeepSeek, according to a Monday post on its official social media account. The class will be available to students starting this semester.
Similarly, Zhejiang University in eastern China has introduced an online course series themed around the company that is open to students, faculty and the general public. Its first session was held on Monday.
The course at Shenzhen University aims to help students gain a deeper understanding of the technology and its applications, the institution said in the social media post, adding its goal is to "promote the deeper integration and innovation" of AI in a variety of settings.
"The rapid introduction of DeepSeek-related courses in Chinese universities reflects the strong demand for AI from both the market and the public," said Xu Hui, a researcher with the University of Jena in Germany and a specialist in China's advanced manufacturing.
"DeepSeek has significantly promoted the application of AI across various sectors of Chinese society, with colleges and universities taking the brunt of the impact."
According to Shenzhen University, its course will cover the practical applications of DeepSeek's model in AI-generated content, language processing and image recognition, while also addressing concerns related to security, privacy and ethics.
Chloe Mei, a 24-year-old postgraduate student in Shanghai, said she was willing to register for a course on the subject as AI tolls could help her daily studies.
"But as someone whose undergraduate and graduate studies are not closely related to AI, I don't think one or two courses will give me a very deep understanding or practical mastery of AI technology, nor will it significantly boost my competitiveness in the job market," said Mei, who majors in management.
She noted students with more relevant academic backgrounds, such as those in science and engineering, would be more likely to benefit more.
Xu, the researcher in Germany, said for young people in China, being early adopters of DeepSeek and other cutting-edge technologies can enhance their competitiveness in the job market.
"However, the widespread application of AI may also lead to the displacement of a large number of junior positions, further exacerbating employment pressure," he added.
"While promoting AI applications, colleges and scholars should emphasise guiding students to maintain critical thinking and learn to use AI responsibly in their work and research, whether in the humanities or natural sciences."