Distinguished teachers and students of universities and scientific research institutes from around the globe:
In recent years, artificial intelligence technology has impacted almost all spheres of life. Adopting the development trend of science and technology and accelerating the development of innovative talent in line with national strategies and in responsive to technological advances and social development needs are prime movers of innovation to build China into a tech powerhouse.
Since its release in 2017, the Rhino-Bird Elite Training Program has received applications from nearly 300 outstanding students from more than 50 universities, of which nearly 80 students have been enrolled to make scientific research visits to Tencent on real industry issues based on resources such as Tencent's massive data and expert guidance. The program aims to verify academic theories, accelerate the transformation of results, and improve research capabilities and overall competitiveness.
To respond to the development trend of pioneering technologies, the 2019 Rhino-Bird Elite Training Program will expand the joint training program, promote the latest learning and research domains such as Robotics, AI in medicine and healthcare and Automatic driving technology, and set up an "intellectual study" and "intellectual sharing" platform to provide the students with opportunities of academic exchanges with Rhino-Bird academic experts from around the world.
The application process and management system are detailed in the program application guide. For more information about the program, please visit Official website of Tencent University Relations, read the email notice from the program team or follow our official WeChat account: Tencent_UR.
Project team of the Tencent Rhino-Bird Elite Training Program
December 10, 2018
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Application Guide
2019 Tencent Rhino-Bird Elite Training Program
I. General Guidelines: Tencent hereby launches the Rhino-Bird Elite Training Program for the purposes of further implementing the strategy of the Ministry of Education on deepening the comprehensive education reform in colleges and universities, enhancing the comprehensive skills of college students and partnering with universities to train high-level talents that are suitable for China's economic development, technological advancement, and social progress.
II. Eligibility Criteria: This program accepts applications from full-time undergraduates (junior and senior), master students, and doctoral students, including master and doctoral students of the 2019-20 school year. Students meeting any of the following conditions may apply:
- The student (as primary author or advisor as primary/student as secondary) has published a paper in a leading journal or conference (China Computer Federation Types A, B, or equivalent).
- The student is a key member of major provincial or national research programs or has made prominent contributions to established open-source programs.
- The student has received national or international academic or competition awards or has received graduate student awards from academic organizations such as China Computer Federation, China Institute of Electronics, ACM, and IEEE.
- Students meeting the following condition will have priority in the selection process.
- The student was a participant/member of Tencent research collaborations, e.g., CCF-Tencent Rhino-Bird Fund Program, Tencent joint lab programs, etc.
III. Review Process: Eligible students submit the application at https://ur.tencent.com/register/18 or send appendixes of the application materials to our official e-mail address:Tencent_UR@tencent.com according to the introduction of each subject, the profile of the mentor and the places to visit within the set timeframe. The application form , CV, the scanned copy of the tutor recommendation form（For master and doctoral students of the 2019-20 school year, a recommendation form from the tutor of their current university must be submitted.），representative papers，award certificates and other supporting materials are required (See Appendix II and Appendix III for the application form and tutor’s recommendation form). Each applicant is allowed to submit one application only and apply for only one subject. Students who have already enrolled in the program can submit the application every other year. Important dates are as follows:
- December 10, 2018: Application begins;
- January 28, 2019: Application deadline;
- April 5, 2019: Announcement of results.
Please follow announcements of the program for specific milestones.
IV. Resource Support: This program adopts the joint training mechanism. All enrolled students will be trained jointly by their tutors and mentors from Tencent. The main scientific research directions and objectives of the joint training will be determined through discussion after the students are enrolled (see Appendix I for related research areas and profiles of Tencent's mentors). The enrolled students will be given the opportunity of an over three-month research visit to Tencent for gaining first-hand access to real industry problems, expanding their research mindset, validating academic theories, co-publishing papers and applying for patents. In addition, the project team will design a series of courses, such as communication skills and innovation methodology, and host online and offline academic exchange events.
The elite students will have access to the following resources:
- Online access to "Elite Group" (An online community platform targeting elite students, who will be required to register with their real names. See Appendix IV for details) to understand first-hand R&D information about the Internet industry, scientific research cooperation requests and relevant resources;
- Opportunities to gain the guidance from domestic and overseas Rhino-Bird Experts;
- Opportunities to attend industry forums, academic conferences, and training sessions;
- Receive research grants during a visit to Tencent and have an opportunity to be considered for annual rewards and research bonuses;
- Priority interview opportunities for job openings.
V. Terms of Training: The training period of the program is one year. Enrolled students will generally visit Tencent for 3-12 months (the exact period of time will be confirmed by the tutor and Tencent mentor). At the end of joint training, the students will maintain access to "Elite Group" and the right to enlist for internal events and access contents. In principle, the students are not permitted to leave the program half-way. However, if necessary, a statement needs to be signed by both the tutor and Tencent mentor and submitted to the project manager for filing.
VI. Organization & Management: The elite training program will be operated by an advisors' panel, an expert group, a mentor group and a project management team. The advisors' panel and the expert group consist of academic institutions and Tencent R&D experts. They will be responsible for controlling and optimizing project quality and the selection of elite students. The mentor group comprises tutors of the enrolled students and Tencent R&D team and will be responsible for mentoring students' academic research. The project management team consists of the Tencent UR and human resources teams. They are responsible for building and running the elite group and organizing academic exchange events.
For more information, please contact the project team, at Tencent_UR@tencent.com.
VII. These Guidelines will come into effect on the day of their release.
