https://en.people.cn/n3/2026/0912/c90000-20498869.html

​A recent report by the Chinese career platform Maimai showed that AI-related job postings in China surged 8.7-fold year on year from January to April this year.

Yet traditional university majors can be slow to adapt. A new major typically takes four to five years to go from planning and approval to producing its first graduates, while technological advances in fields such as AI, integrated circuits, new energy and biomedicine are progressing on a quarterly or even monthly basis.

Micro-majors offer an agile response. In March 2025, the Ministry of Education launched a nationwide initiative to enhance students’ employment skills, under which universities were encouraged to offer 1,000 micro-majors or clusters of specialized courses, along with 1,000 vocational skills training courses. By May this year, 1,433 universities across China had offered nearly 10,000 micro-majors, attracting about 300,000 students.

Typically comprising three to eight core courses, the programs fit around students’ regular studies, with classes held in the evenings, on weekends or during school breaks, and offered both online and in person.

A survey by China Youth Daily found that more than 60 percent of respondents who had taken such programs said they had acquired new professional skills, while about half said they had broadened their knowledge and horizons.

Such efforts reflect China’s education development plan for 2026-2030, released in June, which calls for improving mechanisms for adjusting university disciplines and majors, including expanding programs in areas with urgent talent needs and upgrading traditional fields to better meet changing demands.