Foreword

The Symposium on China Computer Science Vision 2020 will be held during October 12-15, 2009, at the Institute for Theoretical Computer Science (ITCS) in Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.

China is striving to build first-rate research universities, to go with her remarkable economic growth in recent years. After five years of first-hand experience in developing research and education programs in Tsinghua University, we have come to believe that there is a real chance to successfully build a first-rate computer science discipline in China within 10 to 15 years. This task no doubt would be a great challenge, but at the same time it presents a rare opportunity to design a brand new computer science institute that would meet the needs of the computer science for tomorrow's world.

In China Computer Science Vision 2020, we have invited many of the leading computer scientists to give lectures on their perspectives on the state of the art of computer science today, and the likely future shape of computer science in ten to fifteen years. This is also a great opportunity for us to hear their experiences and advice on how to build a modern computer science department starting from the fundamentals. It is hoped that this symposium, besides imparting valuable scientific knowledge, will be shedding light on China's future road towards building a first-rate computer science discipline!

Andrew Chi-Chih Yao
Director, ITCS
Tsinghua University