On April 17, 2021, the Department of Statistics and Data Science (STAT-DS) at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) held its 2021 Strategic Consulting Seminar. Dongxiao ZHANG, Vice President of SUSTech, members of the Strategic Advisory Committee, along with faculty members of STAT-DS attended the meeting. Qiman SHAO, Head of STAT-DS, presided over the seminar.

The Strategic Advisory Committee of STAT-DS was established in August 2019 and invites first-class experts and scholars in the field of statistics and data science in China and abroad to introduce talents, scientific research development, discipline structure, and talent training to SUSTech. Committee members consist of scholars from renowned universities and countries around the world, such as the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University in the USA, and Peking University in China.

Dongxiao ZHANG spoke about the achievements of STAT-DS in areas such as its teaching and scientific research. He noted that the Department will continue to improve and cultivate new talents. He also hopes that they will make greater advancements in scientific research to meet the needs of the Greater Bay Area.

Qiman SHAO gave a brief summary on the development of STAT-DS in the past two years while discussing topics such as its discipline structure, recruitment of faculty, and scientific research. He said that the Department will continue to focus on international frontiers and major national needs, and strive to become the first-class department of data science within five to ten years.

Guoliang TIAN, Associate Head of STAT-DS and Professor Jianqing SHI also presented reports on the current situation on undergraduate and postgraduate programs, respectively, along with other topics such as enrollment, training programs, and career opportunities.

All members of the committee acknowledged the hard work done by the STAT-DS and put forward recommendations for future development: They highlighted the importance of achieving cross-disciplinary development under the background of big data and artificial intelligence, while also highlighting the need to improve teaching methods, develop its curriculum, and cultivate innovative talents for the new era.

For its scientific research, they recognized the importance to focus on strengthen its exchanges with other disciplines such as mathematics, IT, biology, medicine, while working closely with the industry to solve technological problems and serving the development of the Greater Bay Area.