Big Data Technology: Commercial Applications and Practice – A Collaborative Course between Meituan and Tsinghua University

Meituan’s big‑data technology team and the Department of Electronic Engineering at Tsinghua University have jointly launched an innovative master‑level credit course titled “Big Data Technology: Commercial Applications and Practice”. The course officially began at Tsinghua recently.

The course is open to first‑year graduate students from all Tsinghua schools as well as selected senior undergraduates. It starts in mid‑September, meets every Tuesday, and provides 2 credits for a total of 32 class hours. Meituan instructors are responsible for the practical component, delivering 24 hours of hands‑on training.

The curriculum consists of ten chapters and includes 2–3 optional practice project topics. It follows the data acquisition → storage → analysis → mining workflow, intertwining big‑data techniques with Meituan’s real‑world commercial applications. Teaching methods combine theoretical lectures, business case introductions, and system‑based project work to help students fully understand and master big‑data technologies and their practical uses.

The first session on September 17 attracted students from the electronic, computer, automation, and many other departments. The main lecturer, Associate Professor Li Yong (associate professor and PhD supervisor in Tsinghua’s Electronic Engineering Department), introduced the overall course structure and gave a big‑data overview.

Professor Li emphasized that while big‑data courses are taught in schools, the practice and application occur in enterprises. Meituan, as a flagship internet company, possesses rich experience and achievements in big‑data construction and application. This collaboration marks the first graduate‑level big‑data course jointly delivered by an enterprise and a university, a pioneering effort after a year of careful preparation.

Meituan’s Chief Scientist and Head of the Big Data & Algorithm Department, Zhang Jinmao, then presented an overview of how big‑data and algorithm technologies are applied at Meituan.

He narrated the industrial evolution of big‑data technology, highlighted typical Meituan applications, and discussed several challenges encountered in real‑world deployments.

Regarding Meituan’s big‑data landscape, he explained that on a large‑scale life‑service internet platform, big‑data is embedded in every link: data insight and business intelligence support scientific decision‑making for management; data security safeguards transactions and accounts; AI core capabilities drive product scenarios; and core areas such as user growth, intelligent recommendation, pricing, and supply forecasting rely on user profiling, data mining, and large‑scale machine learning to create value.

Within this context, Meituan’s big‑data team has built a company‑wide infrastructure for the “Meituan App” and “Dianping App”, delivering data products and services that enhance business operations and developing a suite of tools and systems that boost the efficiency of data‑related research and development across the company.

An illustration of Meituan’s comprehensive big‑data framework (shown in the accompanying diagram) was also presented.

Finally, Zhang invited students to join Meituan’s big‑data and algorithm teams to tackle commercially valuable and technically challenging problems together.

The organizers aim to establish the course as a high‑quality, regular offering that reaches many universities, deepening the connection between academia and industry. They are also launching joint research projects with Tsinghua and other top universities and plan to co‑create professional courses with leading faculty to keep students informed of the latest industry advances.

Meituan looks forward to attracting more outstanding talent to grow rapidly together, helping people eat better and live better.