On 19th October 2009, the OUC signed a cooperation framework agreement with CIBT Education Group Inc. (CIBT).The signing of the cooperation framework agreement was a key event in the "2009 International Forum on Open and Distance Education". The two sides wanted to utilize the educational resources and the management strengths of both parties.
PLAR (Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition) concentrates on studies of the evaluation and accreditation of learning outcomes, and includes the process of transferring informal into formal credits and awarding the certificates or other qualifications related to these, as well as that of having colleges recognise each other’s credits.
According to an MOU signed by the education ministries of China and Singapore in 1999, the Ministry of Education of China entrusts the China Scholarship Council (CSC) to send 35 English teachers from Chinese universities and colleges (including five from Hainan Province) for 10 months of training in English pedagogy at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. At the completion of the training, five outstanding students will be selected for a 12-month master’s programme in Singapore.
Sir John Daniel is the former president and CEO of Commonwealth of Learning. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1994 for his contribution to higher education, confirming 30 years of outstanding contribution to the development of university distance education. Sir John Daniel was vice chancellor of the Open University UK from 1990 to 2001. From 2001 to 2004, he became UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education in Paris.
Helge Hoivik is a Professor at Oslo University College, and director of the Latina Lab. He has been devoted to the design and research of digital learning materials since the 1980s. He was previously awarded a Fulbright Scholarship by the U.S. Government. His main areas of research include mobile learning, e-textbooks, cloud computing, blended learning and teaching research and development based on MOOCs, and the research and development of game-based education software.
Professor Alan Tait is one of the most famous experts in the field of international open and distance education. He was pro-vice-chancellor (academic) of the Open University, UK, from 2007 to 2012, was a member of the ICDE Executive Committee and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Learning for Development (sponsored by the Commonwealth of Learning), and has been a visiting professor at several universities in Europe.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) seeks to build peace through international cooperation in education, the sciences, and culture.
General Information
In May 2006, with the support and guidance of the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban), the Open University of China (OUC) and Michigan State University (MSU) jointly established the world’s first online Confucius Institute conducting Chinese teaching via Internet-based means, the Confucius Institute at Michigan State University (CI-MSU in short) .