The second plenary session of the Second Academic Committee of the Open University of China (OUC) and the meeting of the sub-committees of various disciplines was held in Beijing from 29 November to 1 December 2018. The first eight research centres of the OUC were granted with plaques at the meeting. Yang Zhijian, secretary of the OUC Party Committee and OUC president, and Liu Chen, deputy secretary of the OUC Party Committee, attended the meeting and made speeches. Yang Xiaotang, vice president and chairman of the OUC Academic Committee, made a work report.

Yang Zhijian noted that he had three expectations for the academic members: Firstly, to carry out research work around the disciplines of the OUC; secondly, to carry out research work around the issues of teaching quality guarantee and community construction in the construction of the OUC’s majors; thirdly, to continuously improve the research level of members in their own fields and strive to become well known members of the open universities and society as a whole.

Yang Xiaotang reviewed the general work of the Academic Committee in 2018 and put forward requirements for its work in 2019. He pointed out that open education is an educational system project that must be considered, studied, and practiced from multiple perspectives in order to achieve its goals. It is necessary for us to understand and practice open education from at least four aspects: educational theory, system, model, and technology.

Also at the meeting, changes of relevant academic members were highlighted, resolutions on changes to relevant sub-committee members were notified, and voting on the adjustment of members by the grand committee members was organised. According to the Charter of the OUC Academic Committee, more than two-thirds of the members of the meeting agreed to accept Xie Minghao and Liu Zhimin as vice chairmen, Qu Zhiyin and Xin Quanzhou as members, and Zhong Zhixian as a special member of the OUC Academic Committee.

During the meeting, the sub-committees of various disciplines gave summaries of and made plans for subject construction, teaching reform, and academic development, and shared and exchanged views.

The OUC Research Centre is an important part of carrying out scientific research in distance education, promoting the transformation of scientific research achievements, and enhancing the OUC’s academic influence and ability to innovate scientific research. At the meeting, Yang Zhijian granted plaques to the first group of eight research centres and awarded letters of appointment to the directors of the eight research centres, namely, the Learning City Research Centres, the Research Centre of the Open Education Learner Support Service, the Research Centre for Educational Information Management and Information System, the Research Centre for the Educational Situation in Qinghai Province, the Research Centre for Frontier Education, the Research Centre for Traditional Chinese Culture, the Research Centre for the Integration of Production and Education, and the Research Centre for the Digital Campus. At the meeting, the OUC’s Dalian and Sichuan Branches shared their work as members of the Academic Committee and their work on the Learning City Research Centre and the Research Centre for Educational Information Management and Information System.

Wang Fanzhen, Guo Youqing, Wang Ying (also secretary-general), vice chairmen of the Academic Committee, presided over the relevant agenda. Ding Zhenhua gave the concluding statement.

By Liu Shu, OUC