Beijing,13 March 2026 — YUAN Wen, former President of Shanghai Normal University and Dean of the Research Institute for Lifelong Learning and Sustainable Development at Shanghai Normal University, led a delegation to visit the Open University of China (OUC). OUC President Dr. WANG Qiming and Vice President Dr. LI Song met with the delegation.

Dr. WANG and LI extended a warm welcome to YUAN and her delegation, expressing the expectation that both sides would take this visit as an opportunity to build consensus on development, carry out practical cooperation, and join forces to promote high-quality development of lifelong education.

YUAN introduced the research priorities, strengths, and directions of Shanghai Normal University in the fields of lifelong education and adult education. HUANG Haitao, Dean of the School of Education at Shanghai Normal University, presented the history of the university's education discipline and its characteristics in talent cultivation. XU Xiongwei, Executive Deputy Director of the Faculty Development Centre at the School of Education and Head of the Adult Education graduate programme at Shanghai Normal University, introduced the establishment and development of the university's master's and doctoral programmes in adult education.

DU Ruo, Dean of the Lifelong Education Research Institute at OUC, briefed the delegation on the institute’s history, research areas, and key research directions. WANG Xiangxu, Deputy Director of the Office of Research Management at OUC, presented the background and implementation of the special research project on lifelong education systems under the National Education Sciences Planning.

During the discussion and exchange, both sides conducted in-depth discussions and exchanges on future cooperation areas and implementation.

The Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China clearly identifies the important task of "optimising public services in support of lifelong learning[bg1.1] and improving the Open University of China system." Against this backdrop, the collaboration between OUC and Shanghai Normal University represents a proactive response to national strategic deployment. By conducting joint research and practice on key national strategic directions such as "building a ubiquitous and accessible lifelong education system" and "optimising public services in support of lifelong learning " , the two institutions are taking concrete steps to actively respond to national policies and contribute to the development of lifelong education.

By Lifelong Education Research Institute

Published:19 March 2026