On the afternoon of July 19, 2016, a delegation headed by Mr. Robert Parua, a UNESCO Education Programme Specialist, visited the Open University of China (OUC).

Parua first paid a visit to the OUC history exhibition and learned about the university’s development process, growing from the China Central Radio and TV University (CCRTVU) to the OUC. Then, the delegation visited the Learner Support Centre, Library, and Chinese Language Centre. They communicated with the staff in each department. Parua stated the in-depth integration of information technology and educational resources left a deep impression on him.

Later, he met with OUC President Yang Zhijian, OUC Vice President Zhang Shaogang, and personnel from the International Cooperation and Exchange Department. He highly commended the OUC's contribution to both promoting educational equality nationwide and enhancing quality. He also gave high praise to the development of the distance teaching platform and related resources. In his opinion, the OUC utilizes distance education to carry out degree and non-degree higher education oriented towards grassroots consumers, students in rural areas, and disadvantaged groups, meeting the UNESCO goal to promote fairness in education and lifelong learning nationwide. The OUC serves as a worldwide role model.

OUC President Yang Zhijian expressed his gratitude for Parua's positive appraisal of the OUC and strongly recommended the OUC's Five-Minute Micro Lectures to him. Yang said the OUC also hoped to cooperate with UNESCO extensively in the fields of open and distance education degree certification, quality assurance, learner development, and open educational resources (OER).

By Du Qian, International Cooperation and Exchange Department