On 27 December 2023, the "2023 OUC Top Ten News Stories" was unveiled. This event features two categories: the "Top Ten Official News Stories," selected through expert review, and the "Top Ten Popular News Stories," determined by online voting.
The selection of the "top ten official news stories" was organised through the formation of an evaluation committee. This committee consisted of media journalists and professional experts from notable institutions like People’s Daily Online, China.org.cn, China Education News, the China Association of Higher Education, and the China Adult Education Association. The committee assessed various factors such as the value, social impact, and era significance of the news stories. Based on these criteria, they determined that ten news stories, including the notable "Establishment of the Seniors University of China," merited inclusion in the list.
The selection of the "top ten popular news stories" garnered positive responses and votes from teachers and students, amassing over 64,000 votes. This collection featured stories like “Deliveryman Who Jumped off a Bridge to Rescue Life Goes to College.” It's important to note that the news stories included in the “top ten official news stories” were not part of the “top ten popular news stories.”
2023 OUC Top Ten Official News Stories
1. Huai Jinpeng, minister of MOE, attends the ceremony for the establishment of the Seniors University of China (SUC). Huai Jinpeng emphasised that the first goal is to mobilize the entire education system and facilitate the successful development of SUC; the second goal is to mobilize resources from across society and jointly develop a successful university that knows no bounds; the third goal is to embrace the digital trend and develop a successful university for seniors in an open manner.
2. The OUC conducts thorough thematic education campaign on studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The OUC Party Committee firmly grasps the overarching mandate of thematic education, which emphasises "studying ideology, strengthening Party spirit, emphasising practice, and creating new achievements." Leveraging the distinctive features of the theoretical learning mechanism — encompassing "learning, retelling, testing, practicing, and supervising" — meticulous planning, precise organisation, and targeted implementation are ensured. This approach catalyses a profound understanding through learning, subsequently leading to the creation of new achievements. The outcomes have been tangible, manifesting in the nurturing of ethos through learning, augmenting wisdom through studies, purifying the ambiance through education, and motivating diligence and effort among individuals through learning.
3. The OUC announces 2023 ten major actions -“Empowering Lifelong Education through Digitalisation” for the first anniversary of the online Launch of the OUC Lifelong Education Platform.
In the future, the OUC Lifelong Education Platform will continue its efforts in building and curating high-quality learning resources across various categories and fields. By prioritizing renowned instructors' guidance and providing accessible and valuable learning materials, the platform will ensure that learners' diverse educational needs are fully met, with the ultimate goal of offering a suitable course for everyone. Furthermore, the platform will explore the integration of multimedia teaching materials, virtual simulation experiments, and innovative forms of course resources. This approach will enable the continuous enhancement of digital resources through the application of emerging technologies, fostering collaborative creation, sharing, and connectivity of high-quality digital resources. The aim is to elevate the level of digital management within the platform. To improve the quality assessment of learning resources, the platform will place additional emphasis on implementing intelligent recommendations and comprehensive evaluations throughout the entire learning process. Leveraging technologies such as knowledge mapping and big data analysis, the platform will facilitate intelligent resource recommendations and provide holistic evaluations. These efforts will contribute to the realisation of a learning society and country where lifelong learning is pursued by all.
4. Practice and exploration from the OUC Credit Bank reincluded as a typical case released by UNESCO. After extensive exploration, the OUC Credit Bank has developed a technical approach anchored in the "Learning Outcomes Framework + Standards." This approach has led to the establishment of a comprehensive nationwide service system and the creation of an operational mechanism. This mechanism is characterised by engaging universities, industries, and enterprises in collaborative efforts to support the Credit Bank's growth. The Credit Bank has been proactively involved in recognising, accumulating, and transferring various types of learning outcomes at different levels.
5. The OUC and 10 provincial open universities gathered together in Jinan and held a symposium on promoting integrated, synergetic, and innovative development of open universities. Wang Qiming, secretary of the Party Committee and president of the OUC, chaired the meeting. He emphasised that the new era and journey have ushered in fresh missions and tasks for open universities. It's crucial for these institutions across the country to bolster cohesion to facilitate systematic and coordinated reforms. With the collective efforts of the entire open university system, open education is poised for even greater achievements.
6. The Rural Revitalisation Talent Training Practice Base of the OUC was officially launched in Shibadong Village. This initiative is a concrete manifestation of implementing the guiding principles of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the "Two Sessions". It is an important measure for the school to consciously serve the national strategy, assist in the construction of a learning-oriented society, and practise the cultivation of local talent at the grassroots level.
7. The first World Open University Presidents Forum was initiated and hosted by the OUC. As one of the parallel forums of the 23rd China Annual Conference & Expo for International Education, the forum was themed "Creating a New World Together: The Initiative of Open Education Digitalisation, Addressing the Coming Challenges " and invited presidents of open universities worldwide to come together, look towards the future, discuss strategies for the development of open universities, seek to promote the digital transformation of open universities, build a community for the development of world open education, and thereby facilitate the reshaping and transformation of open education. The forum extended an invitation to open universities around the world, as well as international organisations and experts who care about and support the development of open universities, to share data and conduct joint research. At the same time, it launched an initiative on joint establishment of the "Belt and Road" Open Education Development Alliance.
8. SUC's Health and Happiness Lectures for the Double Ninth Festival draw millions of seniors nationwide. Esteemed guest lecturers like Professor Hu Dayi, a chief physician from Peking University People’s Hospital; Professor Cao Hongxin, former president and principal investigator of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences; and Professor Fu Guobing, a chief physician in the Massage and Physiotherapy Department at Dongfang Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, shared their expertise on health and answered questions from online attendees. Considering the local circumstances, each branch, branch school, and joint development unit of the SUC organised a variety of vibrant offline events. These included fun sports events, garden tea parties, intangible cultural heritage projects on campus, free clinics, showcases of teaching achievements, and displays of calligraphy and painting works.
9. On 29 August 2023, the 2023 China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week (CAECW) was inaugurated in Guizhou. During the meeting, the establishment of the ASEAN-China Digital Education Alliance was announced. The secretariat for the alliance is housed at the OUC. The initial cohort of alliance members includes nearly 60 applicants, encompassing a diverse range of schools and educational institutions from countries such as China, Malaysia, and Singapore. The member countries of the alliance will collaborate in key areas, including the enhancement of cooperative research in digital education, the mutual development and sharing of high-quality digital educational resources, and the advancement of regional standards for digital education.
10. gold and 5 silver medals clinched! OUC triumphs in China CICSIC 2023 finals. Within the OUC system, there were 17,284 projects with 53,266 individual participants. Out of these submissions, 300 projects qualified for the provincial competition, earning 62 gold, 61 silver, and 62 bronze awards. Forty-five of these projects progressed to the national competition, including twelve in the "Youth's Journey for Building the Red Dream" category and thirty-three in the vocational education track. Impressively, fourteen projects have made it to the finals.
Top Ten Popular News Stories
1. Sun Yao chaired the symposium on the construction of Seniors University of China.
2. “Opinions on Advancing Development of Ideological and Political Education into Courses at OUC“ issued.
3. OUC Lecture on Science Popularization by 100 Academicians and Experts (2nd Edition) receive the 8th Biennial Chinese Excellent Publication Award.
4. "The Rural Community Learning Centre Capacity Building Project" launched to serve the development of learning-oriented rural areas.
5. OUC aesthetic education series activity: "Art Master Lectures" launched.
6. OUC inaugurated its first New Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition.
7. OUC holds APEC workshop on digital competency of younger older adults.
8. OUC holds “International Communications Enhancement Programme.”
9. Three OUC’s Party branches from its Department of Oragnisation and Personnel, Information Technology Department and Faculty of Science and Engineering were awarded the title of “Exemplary Party Branch”of China central and state organs. Li Wei was awarded the title of “Youth Learning Role Model ”of MOE affiliated institutions.
10. Peng Qinglin, a deliveryman who jumped off a bridge to rescue life, goes to college at OUC.
By OUC News Network