On 25 December 2024, the founding ceremony of the Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) Branch of the Seniors University of China (SUC) was held at BFSU.

Wang Qiming, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of the Open University of China (OUC, also known as SUC); Yu Hong, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Bureau for Retired Personnel of the Ministry of Education; Fan Xianrui, Vice President of OUC (SUC); Wang Dinghua, Secretary of the Party Committee of BFSU; Jia Dezhong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of BFSU; and Hu Zhigang, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of BFSU attended the ceremony.

Wang Qiming pointed out that SUC serves the national strategy of actively addressing population aging and the construction of a learning-oriented society. Adhering to the educational philosophy of "Virtue, Learning, Health, Happiness, Accomplishment," the University strives to bring together the entire education system to promote SUC’s successful operation. He hopes that the BFSU Branch of SUC will fully leverage its disciplinary strengths, enrich high-quality educational resources for the elderly, and formulate BFSU's distinctive experiences and practices in senior education.

Yu Hong emphasised the importance of adhering to the principle of strengthening the institution through talent, recognising senior talent as a vital part of the talent team. It should also uphold the strategy of enhancing the university with high quality, focusing on the crucial aspect of improving the quality of school operation, constantly enhancing the attractiveness of the senior university, making good use of information technology and new media platforms. Moreover, it should adhere to the service-oriented approach to provide precise and heartfelt services for retired staff members to ensure they have access to learning opportunities.

Wang Dinghua noted that the establishment and successful operation of BFSU Branch of SUC is a remarkable manifestation of implementing the guiding principles of Chinese President Xi Jinping's important reply letter to the senior professors of BFSU. It is necessary to lead the high-quality development of retirement-related work through Party building and ensure the high-quality construction of the senior university with policy guarantees. BFSU should actively integrate into SUC system, leverage its high-quality resources, outstanding teaching staff, and high-level platforms, and devote full efforts to run the senior university well, enabling retired staff members to truly "continue to learn, find joy, and make contributions in their later years."

At the ceremony, Wang Qiming and Wang Dinghua unveiled the plaque for SUC’s BFSU Branch. Meanwhile, Fan Xianrui and Hu Zhigang unveiled the plaque for BFSU Senior University.

Contributed by OUC

Photos by BFSU