34. OUC organised the parallel session on "Integration of Vocational Education and Lifelong Learning" at the 2024 World Vocational and Technical Education Development Conference.
On 21 November, the 2024 World Vocational and Technical Education Development Conference commenced in Tianjin. Concurrently, the parallel session on "Integration of Vocational Education and Lifelong Learning" was held. During the session, the "OUC Domestic Service" training initiative was launched. This parallel session was sponsored by the Department of Vocational and Adult Education of MOE, organised by OUC, and co-organised by Tianjin Open University.
35. The “OUC Journey” press team travelled to Henan, Hainan, and Shanxi, conducting in-depth interviews with rural students to highlight the educational achievements of the “One College Student Per Village” Programme over the past two decades.
In November 2024, marking the 20th anniversary of the "One College Student Per Village" Programme launched by MOE, OUC has assembled the "OUC Journey" press team to conduct extensive field research in Henan, Hainan, and Shanxi. This press team includes representatives from People's Daily, China Central Television, China Education Television etc.
36. “Flourishing Silver Years, A Tribute to the New Era”: SUC Holds National Senior Education Achievements Exhibition Performance
SUC held the "Flourishing Silver Years, A Tribute to the New Era" National Senior Education Achievements Exhibition Performance at the Guangdong Arts Theatre on 2 December 2024. The exhibition performance was a blend of online and offline events. The event attracted more than 1,200 on-site attendees and reached 2 million viewers online through platforms such as OUC’s WeChat official account and SUC’s WeChat channel. The National Senior Education Achievements Exhibition Performance is a key brand activity for SUC, embodying its educational philosophy of "Virtue, Learning, Health, Happiness and Accomplishment". Since its inception in 2021, the event has been successfully held four times, impacting over 38 million people.
37. OUC Honoured as 2024's Advanced Unit for Building a Book-Friendly Institution
On 5 December 2024, the Publicity Department of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) announced the results of the 14th "Book-Friendly China-Beijing Reading Season" series of evaluations. OUC was honoured as an "Advanced Unit for Building a Book-Friendly Institution" in Beijing. In recent years, OUC has implemented the important deployment of the 20th National Congress of the CPC to deepen nationwide reading initiatives. On 23 April, OUC launched its Top Ten Reading Initiatives for 2024, targeting the university headquarters and its nationwide educational network. These initiatives feature a series of reading activities throughout the year, employing diverse measures to promote a culture of reading and support the development of “Book-Friendly China” movement.
38. Delegation from OUC educational system’s “Digital Education Application Innovation and Educational Quality Enhancement” programme conducted training in the UK.
On 13 December 2024, a delegation from the “Digital Education Application Innovation and Educational Quality Enhancement” programme of OUC system completed a two-week training programme at the Open University (OU) in the United Kingdom.
39. OUC Education Foundation Awarded 5A, the Highest Rating in Social Organisation Evaluation
On 19 December, the Beijing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau released the "Announcement on the 2024 Evaluation Results of Municipal-Level Social Organisations". OUC Education Foundation was awarded the title of "5A Social Organisation", the highest rating in the evaluation of social organisations in China. Since its establishment in April 2022,OUC Education Foundation has adhered to high standards, strategic planning, and high-level promotion. It has been committed to achieving 5A-level service efficiency, striving for social support, and promoting the development of its undertakings in a standardised manner.
40. The 7th China Conference on Educational Technology Development and Application and the Achievement Exhibition were held in Beijing.
From 20th to 22nd December 2024, the China Association for Educational Technology (CAET) organised the 7th China Conference on Educational Technology Development and Application and the Achievement Exhibition in Beijing, under the theme "Technology Empowering Education: Contributing to the Construction of a Leading Country in Education". Representatives, experts, scholars, and entrepreneurs had in-depth and extensive discussions on how to adapt to and promote the digital transformation of education, enhance the capabilities, levels, quality, and efficiency of education and teaching, and expand social influence and industry competitiveness.
41. Smart Education of China ∙ Lifelong Education Platform has been officially launched.
On 27 December, the Ministry of Education (MOE)convened the 2024 National Education Digitalisation Work Summary Meeting. Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Education, announced the official launch of the Smart Education of China ∙ Lifelong Education Platform. It has launched an initial batch of 1,000 courses, categorised into six major sections: scientific literacy, workplace skills, cultural literacy, hobbies and interests, continuing education, and silver age classes. Under the strong leadership of MOE's Leading Party Group and with the coordinated guidance of MOE's General Office, Department of Science, Technology and Informatisation, and other relevant departments, OUC has undertaken the task of developing the Smart Education of China ∙ Lifelong Education Platform.
42. OUC has established 32 Open Learning Centres in 27 countries worldwide
As of December 2024, OUC has integrated the strengths of the Open University system vertically and collaborated with domestic and international universities as well as state-owned enterprises (SOEs) horizontally. It has established 32 Open Learning Centres in 27 countries worldwide, including 22 in Africa, 8 in Asia, and 2 in Oceania. OUC has also launched the international teaching platform "OUC GLOBAL" and internationalised course resources such as "Future Chinese" to serve overseas learners.
43. Two decades of educational achievements of the “One College Student Per Village” Programme sponsored by MOE
In 2004, MOE initiated the “One College Student Per Village” Programme, which has been meticulously organised and executed by the OUC and its educational system. As of December 2024, the Programme has reached across 29 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), enrolling a total of 1.157 million students and graduating 815,000 university students for rural areas.
44. OUC has organised a series of student activities, with focus on enhancing students’ core professional competencies.
To implement a learner-centred teaching philosophy, OUC has organised a series of student activities, with focus on enhancing students' core professional competencies. 3000 Students engaged in online English Speaking Competition, showcasing the impact of smart English teaching applications.
In the Pharmaceutical Science Popularisation Competition titled “Pharmacy for Health, Competing for the Future”, a total of 93 entries advanced to the semi-finals. After expert evaluation, 16 entries qualified for the on-site competition. These efforts showcase OUC students’ capabilities in pharmaceutical science communication and their comprehensive service qualities.
In the inaugural session of the Innovation Competition “Elites Training Camp” for Emerging Business Majors. The Training Camp was attended by more than 300 individuals, including teachers and trainees from OUC headquarters and nearly 40 branches. At the roadshow, 54 projects from 34 branches were showcased. The event has effectively enhanced students’ innovative spirit and promoted the deep integration of business education with innovative practices.
45. OUC’s digital construction and application practices have received multiple significant awards.
MOE announced the first batch of 18 typical case studies showcasing "Artificial Intelligence + Higher Education" application scenarios. Among them, the submission from OUC titled “Innovative Practice of Large-Scale Personalized English Teaching Based on AI Technology” was included.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in collaboration with MOE, announced the list of national exemplary projects and approved projects for the "5G+ Smart Education" pilot application programme. The project "Construction of a 5G-Empowered Large-Scale Online Smart Examination System," led by OUC, successfully passed the evaluation and was included in the programme list.
In the first "Education Digital Human Competition," sponsored by the China Association for Educational Technology, three intelligent agents submitted by OUC achieved excellent results in the "Intelligent Learning Assistance" track. Among them, "Smart Learning Companion Baize on the Lifelong Education Platform" and "i-Media Tutor" won second prizes, while the "Intelligent Learning Companion for Patriotic Education Based on Knowledge Graph" won a third prize.
OUC’s case titled "Cross-Regional Sharing of Multi-Source Data: Building a New Collaborative Mode for Open Education Data Applications," was selected as an outstanding example by MOE for the 2024 Annual University Data Sharing and Application Platform.
46. Teachers from OUC have received multiple awards from Beijing Municipality.
Yang Shijian from the School of Economics and Management has been honoured with the "20th Beijing Higher Education Teaching Master Award."
In the 4th Beijing Higher Education Teachers' Teaching Innovation Competition, the following achievements were made:
Sun Zhijuan's team from the School of Science and Engineering won the second prize in the industry-education integration track for ministry-affiliated universities group.
Yu Qijing's team from the School of Science and Engineering won the second prize in the new engineering track for mid-level and below.
Zhao Tingting's team from the School of Agriculture, Forestry, and Medicine won the third prize in the new agriculture track.
Wang Jia from the School of Economics and Management received an honourable mention in the new humanities track for group of associate senior professionals.
Yu Qijing's course was recognised as a high-quality undergraduate course in Beijing universities.
Zhang Xia from the School of Education received a project initiation for Beijing Higher Education Undergraduate Teaching Innovation and Reform.
Cao Shanshan's team from the Experimental College won the award for high-quality undergraduate lesson plans in Beijing universities.
Gu Xiaohua from the Academic Affairs Department was named outstanding teaching management personnel in Beijing universities.
By OUC