On the afternoon of 17 December 2020, a delegation made up of Weng Tiehui, member of the Party leadership group and vice minister of the Ministry of Education (MOE); Deng Chuanhuai, director of the MOE Department of Policies and Regulations; Cui Baoshi, president of the National Institute of Educational Sciences (NIES); and Xie Li, deputy director of the MOE Department of Vocational and Adult Education, visited the Open University of China (OUC) to investigate its work in lifelong education and attend the North China Symposium on "Building an Education System Serving Lifelong Learning for All".

The vice Minister inspected the OUC's "Internet plus University" exhibition centre, and listened to a report on the progress of its Comprehensive Reform Plan, the construction of the information-management service platform for vocational-skills certification, and the platform of the national Credit Bank. She checked details related to degree continuing education, the construction of ideological and political courses, community education, and occupational training, and interacted with OUC teachers and students in Shanghai, Ningbo and Qinghai via the "cloud classroom". The vice Minister praised the contribution of the OUC to the construction of a system of lifelong education designed to serve everyone, and gave instructions on the establishment of the national university for older adults, the enhancement of community education, and the joint training of postgraduates relying on the OUC system.

At the North China Symposium on "Building an Education System Serving Lifelong Learning for All", Ms. Weng Tiehui pointed out the significance of the aim of the symposium. Admissions, registration, quality control, the credit bank, and use of the internet all require attention in order to attain it. Representatives of the education departments of Beijing and Tianjin, along with Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong and Henan provinces, reported on their efforts at developing continuing education. A representative of the Community Education Centre of Shunyi District, Beijing, spoke, while experts from Beijing Normal University and the Beijing Learning City Research Centre made suggestions. Representatives of the MOE and NIES, and members of OUC leadership, attended the research meeting and symposium.

Written by He Jing, with photos by Weng Jianbin, OUC