From 4th to 6th of December, the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Distance Education Professional Committee of Universities under the Chinese Association for Educational Technology (CAET) (shortened as the Professional Committee) was convened in Yueyang, Hunan province. Its major events included: the release of the digitization scientific research platform and a display of achievements; a news conference on the book “Example Guiding and Teaching Praxis” and seminars on the development of grass-roots-level RTVUs, discussions on the construction of the research centre of the Open University of China (OUC), and sessions on the work of the new Professional Committee. 116 representatives from 37 provincial RTVUs, 20 municipal level RTVUs, the OUC (CCRTVU) Press, the OUC periodical office of Distance Education in China and Peking University School of Distance Learning for Medical Education (PUSDLME) attended this meeting. Zhang Shaogang, Director of the Professional Committee and Vice President of the OUC, and Liu Chen, Assistant to the president were present at the meeting. Peng Yuan, President of Hunan RTVU, and Li Wei, Deputy Mayor of Yue Yang municipal government, also appeared at the meeting and delivered speeches.     

Directors, standing directors and committee members of the sixth session of the Professional Committee were appointed at the expiration of office terms at this annual meeting, and 45 grass-roots-level RTVUs were accepted as member units on the basis of previous provincial level RTVUs. Feng Xuefei (Tianjin RTVU), Sun Xianmin (Heilongjiang RTVU), Ye Wenhua (Fujian RTVU) and Peng Yuan (Hunan RTVU) were recommended as vice chairmen of the Professional Committee and Du Chunzi (Hunan RTVU) as Chairman of the Professional Committee.

Secretary-general Chen Shougang gave a report on the work of the fifth Professional Committee. The report summarized the achievements already made and the problems still existing in distance education research, organizational construction, academic exchanges and training and digitization developments since 2010. He reported the future work ideology of the Professional Committee with the focus on “Construction of the Academic Circle of Distance Education”. In respect of organisational development, it would build a web-based research centre to share academic consultation and launch competitions on the application of information technology in web-based distance education. Regarding digitization, it would research and develop a scientific supporting platform on the basis of knowledge discovery services to share on-line achievements and jointly construct on-line training so as to establish web-based scientific research and management. At the same time, the website of the Professional Committee (The OUC Research Institute of Open and Distance Education), the research proposal system and the on-line training project of “Web-based Science Research” were launched and the Wechat service platform was opened. 

Gao Shuping, President of the PUSDLME, delivered a lecture on the theme of “Web-based Teaching Reform and Development” in which she expounded the goal, ideas and technical means for distance teaching reform. Taking the teaching reform practice of the PUSDLM as an example, Gao analyzed and made contrast of the general situation of each programme teaching reform and their situations before and after reform. She summarized the key points, difficulties and challenge of teaching reform and put forward the view that students were the main constant study group and teachers played a leading role in the reform in distance education. She also noted that the responsibility and honored mission of distance education institutions were to meet the requirements of industrial development, respect the characteristics of adult distance learning, reform and perfect the distance education system and effectively help students’ vocational development and advancement.

Discussions on the development of grass-roots-level RTVUs were held at the meeting. Representatives from Xiqing Branch of Tianjin RTVU, Yueyang RTVU of Hunan and Daqing RTVU of Heilongjiang made overview reports of achievements and experience gained separately in the development of grass-roots-level RTVUs, pilot work of study centres and construction of national demonstrational RTVUs at municipal levels. Enterprise representatives from Longyuan Digital Media Group and Beijing Venustech Inc. explained respectively the application of digital resources in open education, Longyuan’s product line and service system as well as network information safety. The meeting, hosted by Sun Fuwan, Director of the OUC Scientific Research Department and Member of Academic Committee of the Professional Committee, also introduced the book of “Example Guiding and Teaching Praxis”. 

The first event involving the chairmen and committee members of the sixth session of the Professional Committee was held in the meeting. Attending delegates also discussed in particular the construction of a research base, and heard the explanations for “A Pilot Implementation Plan of a Research Base of the OUC (draft)” by Sun Fuwan, Director of the OUC Scientific Research Department “A Pilot Implementation Plan of ‘ A Research Base of the OUC (Orientation of Management of Learner Formation Quality)’ of Yueyang RTVU” by Huang Hubing, President of Yueyang RTVU.

Zhang Shaogang, Director of the Professional Committee, made a summary of the meeting. He hoped that the Professional Committee’s work could gain better results under the new situation and new beginning and provide more excellent platforms and services for the members.

By Lu Feng, the OUC