On 12 April 2019, the Open University of China (OUC), Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, and Beijing International Institute of Asia-Europe Education and Culture (AEEC Institute Beijing) signed a supplementary educational cooperative agreement on a Sino-German Joint Master’s Degree Programme at the OUC’s Wukesong campus in Beijing.

Fifteen relevant personnel attending the signing ceremony include Liu Chen, vice secretary of the OUC Party Committee; Feng Liguo, director of the OUC General Office of Party and Administration; Liu Zhimin, director of the OUC Faculty of Economics and Management; Chen Haishan and Shi Yunzhi, director and deputy director of the OUC International Cooperation and Exchange Department; Li Xinhui, vice dean of the OUC Experimental School; Yao Bo and Dong Qiang, dean and vice dean of the AEEC Institute Beijing; Zhu Xuliang, director of the Council of the AEEC Institute Beijing and AEEC Institute Thailand; Prof. Dr. Peter Reichling, head of international affairs at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg; and Mr. Christian Stahr, chief operating officer of the Faculty of Economics and Management at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg. Liu Chen, Yao Bo, and Prof. Dr. Peter Reichling signed the joint agreement on behalf of the three sides.

OUC vice president Liu Chen said that the Sino-German Joint Master’s Degree Programme is a pioneering project for the OUC to explore a new type of school-running model to develop graduate students and it will play an experimental and demonstrative role in the implementation of graduate education. Liu stressed that the teaching management and service processes should conform to the general requirements for national higher education as well as OUC regulations in order to develop well-designed majors, select the appropriate teaching content, and make localised adjustments to courses to guarantee educational quality. He also emphasised that process management should be strengthened at the implementation phase, a path to a learner development model that allows the OUC to cooperate with foreign higher education institutions should be explored, and a unique model for admissions, service, and teaching should be developed.

The signing of the supplementary agreement has built a foundation for the launch of the project, signifying that the OUC Experimental School has officially started the enrolment work for the finance and MBA majors within the OUC organisational system and mainland China areas (excluding Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) and is undertaking the instruction, teaching resource construction, learner support, assessment and training, and selection of instructors for four foundation courses for the MBA major: Introduction to Economics, Statistics of Economic Status, Macro Economics, and Business Mathematics.

By Zhang Xiaojing, OUC