The presidents’ meeting of the Consortium for Benchmarking Framework and Data Set for Online, Open, Smart and Technology-enhanced Higher Education (Consortium for Benchmarking Framework in short) sponsored by Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU) was held via video conference on 10 January 2022. Fan Xianrui, vice president of the Open University of China (OUC), attended the meeting.
On 8 July 2021, Professor Shahbaz Khan, the new Resident Representative in the Beijing office of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in China, visited the Open University of China (OUC) with his delegation. Professor Khan gave high praise to the OUC’s achievements in using information technology to continue offering equitable access to education during Covid-19. On 21 July, Professor Khan wrote to Jing Degang, secretary of the OUC Party Committee and OUC president, to reiterate his position.
On 21 June 2021, the Open University of China (OUC) and the Open University in the UK (OUUK) jointly held an online teacher-training workshop for teachers from the OUC headquarters, aiming to enhance their capacity for both teaching and innovation. It consisted of three sessions covering online tutoring skills, class design, and curriculum and MOOC production. 30 teachers from the OUC’s ten departments were selected to participate.
The Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) held its 34th Annual Conference from 1 to 3 June 2021 at the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL). The conference was held both online and offline, and its theme was “Opening minds for a sustainable future: Re-orienting ODL to surmount challenges”. The paper submitted by the Open University of China (OUC), titled “Best Practices of Poverty Alleviation through ODE: A Case Study from the OUC” received a silver medal of AAOU Best Practice Award.
The presidents’ meeting of the “Consortium for Benchmarking Framework and Data Set for Online, Open, Smart, and Technology-enhanced Higher Education” (Consortium for Benchmarking Framework in short) sponsored by Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU) was held via video conference on 17 February 2021. Dr. Jing Degang, president of the Open University of China (OUC), attended the meeting and delivered a speech.
On 20 July 2020, the opening ceremony for the MBA major, the first major of the OUC China-Germany Joint Master’s Degree Programme jointly launched by the Open University of China (OUC), the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (OVGU), and the Beijing International Institute of Asia-Europe Education and Culture (AEEC) was held at the training base of the AEEC China-Germany Joint Master’s Degree Programme.
A webinar to launch the “Online and Distance Learning for Teachers in Africa (ODLTA)” course was held on 7 July 2020.
The European Distance and E-learning Network (EDEN) 2020 Annual Conference was supposed to be hosted by Politehnica University of Timisoara from 21-24 June 2020 in Timisoara, Romania with the theme of “Gone virtual: Human and artificial intelligence for the society of the future and inspiring digital education for the next STE(A)M student generation.” Due to the continuing spread of COVID-19, this year’s annual conference was moved online. Experts, scholars, and other practitioners met online to share knowledge, resources, and policies for distance and open education in the digital era.