Grandpa Yan, 65, goes to the Changchun Radio and Television University (Changchun RTVU) located near West Plaza to study vocal music, electronic organ, and electric piano four mornings every week.

After taking her grandson to school, Grandma Wang goes to her community e-learning centre to take classes.

Last May, after two-and-a-half years of studies, Mr. Ji, a court administrator, received the Bachelor of Laws degree he had been striving toward.

All of them have Changchun RTVU, a university around people, to thank.

In recent years, following the requirements of the Changchun municipal Party committee and the municipal government, Changchun RTVU has extensively upgraded. Through a series of intensive adjustments, in order to promote lifelong education for everyone in Changchun and help create a learning-oriented society, Changchun RTVU has taken great steps.

We must adapt to the times by launching open universities.

In 2012, the former China Central Radio and TV University (CCRTVU) was officially transformed into the Open University of China (OUC). Openness implies both inclusiveness and sharing. In order to adapt to the times, and with the support of modern information technology, Changchun RTVU integrates and shares education resources, and does not hesitate to innovate, and to adapt to local conditions.

Guided by new theories of school management, innovative measures were taken:

Degree education and learner-development models were reformed, and strict and flexible teaching-management and learning systems, featuring easy enrolment but strict requirements for graduation, were constructed.

The construction of an e-learning hub to help drive lifelong learning for all was initiated.

A Special Education School was created to allow disabled residents of Changchun to receive higher education.

A School for the Elderly was also created, featuring courses in subjects such as vocal music, dance, calligraphy, computer use, electronic organ, yoga, and others, in order to integrate education with elder care.

Finally, a community-college system was set up in Changchun to realise the goal of making education accessible to everyone.

Online education facilitates universal learning.

Distance education is a strength of the RTVUs, especially in combination with information technology. In 2010, the “Internet Plus” model of national education began to be implemented in the city.

The Changchun e-learning network built by the Changchun RTVU provides low-cost education resources at www.ccqmxx.com. These include 135,000 videos, 1.3 million e-books, 1,349 MOOCs, 6,636 micro-courses, 461 electronic newspapers, 6,600 academic journals and 20,000 audio books. In addition, 102 community (village and township), 4 military e-learning centres, and 1 administration unit e-learning centre were built. A WeChat official account named Learning for All in Changchun and a mobile app were developed to remove all barriers to online learning. To this point, www.ccqmxx.com has received 12 million page views.

People are passionate about online learning, and active offline as well. Public lectures are delivered in communities, schools, administrative units and military bases, and Changchun's top learners are publicized as role models. The annual National Lifelong-Learning Week, along with a nationwide reading competition, also help promote education.

Through Changchun RTVU, more citizens participate in all kinds of learning activities, and lifelong learning is encouraged.

The transformations have been effective in establishing a new type of university.

39 years of development, 19 years of involvement in distance education, and 8 years of service to universal lifelong learning have helped make Changchun RTVU what it is today. The university has been named a “National Outstanding Continuing Education University” and “Chinese Community Model University for Educational IT” and been given a “Chinese Modern Distance Education Special Achievement in Lifelong Education” award. It has also formed the basis of a lifelong-learning platform developed by the Ministries of Education and Finance, of a national continuing-education learning-outcomes certification, of national e-learning resources, and of an experimental community-education research centre developed by the Ministry of Education. This year, its work in community education was recognised for its excellence as part of China's community-education network.

The Changchun RTVU has entered a new era. It will spare no efforts to build a university for everyone and set up a modern internet-based education platform that allows anyone to learn anytime and anywhere, and provide flexible, convenient, fair, open and diverse education, contributing to the development of lifelong open learning in its region.

By Chen Qiong, Changchun Daily