Introduction

According to the State Council’s Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Pension Services and the State Council’s Decision on Vigorously Developing Vocational Education, in order to conform to Vice Premier Liu Yandong’s instruction to “reinforce the strength of constructing the Open University for Older Adults to satisfy their learning needs”, The Open University of China (OUC) decided to build The Open University for Older Adults.

Supported by modern information technology, The Open University for Older Adults is a new type of university, aiming to provide degree and non-degree education for older adults and professional staff in the pension services industry.

The Open University for Older Adults is guided by the Department of Vocational and Adult Education of the Ministry of Education (MOE), the Veteran Cadres Bureau of the Organization Department of the CPC, and the Retired Cadres Bureau of the MOE. It is sponsored by the OUC, and has been built jointly by the National Aging Working Committee Office, the China Association of Social Welfare (CASW) under the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the Occupational Skill Testing Authority (OSTA) under the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

The Open University for Older Adults actively addresses the problems created by China’s aging population by constantly meeting the diverse learning needs of the elderly; speeding up the training and cultivation of professional staff; promoting the formation of a lifelong education system and learning society; and help the elderly realize the maxim that “one is never too old to learn, never too old to enjoy happiness, never too old to be taken care of, and never too old to make a contribution”.