From 3 to 12 June 2024, Fan Xianrui, a member of the Party Committee and vice president of the Open University of China (OUC), led a delegation on a visit to Austria, Switzerland, and Turkey.
Fan Xianrui was invited to deliver a keynote speech at the Leadership Summit 2024 of the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE), and to conduct work visits at the Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI) in Austria and Anadolu University in Turkey.
During her visit to Switzerland, Fan Xianrui was invited to deliver a keynote speech titled "Building a Digital University in the Era of AI: Opportunities and Challenges" at the opening ceremony of the ICDE Leadership Summit 2024.
Fan Xianrui discussed international trends in artificial intelligence development, China's strategies for promoting AI applications in education, the OUC's initiatives in using AI technology to build "a digital university connected to the world", and shared proposals and prospects for colleagues from various countries to fully seize opportunities and proactively address challenges. Her presentation, organised into four perspectives—international background, China’s strategies, the OUC’s practice, and proposals and prospects—received extensive attention and positive feedback from participants from all countries.
Wang Xiangxu, Li Jing, and Wu Shuping, members of the delegation, delivered presentations at branch parallel session venues under the titles “Advancing Open Education: The Construction and Implications of the OUC Global Platform in the AI Era,” “Intelligent Agent: The Underlying Logic, Analytical Framework, and Application Scenarios of a New Productive Force in Education,” and “Practices and Explorations of GenAI at the Open University of China,” respectively. Additionally, they participated in academic discussions with experts and scholars from various countries.
During their visit to Austria, the delegation engaged in enthusiastic exchanges and discussions with ZSI on topics including digital education, international Chinese language education, and the use of artificial intelligence in education. ZSI acknowledged the OUC’s accomplishments in digitalising education and lifelong learning. Both parties expressed a desire to further strengthen cooperation to enhance Europe's understanding of China, promote dialogue between China and Europe in areas such as digital education, and jointly address various challenges, including those related to artificial intelligence.
During their visit to Turkey, the delegation engaged in several rounds of discussions with Fuat Erdal, rector of Anadolu University; Ali Resul Usul, vice rector of the university; Ertuğrul Gökçekuyu, director of the Office for International Affairs; and Serpil Koçdar, vice dean of the Open Education Faculty. They conducted in-depth conversations on topics such as foreign language teaching, sharing course resources, faculty and student exchanges, and the creation of overseas learning centres. The discussions led to a broad consensus on various potential strategies and actions for future cooperation.
Written by Wang Xiangxu and photos by Wu Shuping, Zheng Qipeng, and Li Jing, OUC