Brief Introduction:
Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU),founded in 1978, is the eleventh national university in Thailand and the first university that specialising in distance higher education in Thailand and Southeast Asia. At present, STOU has an estimated 100,000 active students, and offers degree programmes at the bachelor’s, master's and doctoral levels, as well as non-degree programmes.
Cooperation with the OUC：
On 13 March, 2019, a delegation of three representatives of the STOU, led by Professor Krisana Rungrojwanich, STOU executive vice president, Professor Bhawat Chiamjinnawat, executive assistant, and Ms. Rattip Phukkeson, director of the International Affairs Department, visited the Open University of China (OUC). Yang Zhijian, OUC Party secretary and president, and OUC vice president Yang Xiaotang attended the reception.
The delegation visited the Digital Learning Resources Centre and the Super Cloud Classroom, learning about the integration of digital resources into the learning environment and the design and operations of the cloud classroom, and evaluating the construction of those resources and the integration of information technology with teaching at the OUC.
The two sides also exchanged information about the operations of the two universities and discussed cooperation in academic research, curriculum development, scholarly exchanges, co-hosting of international conferences, joint construction of Chinese learning centres, and so on. Yang Zhijian signed a memorandum of cooperation with the STOU on behalf of the OUC. In the future, the two sides will further promote the implementation of the cooperation between the two universities
STOU is one of the research objects of the "Case Studies on World Open Universities" series, a key research project of The OUC 13th Five-Year Plan, which will be completed by a team consisting of researchers from both the OUC and STOU. The delegation participated in a manuscript-writing seminar hosted by the OUC Education Research Institute, and Professor Krisana Rungrojwanich of the STOU research team expressed his support of and willingness to participate in the completion of the manuscript.
TRAMPIL Indonesia Foundation
Brief Introduction:
The TRAMPIL Foundation is an organisation committed to using distance education technology to give students in remote regions of Indonesia the chance to receive quality education. The foundation works with schools and institutions to build education systems based on online learning so that people in remote areas can also access quality education.
At present, the TRAMPIL Foundation has set up 24 ICT Learning Centres throughout Indonesia, and provided online distance learning equipment, distance learning resources and teaching assistants for the Learning Centre. ICT learning centres in all regions are organised and managed on a non-commercial basis. The TRAMPIL Foundation provides web-based learning facilities for these learning centres, coordinates fundraising and the production and acquisition of learning resources.
Cooperation with the OUC：
On 13 November 2014, Chairman and Vice Chairman of the TRAMPIL Foundation Takim Andriono and Romi H. Budiardjo visited the Open University of China (OUC). Both parties expect to carry out wide ranging cooperation in the Chinese language and training of local teachers teaching Chinese. OUC and the TRAMPIL Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding on future cooperation.
They also visited the OUC’s history exhibition themed“Deep Integration of Information Technology and Education — from the Radio and TV University to the Open University of China”, the cloud classroom and the automatic HD recording studios and Chinese Language Centre.
Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU)
Brief Introduction:
Headquartered in Islamabad, the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) is the largest public open university in Pakistan. The AIOU was established in May 1974 under Act No. XXXIX passed by the Parliament of Pakistan. It was initially named as the People’s Open University, renamed as Allama Iqbal Open University in 1977 at the eve of the first centenary of the national poet and philosopher, Allama Muhammad Iqbal. The President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the Chancellor of the Allama Iqbal Open University. The Federal Minister for Education is the Pro-Chancellor and the Vice-Chancellor of the University is its principal executive and academic officer.
The AIOU provides degree education at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels as well as non-degree education programmes. It has 9 regional campuses, 33 regional centres, 41 approved study centres (for face-to-face programs) and 138 part-time regional coordinating offices. With 1172 Study Centres, it is the biggest university in the country with average student enrolment of more than 1.2 million per year.
Cooperation with the OUC：
From 1 to 3 October, 2013, the 27th Annual Conference of Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) was held in Islamabad, Pakistan. Zhang Hui, vice president of the OUC led a five-member delegation to attend the conference. This annual conference was organized by Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU).During the conference, Baleeghur Rehman, Minister of State for Education, honorary vice chancellor of AIOU, met with Zhang Hui, vice president of the OUC and expressed the hope that the two open universities could carry out multi-level cooperation in various sectors in the future. Professor Nazir Ahmed Sangi, vice chancellor of AIOU, hoped to establish cooperation with the OUC as soon as possible. He indicated how extensive the economic cooperation between China and Pakistan is and that the local employees are eager to learn Chinese. He suggested establishing a language lab in AIOU and hiring teachers from the OUC to teach Chinese and carrying out Chinese training for joint venture companies together with the OUC.
On 9 June 2014, Prof. Ali Asghar Chishti, vice-chancellor of Allama Iqbal Open University of Pakistan, along with his party of two other persons, visited the Open University of China (OUC).
Both parties discussed Chinese language teaching, international cooperative projects, 3D printing at the Project Research Centre, talent exchange projects, and so on, and planned to cooperate in such aspects as Chinese language teaching, cooperative research, periodicals, and academic works exchange based on the principles of equality and mutual respect, resource sharing, reciprocity, mutual benefit, and mutual development. Yang Zhijian, president of the OUC, and Prof. Ali Asghar Chishti, vice-chancellor of Allama Iqbal Open University, signed the cooperative agreement on behalf of both parties.
Prof. Ali Asghar Chishti and his party also visited the school history exhibition themed “Deep Integration of Information Technology and Education — from the Radio and TV University to the Open University of China”, the automatic HD recording studios and examination monitoring system in the Learner Support Centre, and the digital library and Chinese Language Centre.
Korea National Open University (KNOU)
Brief Introduction:
Korea National Open University (KNOU) was founded in 1972 with its headquarters on University Road, Seoul. KNOU has developed from its initial status as a two-year tertiary education institution to a state-run distance education university focusing on four-year undergraduate education.
It also incorporates postgraduate education and is now regarded as an important base of lifelong education in Korea. KNOU is authorized to grant diplomas, bachelor’s degrees and master’s degrees. KNOU is composed of four undergraduate colleges – the School of Humanities, the School of Social Science, the School of Natural Science and the School of Education– and 22 undergraduate departments. In 2001, KNOU set up its own postgraduate school with all courses taught online. KNOU has set up 17 postgraduate departments based on its undergraduate departments. It has also established a number of non-degree education courses and a self-study examination centre responsible for granting bachelor’s degrees to self-study students. KNOU currently has 470,000 graduates and more than 170,000 currently enrolled students. More than 100,000 students apply for entrance every year.
Cooperation with the OUC：
The Open University of China (OUC), Korea National Open University (KNOU), and the Open University of Japan (OUJ) launched the first session of KNOU-OUC-OUJ International Seminar in 2009.
On August 29 2014, a group of three delegates from Korea National Open University (KNOU) headed by Cho Namchul, president of KNOU, visited the Open University of China (OUC). Yang Zhijian, president of the OUC and Zhang Shaogang, vice president of the OUC participated in the meeting.
Cho Namchul said that through this visit he witnessed the achievements made by the OUC in recent years, and that the development of the OUC was amazing. Cho Namchul further expressed his hope to have the chance to dispatch full-time teaching and research staff to the OUC to conduct an on-site inspection. He also proposed to implement scholar exchange programmes by reference to that of Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) to carry out personnel exchanges and cooperation research projects between the two universities. Yang Zhijian applauded President Cho Namchul’s proposal, and on behalf of the OUC, Mr. Yang confirmed the partnership with KNOU again. Yang Zhijian pointed out that both sides should take full advantage of the opportunity of friendly cooperation between the two countries created by their national leaders, make a breakthrough in the existing level of cooperation between the two universities, and promote cooperation in the field of distance education in all aspects.
From 11-15 October 2016, the KNOU hosted the 6th KNOU-OUC-OUJ International Seminar. An OUC delegation of five people headed by then OUC president Yang Zhijian attended the seminar. After the seminar, Yang Zhijian signed a cooperative memorandum with KNOU’s acting president, Prof. Kim Oi-Sook, on behalf of the OUC.
During the seminar, the delegation headed by Yang Zhijian also visited KNOU’s headquarters and study centres in Seoul. They made a special visit to inspect KNOU’s Digital Media Centre. They found the KNOU to have great advantages in video teaching application, and their experience with educating through television, network videos, virtual studios, and video conferencing systems greatly enlightened us.
The Open University of Japan (OUJ)
Brief Introduction:
The Open University of Japan (OUJ) was founded in 1983 under the joint auspices of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. It is an entity with special legal personality status headquartered in Chiba-ken.
By utilizing broadcast media and other effective modern educational methods, OUJ aims to provide housewives and others interested in continuing education with access to quality secondary, undergraduate and graduate-level education. It sets out to improve and enhance higher education through the exchange of teaching staff, transfer of credits and extension of self-developed course materials. OUJ is currently the largest and most well renowned university for distance education in Japan. Its students fall into three main categories: regular students (pursuing bachelor’s or master’s degrees), non-degree students taking selected programme courses, and non-degree students enrolling in only a few subjects of their choosing. OUJ now offers over 360 courses in 50 study centres nationwide and boasts over 1.1 million current and former students, among whom 50,000 have obtained relevant degrees.
Cooperation with the OUC：
The exchanges and cooperation between China Central Radio and TV University (CCRTVU, namely, the present OUC) and Japan date back more than two and a half decades. As early as 1988, CCRTVU and NHK jointly signed the Contract on Compiling and Producing Training Package of Audio-Visual Teaching Materials for CCRTVU, aiming to train RTVU system staff in compiling and producing audio-visual teaching materials to improve the quality of the teaching programmes at Chinese radio and television universities.
In 2009, CCRTVU attended the World Open University Presidential Forum co-sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the City of Chiba and OUJ. In May of the same year, CCRTVU and OUJ signed a Cooperative Agreement on Distance Education, and the signing ceremony was broadcast to radio and television universities all over the country via a two-way conferencing system. Since then, both sides have carried out comprehensive and extensive cooperation in a wide range of endeavors, such as academic research, project development, faculty exchange, as well as the sharing of educational resources and materials. Additionally, CCRTVU, OUJ and Korea National Open University launched the Three-party Distance Education Forum of China, Japan and South Korea in 2009.
