We are currently entering a critical period in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic. Based on a series of important instructions given by General Secretary Xi Jinping for epidemic prevention and control and the work arrangement of the Ministry of Education (MOE), the Party Committee of the Open University of China (OUC) attaches great importance to epidemic prevention and control work, and is actively implementing various prevention and control requirements. The university is concerned for the health of its 100,000 teachers and more than 4 million students and their families across China, in particular, teachers, students, and their families in branches in Hubei and Wuhan.
On 24 February 2020, Jing Degang, secretary of the Party Committee and president of the Open University of China (OUC), gave a live video speech on "Patriotism and Growth,” marking the first lesson of the new term for students and staff of the OUC across China.
On 9 March 2020, the Open University of China (OUC) convened the its 2020 Annual Work Conference and the Conference to Coordinate Epidemic Prevention and Control Efforts and OUC Development and Deployment.
On 15 March 2020, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Xi Jinping wrote a letter to Party members born in the 1990s from Peking University's medical team who were sent to Hubei province, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in China. He extended sincere greetings to them and all the other young people fighting on the frontline of epidemic prevention and control, encouraging Chinese youth everywhere to contribute to the fight against the coronavirus outbreak.
On 15 August 2020, at the AI + Education Development Sub-forum of AIEXPO2020 jointly organised by the Open University of China (OUC), Baidu, and Baizhi Tiantuo Co., Ltd, Baidu and its cooperative partner Baizhi Tiantuo signed a cooperation agreement with the OUC on the establishment of the New Generation Information Technology College to boost the OUC’s vocational education for AI professionals
At 10am on 31 August 2020, Cao Guoyong, executive deputy secretary of the CPC Committee of the Open University of China (OUC), launched the OUC’s 2020 autumn semester with a live video broadcast to all the students and teaching staff of the national system of open universities. The topic of this “first class” was “Building a First-Class Global Open University.”
On 4 September 2020, the Financial Management Department of the National Government Offices Administration (NGOA) signed a cooperation agreement with the Open University of China (OUC) to jointly build a resource sharing platform for universities for older adults affiliated to China’s state organs.
After the deliberation and approval of its leading Party group, the Ministry of Education released the OUC Comprehensive Reform Plan on 31 August 2020. The plan includes background, guiding principles and overall thought, specific tasks, and guarantee measures, as well as organisation and implementation. The full text reads as follows.