On February 27, 2016, a two-way video news conference on a distance learning programme developed by the Open University of China (OUC) and the TRAMPIL Indonesia Foundation was held concurrently in Surabaya, Indonesia and Beijing, China.

Their cooperation, with the aim of implementing a Chinese distance education programme for employees in the banking and tourism sectors, will rely on the teaching platforms researched and developed by the OUC and online learning resources such as Easy Chinese, and adopt a blended learning style incorporating online self-directed learning and distance tutoring.

Attendees at the press conference included around 200 representatives from the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Chinese diplomatic institutions stationed in Indonesia, and banking, tourism, catering, education and other industries in Indonesia, as well as leaders of the OUC and relevant representatives from the OUC’s International Cooperation and Exchange Department and Chinese Language Centre.

Director of the Pre-school, Mass Education and Training Department of the Indonesian Ministry of Culture and Education, Mr. Yusuf Muhyiddin, Deputy Consul General Jiang Lei of the Consulate General of China in Surabaya, Indonesia, Chairman of the TRAMPIL Foundation, Wang Weiqi, and OUC Vice President, Zhang Shaogang, all spoke at the conference.

Mr. Muhyiddin expressed that the Indonesian Ministry of Education very much valued the distance learning programme and he hoped for their cooperation to develop further, using Indonesia’s existing Chinese language education system as a base, so as to facilitate further Chinese language study for employees in different sectors. Jiang Lei stated that this cooperation would create a new platform and different channels for local people to learn Chinese and study Chinese culture, which would also be beneficial for promoting continuous friendly exchanges between China and Indonesia and strengthening pragmatic cooperation in various fields. Wang Weiqi noted that recently China’s investment in Indonesia has increased substantially and Indonesia has seen increasing numbers of tourists from China. Since Indonesia now needs a large number of talents who understand Chinese, this Chinese distance teaching and learning programme jointly developed with the OUC will be hugely beneficial since it supports full-time professionals to learn Chinese anytime, anywhere. Zhang Shaogang hoped that, through this cooperation,the issues of dispersed students and a shortage of qualified teachers in Indonesia would be solved and by relying on the open distance education platform co-built by both parties,the cultivation of local Indonesian Chinese-speaking talents would be promoted and training in other areas would also be steadily advanced.

Chairman of the TRAMPIL Foundation, Mr. Cai Dajin, Teaching Director, Ms. Chen Yinzhu, and Executive Deputy Director of OUC’s Chinese Language Centre, Ms. Li Fujia briefed on the programme and answered questions raised by participants.

The TRAMPIL Foundation has arranged an on-site experience and exchange platform to offer free trials and Q&As on the teaching platform and online courses for the participating guests and released more than 200 trial accounts.

By Cao Xiaoyan,OUC