On the afternoon of 8 May 2021, Liaoning Open University (Liaoning OU) held a ceremony to sign a strategic-cooperation agreement with Northern Communications Network (NCN).
Liu Xiangyang, secretary and director of the Party Group of Liaoning Radio and TV Bureau; Guo Yongxin, president of Liaoning OU; Wang Hongyu, vice president of the Open University of China (OUC); Zeng Shaowu, secretary of the Party Committee and chair and general manager of NCN; Zhang Xiaojun, NCN deputy general manager; and Yao Chunhua, member of the NCN leading group, secretary of the Party Committee, and general manager of NCN’s Shenyang Branch, attended the ceremony, which was presided over by Wang Zhaoheng, NCN chief engineer.
Guo Yongxin and Zeng Shaowu signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides. It stipulates that both parties will act to ensure "complementary advantages, mutual benefit, and long-term cooperation", and make use of their respective strengths to promote digital, intelligent, lifelong and integrated education. Covering both academic and non-degree education at Liaoning OU, they will carry out in-depth cooperation in terms of teaching resources, teacher teams, study centres, information platforms, promotion, and education-industry incubators, especially in the construction of the Liaoning OU for Older Adults and exploration of a new model of elder education featuring "health care, preservation, learning, and travel". Joint efforts will also be made to explore a new model of university-business cooperation that meets the needs of society, adapts to market requirements, and benefits all parties by helping build a lifelong-education system serving the entire public.
Guo emphasised the scope and extent of cooperation between the two sides, and identified areas of in-depth cooperation in the new model of elder education, including smart education, smart elder-care, smart-campus construction, and rural revitalisation, along with "health care, preservation, learning, and travel". He suggested that specific projects be implemented as soon as possible in order to support the transformation and development of the university, and that the two sides use new media to collaborate on both academic and non–degree projects at Liaoning OU, while jointly developing education for older adults and working to build a model of cooperation within China’s open-university system.
Zeng Shaowu pointed out that NCN and Liaoning OU, since both are related to the radio and television system, have common ground in terms of network coverage, public-welfare engagement, educational functions, culture, and open access. The two sides should rely on their brand influences, licenses and qualifications, teaching resources, research and development, platform operations, network coverage, and other capabilities to realise multi-faceted cooperation in both traditional and emerging areas.
Wang Hongyu spoke of the history of Liaoning OU and introduced examples of university-enterprise cooperation from it, while expressing the hope that the two parties would strengthen exchanges and cooperation, learn from experience, explore win-win collaborations, accelerate project implementations, and allow social and economic benefits to exist side by side.
Before the forum, leaders of Liaoning OU visited the NCN exhibition of 5G applications and innovations, its customer-service centre, and its monitoring platform for live broadcasts in the province. They gained a detailed understanding of 5G-product applications, network coverage, user groups, technical support, and other operation and management advantages of the company.
By Liaoning OU