As the platform with the most educational videos in China, Bilibili has become very popular. In September 2019, the Open University of China (OUC), through its Learning Resources Department (Digital Library), joined the website, and by making its high-quality courses available to the public, attracted 33,000 new members (and counting) to it, with the OUC in turn strengthening public awareness of its offerings.

These cover timely topics such as the civil code, food security, prevention of respiratory infection, emergency rescue, and others, delivered with authority and fulfilling the social responsibility of the OUC.

In response to this summer’s flood disasters, especially the one in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, the OUC posted an open class, "Emergency Self-rescue", to teach the public how to deal with such emergencies. The class was pinned to the Bilibili homepage as a ‘recommended’ course, leading to widespread discussion and positive feedback.

So far, the class has gained 70,000 views and 15,000 comments, likes, and so on, while nearly 7,000 followers have been added to the OUC official account. Netizens, on their own initiative, have produced 16 sets of course notes, and the official Bilibili account received more than 20 private queries concerning OUC enrolment, studies, examinations, and so on. The website has also released a video publicising OUC admissions and enrolment information for the fall semester of 2021.

Netizen course notes

In addition, the Learning Resources Department (Digital Library) attaches great importance to communications with Bilibili; actively participates in the themed activities it initiates; strives to gain prominence for its courses and lectures; listens to feedback on the content, titles, and other features of courses; and targets, due to their relatively high digital literacy, users born since 1995, catering to their educational needs and preferences. At the same time, the Learning Resources Department (Digital Library) interacts with users through comments, private messages, and live chats, attempting to give public opinion positive guidance, and to maintain the image of the OUC. It solicits feedback on problems concerning enrolment, degree-English examinations, and other topics to increase interactions with its members by working closely with the relevant internal departments of the university.

Recently, the Learning Resources Department (Digital Library) has been deepening its collaboration with Bilibili and other websites to promote the construction and use of the learning resources of the OUC, and construction of its courses. The OUC will continue to make use of the opportunities provided by social media to promote social responsibility, its courses, and the brand image of the OUC in order to reach younger audiences.

By OUC