On 1 April 2022, the Ministry of Education (MOE) issued a list of “Quality Work Cases” for IT-based assistance of older adults. The project “Interactive Service Platform of the University for Older Adults”, launched by Liaoning Open University (Liaoning OU), was among those listed. It is a collaboration of the Open University of China (OUC) and the China Broadcasting Network (CBN), and belongs to the work of Liaoning OU in implementing education of older adults by integrating the internet with cable TV and offline teaching.

To respond to population aging as well as meet the diverse learning needs of older adults, Liaoning OU and the Liaoning Community Education Guidance Centre, led by the Liaoning Provincial Education Department, is expanding supply of IT-based elder-education resources. In 2021, Liaoning OU, CBN Liaoning, and Bell & Horn Education and Technology (Beijing), jointly developed the “Interactive Service Platform of the University for Older Adults” as a learner-support platform.

This platform offers experiential learning, services, trial applications, and so on to help older adults with their varied educational needs, including the use of IT. It has had an impact in Liaoning Province, and received media attention there.

By Liaoning OU