From 20th to 22nd December 2024, the China Association for Educational Technology (CAET) organised the 7th China Conference on Educational Technology Development and Application and the Achievement Exhibition in Beijing, under the theme "Technology Empowering Education: Contributing to the Construction of a Leading Country in Education".
Over 2,000 leaders, experts, scholars, entrepreneurs, and journalists from the realms of education, business, and media attended this prestigious event. The conference was presided over by Yang Zhijian, vice chair and secretary-general of CAET, and Chen Li, vice chair of CAET.
The conference revolved around the theme "Technology Empowering Education: Contributing to the Construction of a Leading Country in Education", with in-depth and extensive discussions among attendees, including representatives, experts, scholars, and entrepreneurs, on how to adapt to and promote the digital transformation of education, enhance the capabilities, levels, quality, and efficiency of education and teaching, and expand social influence and industry competitiveness.
Lin Huiqing, vice chair of the China Association of Higher Education, delivered a speech at the conference.
Wu Shixing, deputy director of the Department of Higher Education at the Ministry of Education, delivered a speech at the conference.
Wang Qiming, secretary of the Party Committee and president of the Open University of China (OUC), presented a keynote speech titled "Digital Empowerment of Lifelong Education: Serving the Construction of a Learning-Oriented Society and Country". He elaborated on the power of the digital revolution and the changes brought about by digital empowerment in education from four perspectives: international consensus, national strategy, OUC's role, and future planning. Firstly, it has become the OUC's action to serve the construction of a learning-oriented society and country through digital empowerment of lifelong education. He highlighted the OUC's efforts in four aspects: expanding the accessibility and improving the quality of open education to serve the construction of a learning society; expanding and strengthening the Seniors University of China (SUC) to support the national strategy for addressing population aging; promoting high-quality progress in educational digitalisation to support the national strategy for the digital transformation of education; and creating new pathways for international students' digital study in China to facilitate the national strategy for opening up in education. Secondly, explorations have been made for the creation of a new form of university, discussing innovations in four dimensions: establishing a new model for talent cultivation in the digital age; creating a new digital education paradigm based on "artificial intelligence + education" for "teaching, learning, management, and evaluation"; creating a new framework of academic credentials, academic structures and degrees for lifelong education; and exploring new pathways for "Digital Study in China".
The conference included a main forum and twelve specialised sub-forums. The sub-forum on "Digital Education and the New Form of Universities" was hosted by the Open and Distance Education Professional Committee of CAET. Over 180 participants attended, including Yang Zhijian, executive vice chair and secretary-general of CAET; Fan Xianrui, a member of the Party Committee and vice president of OUC (SUC); Xu Mingjun, deputy secretary of the Party Committee of OUC (SUC); Chen Li, vice chair of CAET and a professor at Beijing Normal University; and Yang Xiaotang, director of the Open and Distance Education Professional Committee of CAET.
At the sub-forum on "Digital Education and the New Form of Universities", attending leaders, experts, and scholars systematically analysed the impact of digital education on traditional educational models. They emphasised that training talent for the digital age is a new challenge for all educational institutions, and that digitalisation is not just a tool or means but a key element of innovation. Participants engaged in in-depth discussions on the innovative practices of artificial intelligence in the education sector around several key topics, such as the enhancement of digital literacy, the reform of evaluation systems, the exploration and practice of connotative development in vocational education institutions, and the development of digital textbooks and knowledge repositories.
Yang Zhijian, executive vice chair and secretary-general of the CAET, delivered a speech at the event.
Fan Xianrui, a member of the Party Committee and vice president of the OUC (SUC), delivered a report titled "Digital Education and the New Form of Open Universities".
Chen Li, vice chair of the CAET and a professor at Beijing Normal University, delivered a report titled "The Digital Transformation of Lifelong Learning: New Developments in Educational Philosophy."
Institutional members of the Open and Distance Education Professional Committee, including the OUC Publishing & Media Group, OUC Online Education & Information Technology Co., Ltd., OUC Ubiquitous Age Education and Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., Bell & Horn Education and Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., and the OUC Training Centre, showcased their related achievements and engaged in in-depth discussions and exchanges with numerous conference participants.
Reprinted from the China Association for Educational Technology