In April 18, 2014, the discussion meeting of the Open University of China’s (OUC) “new industrial workers’ development and training assistance project” scheme was held in Xi’an. 50 people attended the meeting, including university leaders, directors of relevant departments, experts and professors from the OUC and several local Radio and TV Universities (RTVUs).
In the meeting, the scheme of the new OUC industrial workers’ development and training assistance project was reported, and related issues of implementation were also deeply discussed. OUC Vice President Yan Bing hosted the meeting.
Yan Bing illustrated the project from the perspective of its preparation, project discussion, project proposal and its start. He pointed out that in recent years, the OUC’s teaching guidance ideology has been “work along both lines” and “stability and change”. Besides ensuring normal teaching work, the OUC should actively promote teaching development and deepen educational reform, according to the demands proposed by Strategic Plan for the Open University of China. The basic working idea includes: paying attention; erecting a solid base; finding a breach; taking commanding heights; increasing transparency and opening up new space. The focus of this year is on promoting the following two projects: One is the OUC’s updated version of the Ministry of Education’s “One Village, One College Student” project, which has been implemented for 10 years, and the other is the OUC’s “new industrial workers’ development and training assistance project.” The two projects will likely become the OUC’s crucial support for directly serving national economic development, and especially the transformation of the economic development pattern.
As an important part of the OUC’s development strategy, the “new industrial workers’ development and training assistance project” was first discussed at the end of 2013, and the first batch of pilots will be launched in the autumn of 2014. The project relies on the OUC’s school system, including headquarters, branches, local colleges, study centres and business schools, and extensive cooperation with related ministries, guilds, enterprise and trade union systems was conducted. The OUC uses modern information technology effectively, integrates the high quality educational teaching resourses of the whole society and provides both degree and non-degree continuing education to front-line workers. It also facilitates the transformation and upgrading of enterprises, assisting workers’ growth and development, and explores the mode and mechanism of new industrial workers training which reflects the ideals of lifelong learning and the OUC’s features. Further, it promotes the OUC’s comprehensive capacity for providing training for workers’ lifelong learning, and uses credit banks to explore innovative ways of building lifelong learning “flyover.”
Yan Bing said that the implementation of “new industrial workers’ development and training assistance project” plays an important role in promoting the transformation and upgrading of RTVU system, promoting the reform of the OUC’s learner cultivation mode and facilitating the reconstruction of the OUC’s school organization system. Specifically speaking, the project will explore innovation and strive for a breakthrough in training mode, course platform, course offerings, double certificates, programme sharing, industry schools, enterprise customization, credit banks, Internet bases, faculty, study centres and practical teaching. Yan Bing also reminded people to pay attention to the potential difficulties in the project’s implementation, such as whether the change in demand can be met or not, whether teaching quality can be guaranteed, and whether the corresponding schooling and teaching ability can be formed and whether the contradiction between technical innovation and related interests can be effectively dealt with.
Yang Xiaotang, Vice President of the OUC, briefly illustrated the issue of resource construction in implementation of the project. He said that the OUC is taking active measures to devise a nationwide micro-course collection. He hoped that the headquarters and branches of the OUC could combine forces with cooperative enterprises to develop more high quality teaching resources.
Guo Hong, Director of the OUC “New Industrial Workers’ Development and Training Assistance Project” Office and Dean of the School of Engineering, announced the programme’s main contents, related programmes and requirements for pilot participants. Kuang Guiqiu, Dean of the Academic Affairs Department, illustrated related problems of teaching and educational management. Wang Qifu, Dean of the School of Continuing Education, introduced the work ideas of certificate education. Yan Xiaoping, Executive Deputy Director of the Credit Bank Management Office, illustrated the project from the perspective of learning outcomes accreditation and pilot replacement. Jiang Guozhen, Director of the Information Technology Department, introduced the preparatory work of the technical support team.
Representatives present at the meeting all stated their own opinions and engaged in a frank discussion of the OUC’s “new industrial workers’ development and training assistance project.” Representatives thought that it was the OUC and RTVU’s obligation to serve the socio-economic development and major strategic transformation of our country. The project has its own features and sets both its feet on the ground by focusing on serving industrial workers. In this way, it aims to be seen as an important entry point in the transformation of the OUC and will hopefully boost the transformation and upgrading of the RTVU system. Based on the development realities present at their own universities, representatives deliberated on the details and operational procedures of the project. At the same time, they also proposed their recommendations and gave suggestions on how to solve many problems that might occur in the implementation, including course quality, programme connection, teaching ability, teaching quality monitoring, school effectiveness, mechanism constructionn and certificate education.
By Zhao Xianghua, the OUC