To fully implement the guiding principle of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the “Key Tasks of the Open University of China (OUC, also known as Seniors University of China, SUC) for 2024”, and to promote the high-quality development of agricultural and medical majors while enhancing the quality of talent training, the School of Agroforestry and Medicine (Rural Revitalisation College) conducted online training on comprehensive practice and degree work for agriculture and medicine undergraduate programmes on 28 and 29 April.
A total of 669 teachers from the headquarters and 38 branches participated in the training, with 728 individuals tuning in to the live broadcast of the sessions.
During the opening ceremony, Professor Li Guangde, the dean of the School of Agroforestry and Medicine (Rural Revitalisation College), highlighted the vital role of practical teaching and degree work in talent training within open education. He emphasised the significance of this training as a new starting point for the education system to build consensus, raise awareness, and collectively drive the high-quality development of agricultural and medical majors.
Deputy Director of the Academic Affairs Department, Lin Xiuqin, focused on the key words "standards" and "quality", underlining the importance and requirements of degree work, updates on the bachelor's degree awards in the autumn semester of 2023 by the OUC, common issues in degree theses, the crucial role of guiding teachers, and the significance and requirements for standardized guidance and management throughout the entire process of thesis supervision.
Dean Zheng Jipeng of the School of Foreign Languages provided an overview of the degree-conferral English exam, innovative initiatives supporting the exam at the School of Foreign Languages, suggestions and reflections on exam-related work, and highlighted the application and effectiveness of the adaptive learning system based on knowledge graphs in assisting students in preparing for the degree-conferral English exam.
Secretary-General Fu Jinfeng of the Sub-committee on the Evaluation of Agroforestry and Medicine Degrees within the OUC Academic Degree Evaluation Committee presented an overall review of the awarding of undergraduate degrees in agroforestry and medicine majors, along with thesis evaluations. Common issues in degree work were analysed, and recommendations and suggestions were put forward.
The heads of the undergraduate programmes in Nursing, Public-service Management (Health-service Management), Pharmacy, Health Services and Management, Horticulture, Landscape Architecture, and Rural Regional Development respectively introduced the requirements and considerations for the graduation comprehensive practice and degree application work in their respective programmes. They also provided an interpretation of the guidelines for writing programme-specific degree theses (trial).
Professor Lyu Chenzhong from Sichuan Open University, Vice President Wang Fu from Bazhong Open University, Associate Professor Chen Cuihua from Shanghai Open University, and Wang Jingbei from Chongqing Open University shared insights and exchanged views from various perspectives, including identifying issues and offering suggestions for graduate theses in agroforestry and medicine majors, sharing guidance experiences and insights on degree theses, providing direction on writing graduate theses, and discussing the organisation and management of graduate practice sections.
Participants at the event expressed that the content was diverse and engaging, offering valuable guidance, relevance, and inspiration for comprehensive practice teaching, degree thesis guidance, and application. They found the sharing of experiences by teachers from branches and study centres to be beneficial for enhancing the quality of practical teaching and degree thesis work in agroforestry and medicine majors, as well as for promoting the high-quality development of open education.
The event is hosted by Feng Li, vice dean of the School of Agroforestry and Medicine (Rural Revitalisation College).
Written by Li Bing, photos by Shao Dandan, OUC