On September 16-19, 2012, the 4th KNOU/OUC/OUJ International Seminar on Distance Learning was held in Korea. The theme of the conference was “Future of Open and Distance Learning for Knowledge Network Society”. Presidents, scholars and renowned international experts of open and distance learning from China, Japan

and Korea enjoyed in-depth discussions on the topic. President Yang Zhijian led a delegation of 6 persons from the OUC to the conference.

This was also the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Korea National Open University, and President Yang Zhijian extended his warm congratulations. President Yang gave a presentation about the establishment of OUC and introduced its education philosophy, core values, construction and reform focal points, and latest developments. He expressed his hope that the platform provided by this forum would further promote international exchange and cooperation among open universities in China, Korea and Japan, and make active contribution to distance learning in Asia and around the world.

At the seminar, more than 10 representatives from China, Japan and Korea gave keynote speeches on the themes of “Collaboration with other Institutes for Knowledge Network” and “Current Status and Challenges of Open Educational Resources”. Dr. Wei Shunping and Mr. Zhang Tong from the OUC gave presentations entitled “Current Situation of China’s National Quality Courses and Some Inspirations from Knowledge Network” and “A Brief Analysis of Web-based Course Design and Management in the Open University of China”, respectively. The attendees showed great interest in the content of the presentations and discussed theories and practices relating to the construction of the OUC with the speakers. 

Scholars from Japan and Korea presented reforms in the direction of open universities due to the aging population, innovation of open university schooling methods driven by the advancement of information technology, credit transfer between universities, and reflections on current open educational resources. After the conference, President Yang Zhijian and the delegation visited the campus of Korea National Open University (KNOU) and its study center at Seoul, and inspected KNOU's Digital Media Center (DMC). The delegation agreed that KNOU is clearly superior in its application of video teaching, and that we can learn from their education television, network video, virtual studio, and video conference system.

The KNOU/OUC/OUJ International Seminar on Distance Learning was started in 2009. It has been held in Korea, Japan and China. On September 19, 2011, OUC successfully hosted the third KNOU/OUC/OUJ International Seminar themed “Reforming Educational Management in Open Universities”.

President Yang Zhijian and Conference Representatives

President Yang Zhijian and Sir John Daniel