On 18th November, Peng Qinglin, representing the freshmen of the Business Administration programme (Spring 2023) from the Experimental School, the Open University of China (OUC), attended the welcome ceremony for the 2023 Whole Network Education Programme.

This event also signified Peng's official registration as a university student.

Peng Qinglin makes a speech on behalf of the freshmen

In June of this year, Peng Qinglin jumped off a bridge about ten meters highto save a woman who was attempting to drown herself in the river. He successfully pulled her back from the brink of death, displaying kindness and courage that deeply moved netizens. Due to his heroism, Peng Qinglin has got many “identities”, such as “the Pride of Hangzhou,” “a Hangzhou Asian Games Torchbearer”,“a Special Constable in Hangzhou”. Besides, he has also settled down in Hangzhou, Zhejiang and moved to a new home.

Praise and accolades from various sectors of society have been pouring in, including an offer for a free higher education opportunity through the "Riders Going to College" initiative jointly launched by the OUC and the delivery platform Peng works with. This programme, provides an exceptional educational benefit.

This past July, Peng Qinglin received an admission letter from the Experimental School at OUC, along with a complimentary set of textbooks on Modern Logistics Management. "At that time, I was still recovering, and the arrival of the letter and textbooks was a wonderful surprise," said Peng, who had been away from academia for over a decade, having worked as a migrant since completing his high school education. "Now, looking back, I realise the true significance of learning."

Peng Qinglin chose to major in modern logistics management because it directly relates to his job. He believes that being an effective delivery worker requires not just physical strength but also knowledge. In fact, before classes started, Peng Qinglin skimmed through the textbooks, which he found somewhat overwhelming. He commented with a laugh, "There are many strategies and techniques behind delivering a package or a takeaway.”

Since late October Peng Qinglin has resumed delivery work in Hangzhou. Even though he’s still unfamiliar with routes, he is accumulating experience by delivering one order after another.

Meanwhile, Peng Qinglin has been included into the reserved talent pool for station masters and this requires him to learn how to lead a team right from the position of a group leader. As stated by himself, “I highly value the opportunity to go to university. There have been a lot happening to me over the five months, and I have seen many people, during which I have come to realise the significance of knowledge.”

Peng Qinglin stated that the initiative of “Riders Going to College” he had joined was an on-job academic qualification upgrading initiative, in which the learning process was mainly in the form of taking online courses with a relatively flexible schedule but high need for self-motivation and self-discipline.

To him, university study and taking online classes are more challenging than delivering orders.“I have a hard time focusing on study. Furthermore, numerous knowledge points are completely unfamiliar to me; in fact, I have never even heard of some of them. However, Peng Qinglin has full confidence in himself.  “I will balance my study and work, striving to graduate with a degree.” Peng Qinglin hopes, his personal story will  showcase hard work and diligence of deliverymen.“We are not only good at delivery, but able to make progress in learning through hard work.”

Reprinted by OUC News Network from app.cctvnews.cctv.com