On 12th September, Weigongcun Campus of the Seniors University of China (SUC) hosted the opening ceremony for the fall semester of 2024.

Fan Xianrui, a member of the Party Committee and vice president of the Open University of China (OUC, also known as SUC), and Wang Bo, general manager of Government Operations at Douyin Group, graced the event and jointly launched a public welfare activity themed "Time to Learn, Old Classmates." Representatives from Douyin Group, along with leaders from various departments of the OUC, including the School of Foreign Languages, China Central Radio TV Vocational Middle School, Experimental College, Organisation /Human Resources Department, Finance Department, and Logistics and Security Department, as well as over 50 faculty members and students from the Weigongcun Campus participated in the ceremony. The event was chaired by Liu Caimei, dean of the SUC’s Seniors College.

Fan Xianrui’s Address

In her speech, Fan Xianrui highlighted that the National Conference on underscored the importance of "adhering to a people-centric approach, continuously enhancing the inclusiveness, accessibility, and convenience of educational public services" and "deeply implementing the national strategy for educational digitalisation to expand access to high-quality educational resources and enhance the level of public services for lifelong learning." The launch of the "Time to Learn, Old Classmates" initiative effectively bridges the technological strengths of the Douyin platform with the high-quality educational resources of the SUC, thereby disseminating a rich array of teaching content to a broader audience of elderly learners. This initiative is a concrete manifestation of the National Conference on Education’s directives and significant step towards digital empowerment in elderly education and lifelong learning.  

Wang Bo’s Speech

Wang Bo announced that the SUC will introduce a Douyin mini-programme, offering a wide range of high-quality course across eight fields, including health and wellness, anti-fraud science popularisation, and video shooting and editing. Through a seamless blend of online and offline teaching methods, this initiative aims to provide diverse learning resources for elderly students, thereby enriching their digital lives and spiritual well-being.

Public Lecture by Tang Dan

Public Lecture by Zou Hong

During the ceremony, Professor Tang Dan from the School of Population and Health at Renmin University of China and Zou Hong, an anti-fraud police officer from the Haidian District Public Security Bureau of Beijing, delivered engaging public lectures. Tang’s session on "Internet Literacy for the Elderly" and Zou’s "Most Interesting Anti-Fraud Lesson" were both part of the "Time to Learn, Old Classmates" initiative, aiming to enhance the digital and safety literacy of the elderly participants.

 

By Jing Xinran, Yao Yue, OUC