On 29 and 30 December 2021, the Open University of China (OUC) held interviews for visiting scholars of the 2022 "Sino-British Fellowship Trust Project" in Beijing. 33 teaching, management and research staff from open universities nationwide, including 11 from the OUC and 22 from local open universities, were interviewed by judges and experts both online and in-person. Staff from the OUC Discipline Inspection Department were invited to supervise and guide, with staff from the OUC Intercontinental Department and Department of Student Affairs and Teacher Development sitting in.

The candidates prepared carefully before the meeting, introduced themselves, and answered the questions of the judges and experts in English. All of the latter agreed that the online training project for teachers jointly implemented by the OUC International Department, the Open University of the UK (OUUK), and the University of London had greatly enhanced their English-language and scientific-research abilities. They also expressed the hope that the OUC would continue to hold online training for teachers through international cooperation to meet the challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic and other changes, enhancing the ability of open-university teachers to recognise and make use of global teaching resources, as well as the international operations and governance of the OUC.

The Sino-British Fellowship Trust Project is sponsored by the Sino-British Fellowship Trust (SBFT) and the China Scholarship Council (CSC), and jointly implemented by the CSC and the OUC. Since its launch in 1999, 19 sessions of the project have taken place, and 93 scholars from the OUC system have been sent to study and conduct research at the OUUK, the University of London, and the University of Leicester.

In 2022, the Sino-British Fellowship Trust plans to send 10 OUC scholars to the UK, pandemic permitting.

By Dai Jing, OUC