OUC Holds Meeting to Initiate APEC Project in Beijing

On 7 December 2022, a meeting was held to initiate the project “Fostering Digital Competency, Building Re-Employment Capacity, and Enhancing Wellbeing for Older Adults in the Digital Economy”.

The project was applied by the Open University of China (OUC), on behalf of China and has been approved for funding from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Attendees included Fan Xianrui, member of the Party Committee, vice president of the OUC, and project leader; Wang Yi, director of the International Organisations Office of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges of the Ministry of Education (MOE), and project co-leader; and Dr. Wang Yan, APEC Education Network Coordinator.

Fan Xianrui indicated that the OUC, aiming to promote lifelong learning via modern information technology and under the direct leadership of the MOE, will continue implementing the national digital-education strategy, acting on the requirements of Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng “to focus on international extension and organized scientific research” as a characteristic “digital university + university for older adults”, collaborating with renowned universities to implement the APEC project.

Wang Yi pointed out that the APEC funding shows that the project has international significance, meeting APEC requirements and reflecting the overall strength of the OUC, and expressed the hope that Chinese contributions would play an important part in the collaborative efforts.

Wang Yan gave an overview of the project, including requirements for its implementation. Experts from numerous universities held discussions with representatives of the OUC project team, and all said they would make concerted efforts to create a premium international project.

About 30 people, including scholars and other experts from many universities, as well as representatives of the OUC project team, attended the meeting online.

Written by Hou Songyan; photo by Zhang Yi, OUC