A 29-member delegation from the Seminar on Human Resource Management and Leadership Building for Zambia (hereafter “the Seminar”) visited the Open University of China (OUC). Ms. LIU Xuanxuan, Vice President of OUC, welcomed the delegation. Heads and faculty members of the College of International Education, the Department of Digitalisation, and the OUC Publishing and Media Group attended the event.
LIU Xuanxuan extended a warm welcome to the delegation. She noted that in the 46 years since its founding, OUC has built the world’s largest distance education model with Chinese characteristics, making a major contribution to China’s higher education development. Educational cooperation, she stressed, is a key pillar of China-Zambia friendship, and OUC is ready to share its practical experience in distance, digital and lifelong learning with developing countries including Zambia. In 2017, OUC established its first Open Learning Centre (overseas learning centre) in Zambia, using digital technology to empower local education and offering Chinese language, vocational skills and cultural exchange programmes for employees of Chinese enterprises, local technical talent and university students. Meanwhile, the OUC Publishing and Media Group’s “China-Zambia Specialised Courses”, “Chinese for Industries” and other high-quality resources have strongly supported the training of Zambian professionals. Finally, LIU expressed the hope that the visit will deepen bilateral cooperation and jointly advance China-Zambia education.
The head of the delegation, Mr. Lukhele Wezi, Director of Human Resource and Administration, Ministry of Youth, Sports and Arts of Zambia, thanked OUC for its hospitality on behalf of the delegation. He said the visit aims to learn from China’s valuable experience in digital education and innovative learning models to meet Zambia’s core challenge of raising the quality of national education and training. He expressed the hope that the visit will become a bridge of mutual understanding and lasting cooperation, enabling Zambia to enhance public service delivery and human resource development.
Mr. ZHANG Xiaobang of OUC’s Department of Digitalisation gave a systematic briefing on the university’s exploration and achievements in building an integrated digital education platform, cloud classroom systems, AI applications in teaching, and the development of a future-ready digital university. Ms. YOU Lina of the OUC Publishing and Media Group presented the Group’s practice in developing internationalised teaching materials. Participants conducted in-depth discussions on topics such as adaptation of digital courses, implementation of lifelong learning systems and cooperation in vocational skills training.
The Seminar is organised by the Executive Department of the Academy for International Business Officials (AIBO), Ministry of Commerce, and its participants come from key Zambian institutions including the Cabinet Office, Human Resource and Administration, the Ministry of Health and the Public Service Management Division.
Contributed by OUC Publishing & Media Group, College of International Education
Photos by WENG Jianbin