On February 16, 2012, the Open University of China (OUC) and Centre National d'Enseignement à Distance (CNED) signed an agreement for educational collaboration and exchange at CNED headquarters in Poitiers. According to the agreement, the two parties will cooperate extensively in pursuing distance education initiatives including Chinese and French language instruction, as well as course sharing, resource sharing, and cooperative research and teaching exchange.
On February 20, 2012, Secretary General of the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) Gard Titlestad visited the OUC Wukesong Distance Education Building in Beijing and had a meeting with OUC President and ICDE Executive Committee member Doctor Yang Zhijian.
Doctor Yang shared with Mr. Titlestad
The 6th Confucius Institute Conference was held between December 12-14, 2011 in Beijing. The Chinese Language Center of the OUC (hereinafter referred to as "the Center") attended the conference and set up a booth in the Chinese Language Teaching Materials Exhibition.
During the conference, the Center introduced several products suitable for teaching Chinese at Confucius Institutes, including the "MyEChinese Distance Chinese Teaching System", the New HSK Practice Test System and the Chinese for Children
Organized by the Global Universities in Distance Education (GUIDE) Association, the 5th GUIDE International Conference was held between November 18-19, 2011 in Rome, Italy. The theme for this year’s conference was "E-learning innovative models for the integration of education, technology and research". More than 100 experts and scholars from all over the world in the field of distance education participated in the conference.
In order to promote cultural and economic exchange between China and Romania, develop the vocational training markets of both countries and jointly cultivate professionals in high-tier fields, the Open University of China (OUC)，Romanian Wine Industry Alliance Group and Domeniile Vinju Mare(Romania) signed a letter of intent to establish a "Romanian Cultural Experience Base" at the OUC Conference Center and work together to conduct the "Wine Taster Certification" program.
The Chinese Language Center of the Open University of China (hereinafter referred to as "Chinese Center") participated in the second Chinese Language Education Forum in San Francisco, California, between 12-13 November. Representatives from the center introduced the MyEChinese integrated method of Chinese teaching, the design of online question banks, the development of Chinese language resources for mobile learning and the latest achievements in developing a Chinese distance education system in collaboration with California State University, Long Beach, etc. The following papers submitted by the Chinese Center were included in the Forum's Honorary List: "‘Integrated Learning’ Applied in the Design of MyEChinese Teaching Methods", "Mode, Strategy, Design and Operation of the Online Question Bank — Using the New HSK as an Example", "How to Use Online Learning Resources to Promote Classroom Instruction".
On October 2nd, 2011, during the ICDE 24th World Conference, President Yang Zhijian of the Open University of China （OUC） and President Susan Aldridge of the University of Maryland University College （UMUC） signed an agreement of cooperation in Bali, Indonesia. The two parties intend to cooperate in the areas of joint research, academic exchange, credit transfer, joint degree programmes, and so on. The two schools also established a strategic partnership.
UMUC was established in 1947.
From September 25th to 28th, 2011, a delegation of the Open University of China (OUC), led by Vice President Yan Bing, attended the Fourteenth Cambridge International Conference on Open, Distance and e-Learning held in the Madingley Hall of St. Edmund's College at Cambridge University.