A chapter in the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) noted the need to “invigorate China through science and education and develop a strong workforce for the modernisation drive”, highlighting education in the new era as the foundational and strategic pillar of comprehensively building a modern socialist country.
For the first time, the report described the need “to promote the digitalisation of education”, emphasising “the building of a society and country of learning where lifelong learning is pursued by all.” This has pointed the way forward and will serve as the fundamental principle to follow in better shaping an education system serving the lifelong learning for all and developing the digitalisation of education in the new era.
The Open University of China (OUC) has always been committed to lifelong learning and education for the public with the mission of promoting lifelong learning, with the support of modern information technology, and with the characteristic of “Internet Plus”. Since its establishment was initiated and approved by Comrade Deng Xiaoping in 1978, the OUC has been active in exploring a development path for the modernisation of open education based on digitalisation by always taking education informatisation and digitalisation as the foundation and key characteristics. The university has applied and popularised the “Smart OUC” integrated platform, launched an online lifelong education platform, and put the public service platform for the education of older adults nationwide into pilot operation. At the Award Ceremony for the Use of ICT in Education organised at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris this June, the OUC’s “One College Student Per Village” programme received the highest award, the King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize. This prize represents the university’s resolute advancement of the strategic action of the digitalisation of education. Over the last 43 years, the university has enrolled a total of 23.719 million students, 17.593 million of which have graduated. At present there are 4.988 million active students. The OUC is becoming a major force serving lifelong learning for all and supporting the construction of a skilled society, making positive contributions to building a learning society where anyone can learn anywhere and anytime.
In the face of the new situations and tasks, the OUC will thoroughly study and implement the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the CPC, follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era more closely, unswervingly promote the digitalisation of education, and use digitalisation to drive the reform and development of all the university’s undertakings to another new level in an effort to make solid progress and achieve practical results in learning, publicising, and implementing the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the CPC.
Firstly, we will firmly promote the digitalisation of education to promote education and teaching reform. The digitalisation of education is a major part of “boosting China’s strength in digital development”, a new path and a new driving force for “developing education that meets the expectations of the people”, and a new measure and requirement for building a society and country where lifelong learning is pursued by all. Ever since its establishment, the OUC has been committed to the further integration of information technology and education and teaching, and it has been awarded the highest UNESCO prize for the use of ICT in education for its achievements in education and teaching. In the future, we will take the initiative to comply with the new trend of digital transformation and firmly seize the new opportunities created by the national strategic action of the digitalisation of education. We will promote the digitalisation of learning resources, teaching process, tests and assessments, and management services to impose comprehensive reform of our talent training, teaching processes, education management, and social services, which will improve the university’s governing capacity of digitalisation and give impetus to the transformation of the OUC into a digital university.
Secondly, we will firmly promote the digitalisation of education to implement the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education, as the foundation of education lies in fostering virtue. On several occasions, General Secretary Xi Jinping has underlined what kind of people we should cultivate, how to address the fundamental issues of education, and for whom they should be addressed. The OUC will continue to perfect a long-term mechanism to forge inner strength and inspire the people, to improve the construction of the digital School of Marxism, and to produce a series of “blockbuster” ideological and political theory courses so as to integrate Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the CPC into the whole process of learning. We will take the initiative to adapt to the characteristics of adults’ independent and online learning to deepen the teaching reform of online ideological and political theory courses and continue to explore a teaching mode integrating “guidance, learning, testing, inquiry, and extension”. We will establish the Research Institute of Contemporary Chinese Marxism and hold the Second “High-level Forum on Research in Contemporary Chinese Marxism” to improve the development of the disciplines of Marxist theories and to earnestly improve the university’s ideological and political education level and talent cultivation quality.
Thirdly, we will firmly promote the digitalisation of education to meet people’s diversified learning needs with the digital learning resources. “Applying a people-centred” development philosophy is the basic requirement of the 20th National Congress of the CPC and the fundamental principle to follow in developing education that meets the people’s expectations. In the development of learning resources, the OUC has always taken digitalisation as the standard to accelerate the iteration and upgrading of audio and video resources and to bring together high-quality digital learning resources through internal coordination and external cooperation. In May 2022, the OUC’s lifelong education platform was officially launched, providing 620,000 high-quality learning resources. The education resource sharing and public service platform for older adults has gathered 399,700 education resources. They are open to the society free of charge and have proven to be very popular. The OUC will continue to develop and bring together a wider range of high-quality digital resources to accelerate the construction of the major platform for lifelong education, the major platform for online education, the platform for flexible education and the platform for international cooperation so as to better meet the diversified and personalised learning needs of the people.
Fourthly, we will firmly promote the digitalisation of education to improve the adaptability of talent training through open education. The report delivered at the 20th National Congress of the CPC indicated that “We will promote collaborative innovation in vocational education, higher education, and continuing education and promote integration between vocational education and general education, between industry and education, and between science and education.” This is a major decision to build an education system serving the lifelong learning for all, showing the way forward for the improvement of the quality of talent training through open education. The OUC will further strengthen its cooperation with vocational colleges, regular universities, and various continuing education institutions to share first-class courses and high-quality teachers and to build a practical teaching base. We will continue to work with major enterprises and research institutes for the sustained promotion of the application of the 5G, Internet of things, big data, and other new information technologies in teaching and construction of smart campus, smart classroom and smart venue to advance teaching based on situation, experience and immersion, to improve the supply of teaching services and the match of learning demands, to enhance the practicability of the curriculum and teaching services, and to achieve the effective improvement of quality and the reasonable growth of quantity of open education.
Fifthly, we will firmly promote the digitalisation of education to promote the all-round development of students. It is not only the fundamental task of education but also the direction and goal of education modernisation to nurture a new generation of capable young people with sound moral grounding, intellectual ability, physical vigour, aesthetic sensibility, and work skills who will fully develop socialism and carry forward the socialist cause. The OUC will vigorously develop aesthetic education, set up the OUC School of Arts, and bring into play the advantages of digitalisation. We will break down the wall between the public and arts, build a passage connecting art masters and ordinary people, create a distinctive aesthetic education brand, improve students’ ability to understand, discover, appreciate, and create beauty, and give the public more opportunities to enjoy “beauty”. We will vigorously develop innovation and entrepreneurship education and organise and guide the OUC education system to take an active part in the Eighth China International Internet Plus College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition to promote learning, teaching, and innovation through the competition. We will integrate innovation and entrepreneurial spirit into the blood of the students and nurture more practical talents to serve China’s economic and social development.
We will forge ahead on our new journey and make achievements in the new era. The OUC will moved forward with confidence and determination and meet obstacles and difficulties head on. We will strive together to advance the high-quality development of open education, work hard to develop an open university that meets the people’s expectations, and contribute to building a society and country where lifelong learning is pursued by all.
Author: Jing Degang, secretary of the Party Committee and president of the OUC, reprinted from China Education Daily, 1 edition, 19 December 2022