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.
According to the seventh national population census, the number of people aged 60 and above in China has already reached 264 million, accounting for 18.70% of the total population.
Since its establishment in 1979, the Open University of China (OUC) has had a focus on offering training in rural areas throughout the country, with the aim of promoting development in these areas.
Recently, the project “Fostering Digital Competency, Building Re-Employment Capacity, and Enhancing Well-being for Older Adults in the Digital Economy” for international exchanges and cooperation as approved by the 2022 Budget and Management Committee of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) with a fund of $140,531.
“I can hardly imagine life without the University for Older Adults,” said Liu Shuqin, a 62-year-old student of the university, part of the Open University of China (OUC). She signed up for a calligraphy class recently, after having finished a painting class. “I plan to get enough credits to obtain a diploma. You're never too old to learn!”
In October 2021, a book published by the Open University of China Press (OUC Press) entitled Beyond Distance Education: Cutting-Edge Perspectives on the Future of Global Open Universities received a lot of attention from higher education institutions in the UK and has been added to the libraries of several universities.
On 6 April 2021, the UNESCO Paris Headquarters declared that the “One College Student Per Village” programme from the People’s Republic of China implemented by the Open University of China (OUC) will be awarded the 2020 UNESCO King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Education (abbreviated as the UNESCO prize for the use of information and communication technologies in education).