On 12 July 2020, the Science and China cloud lecture series jointly created by the Bureau of Academic Divisions of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS, CASAD), the National Science Library of CAS, and the Open University of China (OUC) officially launched at CASAD.
In order to promote the application of the Open University of China (OUC) "Long March Belt" Educational Project Targeted at Poverty Alleviation cloud classroom in teaching, improve the information application ability and level of local tutorial centres, and help promote targeted poverty alleviation with the aid of education informatisation, the OUC Information Technology Department and the Office of Poverty Alleviation Affairs held a meeting on cloud classroom technology training for the "Long March Belt" Educational Project Targeted at Poverty Alleviation on 10 July 2020.
In Lishui, a special team of rural college students from Lishui Radio and TV University (RTVU) has been traveling the countryside spreading the message of rural revitalisation. The first of such teams in Zhejiang, it has visited more than 130 rural areas over the last three years to give information and assistance to farmers there.
In order to improve the teaching abilities and professional level of young teachers at the Hainan Branch, encourage young teachers to do a good job of teaching and talent cultivation, and contribute to the construction of Hainan International Education Innovation Island, the Hainan Branch held its first teaching competition for young teachers.
On the evening of 7 July 2020, over 50 cars, trucks, and oil tankers and more than 180 people were stuck on a flooded highway near Meiling Forest Park in Wanli, Jiangxi Province. Two drivers were trapped on a dangerous section with a cliff on one side and a raging river on the other. At this critical moment, Xu Jixin, a full-time firefighter from Meiling Town fire station who was on the front line helping to rescue people stuck in traffic accidents, was swept away by a mountain torrent with his colleague Zhang Wuzhou.
The COVID-19 epidemic has had a profound impact on China's economy. With the epidemic effective controlled in China, the whole country has reached the consensus that normal economic order should be restored as soon as possible. In order to actively respond to General Secretary Xi Jinping’s call for “coordinated efforts on epidemic control and economic and social development,” on 7 July, the Open University of China (OUC) launched a series of live open lectures on economics as part its Quality Courses by Famous Teachers programme.
A webinar to launch the “Online and Distance Learning for Teachers in Africa (ODLTA)” course was held on 7 July 2020.
The European Distance and E-learning Network (EDEN) 2020 Annual Conference was supposed to be hosted by Politehnica University of Timisoara from 21-24 June 2020 in Timisoara, Romania with the theme of “Gone virtual: Human and artificial intelligence for the society of the future and inspiring digital education for the next STE(A)M student generation.” Due to the continuing spread of COVID-19, this year’s annual conference was moved online. Experts, scholars, and other practitioners met online to share knowledge, resources, and policies for distance and open education in the digital era.