Over the years, in compliance with the OUC’s work deployment, the Education Research Institute has taken the lead in organising and committing to various research tasks, such as projects and major research at the national, provincial, and ministerial levels, and key OUC research projects. It focuses on promoting the application of research results in the formulation of working guidelines and policies, as well as in the OUC’s practical work, in order to provide effective intellectual support for the development of education in the OUC.
The major projects implemented by the Education Research Institute over the past five years include:
- Research on the Current Situation of the Radio and TV University System, a project entrusted to the OUC by the Ministry of Education (MOE) (August-October 2013)
- Research Reports on the Development of Chinese Distance Higher Education, a key OUC research project during the 12th Five-Year Plan and the 13th Five-Year Plan (2013 to present)
- Case Studies on World Open Universities, a key OUC research project during the 12th Five-Year Plan and the 13th Five-Year Plan (2013 to present)
- Research on National Elderly Education Planning, a project entrusted to the OUC by the MOE (September-December 2014)
- Research on the Practice of the Teaching Quality Assurance System, a national education science planning project (2014-2017)
- Inspiration Behind and Suggestions for EU Mechanisms on the Construction of the OUC System, a key OUC project (2014-2015)
- Research on the Positioning, Models, and Standards of Open Universities, a project entrusted to the OUC by the MOE (March-November 2015)
- Online Learning Platform Experience and Research, an OUC special research project (February 2015-September 2018)
- Research on the Cultural Heritage and Innovation of Open Universities, a 2015 OUC special research project during the 13th Five-Year Plan (March 2015-June 2018)
- Special Research on Informatisation in Continuing Education, a project commissioned by the MOE (April-May 2016)
- Investigation on the Implementation of the “Action Plan for Boosting the Education and Ability Programme for Migrant Workers: Realising Dreams of Further Education”, a research project under the MOE's Grassroots Educational Investigations in Rural Areas programme (July 2016)
- Research into a Six-Network Learner Development Model, a major OUC reform project (September 2016-April 2018)
- OUC Education and Teaching Reform Research, an OUC special research project (August 2016)
- Special research into the OUC’s New Industrial Worker Training and Development Assistance Plan ( December 2016-January 2017)
- Research on the Theory and Practice of the OUC's Five-Minute Courses, an OUC special research project (May 2017 to present)
- Research on the Construction of the National Credit Bank and Qualification Framework, part of the first group of education planning and strategic research projects of the MOE’s Development Planning Department in 2018 (July 2018 to present)
- Education Modernisation Driven by Educational Informatisation: An Example Based on Zhejiang Province, a research project under the MOE's Grassroots Educational Investigations in Rural Areas programme (October 2018)
- Investigation and Research into the Supply and Demand of Technical and Skilled Professionals in China, a project entrusted to the OUC by the MOE (March-May 2019)
- Research on Measures Successfully Running Open Universities from an International Perspective, a project entrusted to the OUC by the MOE (May 2019 to present)
- Discipline Construction in Open Education, a major OUC research project (May 2019 to present)