City university signs UNESCO deal

Shanghai Open University has signed an agreement with the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning to carry out a three-year research and training program.

It’s the first time the institute has set up a cooperation office in a university on the Chinese mainland.

The two parties will research the role of universities around the world in lifelong learning to promote the development of higher-education institutions. Via the program, Shanghai will share its experiences with other countries.

The two sides will set up a digital library for outstanding cases of lifelong learning development around the world.

They also agreed to organize annual seminars and international conferences on lifelong learning, cultivating talent and improving the capacity of related organizations in UNESCO member countries.

A two-week seminar at the university, involving education officials and leading researchers from China, Cambodia, the Philippines and Rwanda, is underway at present.

The participants will receive training on how to incorporate lifelong learning in the national education system, lifelong education theories and practice, related financial support, management, supervision, assessment and use of new information and communication technologies. They will also visit communities in Shanghai to see how the city is doing in building a city featuring a lifelong-learning public.

Experts at the seminar will help participants draft suggestions on establishing lifelong education systems in their own countries.