The Fifth China MOOCs for Foreign Studies (CMFS) Conference and the Second Foreign Language and Literature Working Committee Conference of the Virtual Simulation Experiment Teaching Innovation Alliance was held both online and offline, in Shenzhen city of Guangdong province, on April 14.

Focusing on future talent cultivation in the context of new liberal arts, experts and scholars deliberated on the development and new ecology of foreign language disciplines based on massive open online courses (MOOCs), virtual simulation experiments, and collaborative education by industries and universities.

Wang Dinghua, board chairman of the CMFS and secretary of the CPC BFSU committee, speaks at the conference. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

Wang Dinghua, board chairman of the CMFS and secretary of the CPC committee of Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), pointed out in his work report that the CMFS has been designed as a digital co-sharing platform for universities to promote the international dissemination of Chinese culture and the high-quality development of new liberal arts.

Wang said that since its establishment five years ago, the number of member schools under the CMFS has grown to 223, which provide over 400 quality courses covering 13 languages, 15 fields and six featured topics. The platform has brought benefits to over 4 million students at more than 1,000 higher education institutions nationwide, especially those in the western regions, promoting fair education for all.

The CMFS has achieved fruitful results in developing curriculum standards and educational equity, enhancing teachers’ capacity and transforming research achievements into educational practices, said Wang.

He noted that this year, the CMFS will focus on promoting international exchanges and introduce innovative models to train talents that are in demand in China. It will also boost the collaborative development of MOOCs and virtual simulation experiments, and deepen research on high-quality courses.

Song Yi, an official with the Ministry of Education, speaks at the conference. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

In a keynote address to the conference, Song Yi, an official with the Ministry of Education, said that China has made steady progress in the digital transformation of higher education, and that its vigorous multiple-level application of MOOCs has won world-wide recognition. He said that theoretical research on the digitalization of higher education will continue, and that efforts will be made to enhance the leading role and international influence of the country's MOOCs and online education.

Han Wei, executive deputy director of the International Centre for Higher Education Innovation of UNESCO, introduced the center’s development in the context of the digital transformation of education and shared its experiences and achievements in building an international network to help improve teachers' ability in both online and offline teaching, and producing opportunities for lifelong learning and promoting fair education.

Participants in the Fifth CMFS Conference and the Second Foreign Language and Literature Working Committee Conference of the Virtual Simulation Experiment Teaching Innovation Alliance pose for a group photo. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

The 2022 excellent cases of integrated MOOCs online and offline teaching and the CMFS micro majors for 2023 were also announced at the conference, which was jointly undertaken by BFSU, the Southern University of Science and Technology, and the UNESCO International Centre for Higher Education Innovation.