China’s first and second cohort of graduates of a new bilingual OU-validated MBA course celebrate

Fifty MBA students in China are looking to new horizons and beyond after being the first people to graduate from a new bilingual MBA course validated by The Open University.

The course began in 2020 on the XuetangX platform, the first platform of its kind to offer Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC).

It began after the OU approved XuetangX as an appropriate organisation to offer higher education programmes leading to OU-validated awards.

XuetangX has licensed the content from The Open University’s triple-accredited MBA programme, adapting this to meet its own local business context. Delivery is in English and assessment in Chinese.

Proud students received their certificates at a special ceremony where they received video addresses from the OU’s Vice Chancellor Tim Blackman and the UK’s Ambassador in China, Caroline Wilson.

Today is extra special, as you are our very first Open University validated MBA graduates in China. This is a monumental occasion.

Today’s event not only marks your achievements as graduates, but it also celebrates the success of XuetangX, a dynamic MOOC provider, successfully combining academic rigour and real-world business know-how with unique distance learning.

Enjoy and cherish this moment. Congratulations from us all at The Open University.”
Professor Tim Blackman
Vice Chancellor, The Open University

While Caroline Wilson told them: “The education you experienced is a gift you will be unwrapping for the rest of your life. The seeds that you planted from now on have grown into deep roots of friendship and networks.”

She added: “As a Royal Charter and globally recognised distant-learning university, The Open University has been delivering exceptional teaching and outstanding student support. It demonstrates the history of excellence and the distinguished international reputation of UK higher education.”

XuetangX is an online learning platform spearheaded by Tsinghua University, with a mission to bring world-class education into the future. It’s the largest MOOC provider in China and is now the second largest in the world. Its registered users reached 95 million in June 2022.

About The Open University

The Open University (OU) is the largest academic institution in the UK and a world leader in flexible distance learning. Since it began in 1969, the OU has taught more than 2.2 million students worldwide and currently has over 205,000 students.

Seventy per cent of directly registered students are in full-time or part-time employment, and 75 FTSE 100 companies have sponsored staff to take OU courses.

In the latest assessment exercise for university research (Research Excellence Framework, 2021), over three quarters (76%) of OU research was assessed as 4 or 3 star – the highest ratings available, awarded to research that is world-leading or internationally excellent. The OU’s commitment to research and societal impact is recognised too with 82% of its research impact assessed to be world-leading or internationally excellent.

The OU Business School is one of an elite group to have earned triple accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) – awarded to fewer than 1% of business schools globally.

For further information please visit The Open University.