Fifty Master of Business Administration (MBA) students in China are looking forward to a promising future after being the first people to graduate from a new bilingual MBA course, validated by The Open University (OU). 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. The course is delivered in English and students complete their assessments in Chinese. Proud students received their certificates at a special ceremony where they received video addresses from Tim Blackman, Vice Chancellor of The Open University, and the UK’s Ambassador in China, Caroline Wilson.
Professor Blackman told students “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”.
Caroline Wilson added “The education you experienced is a gift you will be unwrapping for the rest of your life. 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.
