Shanghai University for The Senior. [Photo/Shanghai Observer]

Shanghai University for The Senior commenced its fall 2024 admissions with campus open days on June 12 and 13. This year, the university plans to increase its enrollment capacity to over 25,000, adding nearly 10,000 new spots.

During the open days, attendees explored a variety of courses and enjoyed exhibitions of students' work in calligraphy, painting, floral arrangement, and pastry making. They also experienced the university's advanced facilities and received free health consultations and legal advice, underscoring the benefits of lifelong learning.

The university currently offers over 700 classes each semester. The classes include both traditional arts and modern technology, with popular courses such as piano, singing, calligraphy, and painting. New offerings, such as how to use smartphone applications and make short video production, focus on updating the skills of the elderly students.

Building on its collaboration with Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank to establish off-campus classrooms, the university plans to further expand its network and course offerings. New teaching points will be added onto Shanghai Open University's "elder e-school" online platform, featuring courses in tea art, painting, and coffee making.

Additionally, the university will partner with the Shanghai Citizens' Foreign Language Learning Center of the Shanghai Open University to create an integrated online and offline curriculum on foreign language learning. Collaborations with various institutions, including the Shanghai Natural History Museum, will also introduce innovative and diverse courses to meet the unique learning needs of the elderly.

During the open days, the university also signed agreements with several organizations, including Shanghai Normal University's School of Education, the Shanghai Municipal Landscape Management and Guidance Station, Huangpu district's Veterans Affairs Bureau, and the Xuhui branch of the Bank of China, to enhance cooperation in elderly education and provide more specialized learning resources.

Source: Shanghai Observer