It is with great pleasure and honour that the Hellenic Open University (H.O.U.), in the context of its extroversion and internationalisation, both at academic and research level, hosted, from 18 to 20 January 2024, a five-member delegation of the Open University of China (O.U.C.), consisting of the Vice President and Professors of the Foundation.

Specifically, on Thursday, January 18, the President of the Foundation, Professor Ioannis Kalavrouziotis, in the presence of the Vice Presidents and Deans of the Faculties, welcomed the Chinese delegation at the University Campus of the Hellenic Academy of Sciences in Patras. Later in the day, the Chinese Professors toured the Archaeological Museum of Patras and met with the Regional Governor of Western Greece, Mr. Nektarios Farmakis and the Mayor of Patras, Mr. Kostas Peletidis.

On Friday, January 19, the Chinese academics presented their Academic Programmes with the ultimate goal of creating joint Study Programmes in subjects of mutual interest and toured the new and modern Laboratories of the Faculties of the Hellenic Academy of Sciences in order to develop research collaborations between the faculty members of the two Universities.

On Saturday, January 20, they visited the branch of the Hellenic Open University in Athens and then toured the Acropolis Museum.

It should be noted that the Open University of China, founded in 1979 and based in Beijing, is a public higher education institution that provides open and distance education and operates under the auspices of the Chinese Ministry of Education, with the aim of providing open and lifelong learning to all citizens of China.

It offers Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies covering broader academic fields such as Humanities, Social and Natural Sciences, has established Branches in 45 provinces and 3,735 Educational Centres, numbering about 4,963. 000 students of various age groups with different economic and social backgrounds and uses numerous distance learning methods, such as printed educational materials, online courses, radio and television broadcasting and other modern technologies.