News

Another successful collaboration between OU Online Confucius Institute and Lancaster University Confucius Institute. On Friday 29 May 2026, the Online Confucius Institute at The Open University and Lancaster University Confucius Institute co-organised another successful hybrid teacher training day for teachers of Chinese as a Foreign Language, as well as teachers of other languages. The theme of this year’s event was “Revisiting the Prompt: Critical AI Literacy for Language Educators”, bringing together educators and researchers to explore the role of artificial intelligence in language teaching, with a particular focus on critical, ethical and inclusive approaches to AI use. We were delighted to welcome 65 delegates on the day, with 22 attending in person at Lancaster University and 43 joining online.

This spring, the Online Confucius Institute (OCI) at The Open University was delighted to continue its programme of outreach and engagement with schools and education groups across the Milton Keynes area, delivering a series of lively, hands‑on sessions celebrating Chinese culture and traditions. On 8 May 2026, the Confucius Institute worked in partnership with the Bedfordshire Home Education group, a local home education organisation in Milton Keynes, to deliver a vibrant Chinese traditional culture showcase. The session was attended by 14 home‑educated students of various ages, alongside a number of parents, and offered an engaging and welcoming introduction to everyday Chinese customs and festivals.

Virtual Exchange China Hub Shares Updates and Lightning Talks at April Meetup The Virtual Exchange (VE) China Hub community gathered online on Friday, 24 April 2026, for a lively and forward‑looking meetup filled with updates, shared achievements, and a series of lightning talks showcasing innovative VE practice. The morning opened with a warm welcome before moving into key announcements about the Hub’s presence at future conferences.

The Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations returned once again this February, marking the arrival of the Year of the Horse. On Tuesday 10 February 2026, the Online Confucius Institute at The Open University hosted its annual festivities, welcoming over 150 OU staff and postgraduate students to an afternoon of enjoyable festivities. For the first time, the event was live streamed for people who were unable to make it in-person to join online, attracting over 100 virtual attendees as well.

Pupils from Brooklands Primary School in Milton Keynes enjoyed a vibrant introduction to Chinese New Year traditions during a special workshop delivered by the Online Confucius Institute. The session was led by Andy Xu, Chinese Director of the Online Confucius Institute, who guided the children through fun activities exploring the cultural significance of the festival.

On September 25, 2025, the 5th "CI Moments Global Short Video Collection Event" Global Short Video Competition took place. Among 616 entries submitted by 143 Confucius Institutes from 84 countries around the world, the entry from The Open University's Online Confucius Institute stood out, winning second prize for the short film Blossoming Toward the Sun.

From September 19 to 21, 2025, the 21st ChinaCALL Conference was successfully held at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The main organiser of the conference was Beijing Foreign Studies University's (BFSU) Institute of Online Education. The conference was hosted by Computer-Assisted Language Learning Association, China Association for Comparative Studies of English and Chinese (ChinaCALL), and Artificial Intelligence and Human Languages Lab at BFSU, and College of Foreign Languages at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA). The Online Confucius Institute at the Open University (UK) served as a key co-organiser, actively participating throughout and promoting academic exchange.

On 19th-20th June 2025, The Open University in Belfast in collaboration with Northern Ireland Libraries and the OU Online Confucius Institute have successfully run a two-day Chinese language taster event at Ormeau Library in Belfast. Taught by OU Languages Staff Tutor Ximena Arias-Manzano, local residents enjoyed interactive and fun activities as an introduction to Mandarin Chinese such as daily greetings, basic vocabulary, learning the tones of Mandarin as well as asking and giving their names. 

Another successful collaboration between OU Online Confucius Institute and Lancaster University Confucius Institute  On Friday 25th April 2025, the OU Online Confucius Institute and Lancaster University Confucius Institute co-organised another successful hybrid teacher training day for teachers of Chinese as a Foreign Language, as well as teachers of other languages. The theme of this year’s event was Teaching Chinese Language and Cultures in the AI Era and we were delighted to welcome over 100 delegates on the day with 30 attending in person in Lancaster and 76 joining online from a range of countries across mainland Europe, China, USA, and Egypt. The day comprised of 6 keynote speakers and 5 lightning talks.

For students studying Chinese looking for study abroad experiences in China this summer, we have details below of two funded summer programmes for 2025. Eligibility criteria applies, please see below for further information how to apply to each programme. Please note these programmes are not affiliated with the OU Online Confucius Institute.