Learning Mall opens its doors to the world

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University has officially opened its Learning Mall, a flagship project of XJTLU 3.0 that provides people around the globe with access to its future-focused educational ecosystem.

Rolled out to the public at the Sixth Annual Conference on Higher Education Innovation and Case Sharing of XJTLU Education Exploration in May, the XJTLU Learning Mall is an online-onsite learning platform that offers users a range of free and fee-paying courses delivered by XJTLU and a host of international partners including Microsoft and Adobe.

Dr Xin Bi, Director of the Learning Mall and the University’s Centre for Knowledge and Information, said the XJTLU Learning Mall brings together advanced educational technologies and quality educational resources both online and onsite to promote lifelong, interest-driven learning.

“The Learning Mall embodies XJTLU’s vision of what it means to be a university in the digital age — an open community for lifelong learning, innovation and entrepreneurship that serves the future society,” he said.

“In this way, the Learning Mall supports learners both in and outside of XJTLU to keep learning and innovating – no matter where they are, how old they are, or what they’re interested in.

“Since its launch in 2020, the Learning Mall has been creating an integrated and innovative educational ecosystem in the XJTLU community. It is now time to open to learners, educators and innovators from around the world.

"Providing education and support to people from all walks of life, we want to cater to people’s desire for improvement, especially as learning behaviours and habits change and adapt in the post-Covid era.”

The XJTLU Learning Mall is designed to provide XJTLU students, partners, higher education institutions, governments, businesses and the wider community with cutting-edge education services and products through an online destination at learningmall.cn.

During the public opening, plans for onsite learning facilities to enhance the Learning Mall’s integrated online and offline offerings were announced, including locations at XJTLU’s current and planned sites and venues supported by or shared with partners in various cities.

The launch event also included a signing ceremony to kick off cooperation agreements with several new partners, including Qiangyong Li, General Manager of Adobe China Authorised Training Centre; Kai Lv, Director of McGraw-Hill Education Asia; and Haiying Wang, Director of Cooperation at CACTUS Greater China.

The agreements mean XJTLU Learning Mall is now officially an Adobe Authorised Training Centre and Adobe Certified Associate Test Centre, a McGraw-Hill Education Innovation Cooperation Base, and a CACTUS Author Service Cooperative Organisation.

From left to right, Director of the Learning Mall Dr Xin B, XJTLU Executive President Professor Youmin Xi, and Vice President Academic Affairs Professor Chris Harris at the global launch

This builds on XJTLU Learning Mall’s existing partnership network, which includes an agreement with Microsoft to establish a Microsoft Innovation Academy and a strategic cooperation agreement with Digital China.

Some of Digital China’s courses are already available through the Learning Mall platform, while plans are also in place to collaborate on a talent training base.

Larry Nelson, Regional General Manager of Education at Microsoft Asia, sent a video congratulating the University on the global opening of XJTLU Learning Mall to the public and expressed his hopes of further cooperation in education.

Dr Bi thanked partners outside of the university and the XJTLU community, for helping the vision for Learning Mall become a reality.

“Our partners have generously participated in the preparation of the Learning Mall, and I would like to thank them for their trust and support,” Dr Bi said.

“I would also like to acknowledge the support from all schools and departments at XJTLU, and in particular the Learning Mall team.

“The Learning Mall team is young but highly capable. We managed to complete a challenging project in a short time. The global opening today is the fruit of close, efficient collaboration between teams in and outside XJTLU.

“It’s also a milestone, marking the realisation of our original design. But we can never stand still – we will continue to innovate, and we are already advancing plans to grow our global education platform.”

Story and images provided by Learning Mall
Translated by Xiangyin Han