Online Learning Provides a Safe Learning Environment in China

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 9, 2003

CONTACT:
Ronak Desai   
The Boston Group   
rdesai@thebostongroup.com   

Online Learning Provides a Safe Learning Environment in China

NORTHBORO, Massachusetts May 9, 2003 — Due the worsening situation, the Education Ministry called an emergency meeting on April 17. The Education Minister, Mr. Zhou Ji, specially mentioned that to stop the spread of the disease, changing the teaching and learning method is a good approach. Currently, relaying on the convenient network technology to conduct "non face-to-face learning", is indeed a method that is worth promoting. Beijing's ChinaHCM Education Technology is well prepared to take on this task.

Since 1988, the Education Ministry in a pilot scheme, allowed QingHua University and 4 other IHLs (Institute of Higher Learning) to start their own distance education projects. Over the past few years, online education has developed quickly in China. Now there are 67 IHLs that has been approved to setup their online campus. Just last year, China Human Capital Management Co. Ltd and Beijing's University of International Business and Economics setup the online university, eUIBE. To meet the situation's requirements, "Beijing ChinaHCM Education Technology Pte Ltd" partnered with global e-Learning service provider IntarLearn Asia and leveraged on the rich educational resources of UIBE to setup the distance education college. As a supplement to the traditional education model, online learning has the characteristics of being interactive, best practices and resources sharing and not restricted by time and space etc. For those workers who are thinking of getting a second qualification, online learning can satisfy their requirements of learning outside their outside their working hours. At the same time, as online distance education certificates are being increasingly accepted, university students may also be looking at being educated at 2 schools and studying for 2 qualifications at the same time.

"ChinaHCM" is a joint venture between Hong Kong's Global China Group and UIBE. It provides high quality course and online education for those who want to advance their studies. eUIBE is one of the few online university in China that meets the international e-learning standards such as AICC, SCORM and IMS. Since its inception, it has attracted over 2000 students and has become an important development project for UIBE.

The eUIBE Formation

To meet the challenges of China's entry into the WTO and to modernize the education system, the Ministry of Education started a pilot program to allow selected institutions to issue academic degrees through distance education programs. In February 2002, UIBE was officially included in the program.

To take advantage of this opportunity, UIBE and the Global China Group Holdings set up a RMB 200 million (USD 2.5 million) joint venture, named China Human Capital Management Co. Ltd. (ChinaHCM), to build and operate the UIBE Distance Education College, named eUIBE (http://www.euibe.com).

A Global China subsidiary, Global China Convergence Software Technology, was roped in to provide the technical expertise and coordination.



The eUIBE Distance Education Platform

The creation of the eUIBE distance education platform was a joint software development effort between Global China Convergence Software Technology and IntraLearn Asia. The resulting web-based platform provides a comprehensive solution that includes a Learning Management System (LMS), a Student Information System (SIS), and a Learning Content Management System (LCMS).

After a thorough evaluation of the major, competing, e-Learning solution providers in the worldwide e-Learning market, ChinaHCM finally selected the IntraLearn platform because of its modular design, robustness and scalability. "These technology attributes were key to the final delivery of the eUIBE distance education platform", says Dr. Xue Gen Cao, Executive Vice President of Global China Group Holdings.

The platform combined proven technology from IntraLearn with localized software modules that are unique to eUIBE's operational and business model. "The student registration, schedule management and other workflow found in Chinese universities is significantly different from that found in U.S. universities; therefore, creating this customized platform was the only way to effectively deliver distance education to the Chinese students", says Cui Fei, New Business Development and Technology Director of Global China Group Holdings. Another important feature of the platform is that it complies with all the major international e-Learning standards such as AICC, SCORM, and IMS. This enables the platform to integrate seamlessly with standards-compliant courseware from major international courseware developers.

About Global China Group Holdings

The Global China Group Holdings Limited is a listed company in the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (stock code: 1105). The company is primarily engaged in three core business areas -- Broadband Content and Distribution, Human Capital Management, and Media Ownership and Services (http://www.globalchina.com).     Apart from launching the eUIBE initiative, Global China is also engaged in several other business development activities to enhance its position in the Chinese e-Learning market.

About UIBE (University of International Business and Economics)

The University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), situated in China's capital Beijing, was founded in 1951 as the Beijing Institute of Foreign Trade. In 1960 it was designated as a "key university" by the government for its outstanding programs. In May 1997 UIBE was put on the list of "Project 211" universities, a governmental program aimed at turning about 100 Chinese universities into exceptionally high quality academic institutions in the new century. In 2000, UIBE has become one of the state universities under the leadership of the Ministry of Education, and in June of the same year it merged with China Institute of Finance and has since become one of the leaders in the studies of business and finance.


About The Boston Group:

Formed in 1988, The Boston Group (TBG) is a global provider of IT & e-Learning solutions. TBG has delivered cost-effective solutions to a broad range of Fortune 1000 companies, small to mid-sized companies & higher education institutions through its development centers located in the U.S, India, Singapore, and Malaysia. For more information please visit www.thebostongroup.com. Over the past 3 years, The Boston Group's subsidiary, IntraLearn Asia (Singapore) Pte Ltd, has established TBG's e-Learning practice in Asia.





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