On October 28, 2021, Beijing hosted the Sixth National Commendation Conference for Outstanding Professional and Technical Talent. This prestigious event, featuring a keynote speech by Vice Premier Hu Chunhua, recognized Central China Normal University’s National Engineering Research Center for E-Learning with the “National Advanced Collective” award—one of China’s highest honors for professional excellence.

As the nation’s only research center dedicated to educational technology, we are at the forefront of China’s digital transformation in learning. Our innovative efforts focus on three key areas that are reshaping modern education: smart classroom technologies, educational data systems, and AI-powered learning tools. Among our most significant achievements are nationwide cloud teaching platforms that connect classrooms across the country, vast digital resource libraries serving millions of students, and personalized learning programs tailored to individual needs. We have also developed specialized AI tools to support children with learning challenges and built comprehensive systems to monitor and enhance digital education progress nationwide. These innovations reflect our deep commitment to making quality education more accessible and effective through technology.

By leveraging advanced data analysis and AI, our center has driven substantial improvements in both student learning and teaching practices across China. We have developed new teaching methods that genuinely improve student outcomes, while promoting fairness and access to quality education—from major cities to rural communities. Beyond creating new technologies, we actively contribute to shaping China’s education policies. Our projects include expanding digital education to underserved areas, establishing model “Internet + Education” schools to demonstrate best practices, and piloting smart classroom concepts that could set future learning standards.

Our center has long been a national leader in educational technology innovation. We established China’s first dedicated research center for digital education and contributed to crafting the country’s landmark 10-year plan for education technology development. Our team also developed national standards for modern smart education infrastructure. These efforts have helped shape China’s education technology roadmap through major initiatives such as the 14th Five-Year Plan. Since 2015, we have published the official national report on digital education progress annually. When COVID-19 forced schools to shift online, we rapidly conducted China’s largest survey on remote learning, gathering feedback from over 10 million teachers and students. This critical research informed government policies during the pandemic.

China’s National Commendation for Outstanding Professional and Technical Talent is held every five years to honor the country’s top experts and organizations. Now in its sixth edition, this high-profile program encourages innovation and celebrates those who have made significant contributions to China’s modernization. The 2021 awards were organized by four key government bodies, including the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Human Resources. This year’s ceremony recognized 93 outstanding professionals and 97 exceptional teams from across China for their remarkable achievements.