The World Digital Education Conference (WDEC) was held on Feb. 13. As one of the major outcomes of the conference, seven standards for smart education platforms were issued by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and presented by Lei Chaozi, director of the MOE’s Department of Science and Information Technology.

Standardization is an important means of improving management and advancing industrial development. As such, the production of relevant standards will speed up the digitalization of education, which will in turn significantly propel an upgrade of the whole education sector and increase educational quality. China is willing to cooperate with other countries to develop international standards related to the digitalization of education.

The seven standards issued at the current WDEC involve four major aspects: platforms, data, resources, and digital literacy. The standards provide guidance on the establishment and operation of smart education platforms. In addition, they will play a significant role in supporting the safe sharing, management, and long-term expansion of digital educational resources, as well as promoting the integration of information technologies in the education system.

It was agreed at the conference that countries should increase cooperation in the development of international standards so as to build a community for open, inclusive, and resilient digital education.