Distance learning, online degree courses, and adult education have been popular in China for some time. This has been due to a number of factors, such as the expansive and rural geography of the country, the high competition for fewer enrolment places, and recent government-stimulated incentives to ensure compulsory learning for all, e.g. the National Project of Compulsory Education in Impoverished Areas (established in 1995).

In regards to e-Learning and its involvement with pre/primary/middle school education, the latest report doesn’t reflect an outright consolidation of the country’s vast school system – which is something that makes it quite different to others. Those who offer online education services to pre-schoolers are private individuals and companies, whilst the most traditional primary and middle schools are said to be employing e-Learning techniques and offering distance classes. Primary and middle school teaching market scale has increased by 18.5 percent between 2006 and 2007.

For higher education and older learners, the report shows a growth and diversification of online education but an unimpressive continuation of doubts amongst members of the public as to the worth of diplomas from online institutions. Despite this, there is healthy enthusiasm for online education for vocation certification and an increased demand for customizable services. Additionally corporate e-learning is becoming more integrated with business hoping to improve services – especially over the last year. As a result, projections suggest that corporate e-learning is set to grow 40 percent year by year until 2011.

China is an interesting country to discuss when it comes to distance education – due to the rural country and uniquely provincial governance of education, as well as its huge population. Consequently, the country has pioneered certain aspects of education by use of online courses and media. This has not only included a Central Radio and TV University, but also distance institutions that specifically cater for niche markets such as adult farmers and workers – it will be intriguing to see how technological advancements and increased accessibility for education over the next few years.

Historical value The country is rich in culture and values with many traditions and customs marking its already lined beauty. It thus represents with a lucrative option to study Chinese in China along with the tour of the country’s various locals and picturesque sceneries. Interesting language The use of pictures instead of letters and the different tonal values makes it an interesting code to crack. The character or the symbol intonation is one distinctive feature of this interesting language that makes its stand apart from the crowd.

Job opportunities The rise of global scenario has awarded China a very prestigious spot on the business front. There are a plethora of job opportunities that are just writhing to come out of the Pandora’s Box. A business man or a job aspirant thus wishes to learn Chinese in China to become well versed in the local dialect. Volunteering or social work The social workers or the volunteers who wish to tour the country often find it hard to converse with the local people. This way by learning Chinese in China one can take the advantage of the course and become more accessible to the unprivileged class.

While it is possible for you to obtain a teaching profession within your own country, your opportunity in other countries is also vast. This goes for countries which are looking for native English speakers to teach their students the language. Among these worldwide countries is China.

There are already a lot of individuals who are teaching English in China. If you are interested with the concept of a teaching profession in a foreign country, you might want to consider this option. There are various schools all over the mainland which are offering job opportunities within this certain field. Some institutions require their applicants a college degree certification, while there are some which do not. On the other hand, all schools hire applicants who are native speakers of the language.

With China becoming the 6th largest economy in 2004 and likely to rank 4th in 2005, this is likely to fuel further anxieties over the impact of China`s rising economic might for the world economic leaders. But for company executives and aspiring young entrepreneurs, it has become imperative to understand China so as to explore the increasing business opportunities in China.

One of the usual route for this is to study and build social networks at the leading Chinese universities. Latest available figures show that there were about 85,000 foreign students studying in China in 2002. Almost 500 Chinese universities, mainly in Shanghai and Bejing, accept foreign students. The top 5 universities with the largest foreign students are Beijing Language and Culture Center, Fudan, Peking, Tsinghua and Shanghai universities.

If you are planning to do a post-graduate MBA program while working in China, there are many learning organizations to choose from.

The University of Maryland`s Smith School of Business offers a degree, custom and certification programs at learning centers within Beijing and Shanghai. Smith`s first executive MBA program class started in Jan 2003 and graduated in spring 2004.

The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee`s School of Business Administration has recently launched an EMBA program in Beijing in partnership with Motorola for staff of Motorola`s China operations.

Together with the top-ranked Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, the University of British Columbia is also offering an International MBA in China. Besides having the same curriculam as its Canadian MBA, professors from the University of British Columbia teach all of the courses.

Another EMBA program is the Cass EMBA 2-year part-time off-campus program by City University from Britian which has been launched in collaboration with Bank of China and the Shanghai University of Finance & Economics.

Britain`s Nottingham University is the first foreign university to establish a physical campus in Ningbo in September 2004. Nottingham Ningbo`s degree is comparable with its degree from the British campus with all courses conducted in English.

The Chinese government is actively promoting more educational tie-ups in China to develop university graduates who will be better geared for the many multinational corporations operating in China and spearhead economic growth. Currently, there are about 700 such jointly managed educational programs in China.

With the many future and current leaders and managers in China enrolling in the many tertiary education and post-graduate MBA programs, it makes good career sense to take up these courses and build a social network which will be useful for operating within Chinese business community for the future.