Silver-haired image management, self-media account incubation... Shanghai Senior University courses "newly launched"

On March 9th, Shanghai Senior University opened for the spring semester, with a new batch of courses added to the schedule.

According to Shanghai Open University, during the spring semester of 2026, a total of over 500,000 student seats will be offered by senior education institutions operated by the city, districts, subdistricts, towns, and social organizations, with an expected total of more than 1,050,000 seats throughout the year. Among them, Shanghai Senior University provides over 28,000 seats for the entire city. Additionally, nearly 40 new teaching sites have been added, located in suburban areas, allowing more elderly residents to enjoy high-quality, warm senior education right at their doorstep.

On March 9th, Shanghai Senior University’s spring semester began. The photo shows students practicing basic scales in the violin class at Qinzhou Academy. Photo provided by the school.

In response to the demand for quality courses among Shanghai’s elderly, Shanghai Senior University has deepened its “City-District-Subdistrict-Township” four-level educational system, forming a structure of “1 city-level main school + 47 branch schools + 65 teaching sites,” bringing classrooms into commercial districts, parks, and communities, and delivering lessons into the “15-minute learning circle” for residents.

Starting from April 2026, Shanghai Senior University will officially launch resource distribution projects covering nine suburban and rural districts, including Jinshan, Jiading, and Qingpu. Through faculty transfer, course sharing, and collaborative research, these initiatives aim to narrow the gap in educational resources between urban and rural seniors. By 2027, it is expected that Shanghai Senior University will distribute over 5,000 seats annually and establish more than 200 classes, enabling suburban seniors to access high-quality educational resources nearby.

On March 9th, the spring semester of Shanghai Senior University began. The photo shows a cooking class at Nantang Campus. Photo by Liu Xiaojing.

Shanghai Senior University started its spring semester on March 9th, with a series of distinctive, high-quality, trendy new courses added to the schedule, including “Self-Media Account Incubation,” “Introduction and Practical Skills for Silver Hair Live Streamers,” “Image Management for Seniors,” “Chronic Disease Management,” “Language Cognitive Rehabilitation,” “Learn AI Easily,” and “Smart Living with Me.”

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Shanghai Senior University will lead the recruitment of course development teams across the city, developing 20 high-quality senior education courses each year to address the issue of “courses not matching” seniors’ needs. The first batch of popular courses, voted on by seniors, covers ten categories such as national conditions education, digital literacy, elderly care management, financial literacy, and daily life skills. These include trendy courses like AI tools for seniors, smart life assistants, short video creation, and live streaming skills to help seniors keep up with the digital age; essential courses like interpretation of elderly care policies, financial fraud prevention, and chronic disease management to protect their lives and property; as well as life skills courses such as museum visits, travel photography, gardening, beauty, and sewing, catering to both spiritual pursuits and quality of life, fully meeting the diverse learning needs of seniors.