A cross-regional "digital relay" in senior education is unfolding deep in the mountains of Yunnan. Recently, Shanghai Senior University launched the "Silver-Age Digital Torch Program" under its "Silver-Age Digital Home" initiative aimed at improving digital literacy and skills among older adults. In the first phase, a team of experts from Shanghai traveled to Shizong County in Qujing, Yunnan Province, to conduct teacher training and general AI education for seniors. During the visit, Shanghai Senior University and the Shizong County People's Government signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement focused on building a high-quality senior education service system, covering long-term deep cooperation in party building leadership, teacher empowerment, and resource delivery. Driven by Shanghai officials assisting Yunnan, this effort to bring premium educational resources directly to the doorstep is aimed at creating a model of East-West collaboration in senior education.

A showcase course cultivates a teaching team's growth

What was brought from Shanghai to Shizong this time was not a hastily assembled AI experience class, but a systematically developed and repeatedly tested premium course of Shanghai senior education titled "AI General Knowledge and Practical Application." In line with the deployment requirements of the "Shanghai Senior Education High-Quality Development Three-Year Action Plan (2025-2027)," the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission entrusted Shanghai Senior University to lead the construction and promotion of premium courses. The course delivered this time is one of the first batch of premium courses. During the workshop, the course development team conducted specialized training for local teachers on course philosophy, teaching content, case design, tool operation, age-friendly teaching methods, and localized implementation, and also held demonstration classes for on-site observation. Peng Haihong, Party Branch Secretary and Executive Vice President of Shanghai Senior University, stated: "Running senior education well has never been a solo effort of one city or one school—it requires cross-regional mutual assistance and bidirectional flow of quality resources. Shanghai Senior University is bringing the content, methods, and experience formed during course development as a complete package to Shizong, hoping to gradually equip more local teachers with course implementation capabilities, so that a 'good Shanghai course' can adapt to Shizong County's teaching environment and learner needs and continue to grow in local classrooms."

Making AI relevant to what seniors encounter every day

As a Shanghai digital literacy and skills training base for all citizens, Shanghai Senior University not only cultivates local teachers but also delivers AI classes directly to elderly people of ethnic minorities. In Wulong Township, the training integrated AI-scenario dialogue and image recording into teaching, guiding Zhuang elderly residents to understand and use new tools. Alongside offline training, a multi-platform digital learning resource matrix was delivered: PC portals aggregate systematic courses, mobile devices provide access through the "Senior Starry Sky Cloud Classroom" mini-program, and television delivers content through the "Golden School" channel, the "Silver-Age Classroom" program on Shanghai Education Television, and the "Evergreen Starry Sky" column on Shanghai Telecom IPTV. In addition, Shanghai Senior University partnered with the "Ant Public Welfare Foundation | Blue Vest" to bring popular science experience resources from the Bund Conference AI project to Shizong County. Ma Wenjun, Vice President of Shizong County Senior University, said: "With the efforts of Shanghai Senior University and Shanghai officials assisting Yunnan, Shanghai Senior University has not only brought general AI education for seniors to Shizong but also delivered a complete set of teaching materials for Shanghai's premium senior education courses, which is of great significance. We will strive to implement general AI education in Shizong so that the county's elderly population can enjoy the digital dividend." To ensure that resources from Shanghai truly adapt to the grassroots level, during the public welfare tour, the project team visited locations including Dili Village in Kuishan Town, Xihua Community, and Wulong Township to conduct surveys on topics such as caring for left-behind elderly, services for advanced-age and disadvantaged seniors, support for solitary elderly, community integration of elderly in ethnic areas, and elderly companion reading. Shen Sicong, a Shanghai official assisting Yunnan and member of the Standing Committee of Shizong County Party Committee and Deputy County Head, stated: "Next, we will combine the actual needs of some elderly groups identified through household visits, integrate various quality resources from Shanghai Senior University, and make every effort to shore up the shortcomings of county-level senior education." As the director unit of the Distance Education Working Committee of the China Association of Senior Universities, Shanghai Senior University will also rely on the committee's national collaboration network to continuously promote the co-construction and sharing of premium courses and digital learning resources, making Shizong an important stop in this "digital relay" and extending the benefits of the digital era to the broader silver-haired population in central and western China.