Oztime.com signs cooperation agreement with Tsinghua University
Calgary, AB (August 08, 2000) - Zi Corporation's (NASDAQ: ZICA) (TSE:
ZIC) subsidiary, Oztime.com will be providing on-line education services for
Tsinghua University, one of China's most prestigious institutions. This
brings Oztime.com to a total of three education contracts prior to their
commercial launch this fall. Oztime.com has also won contracts with the China
Central Radio and Television University (CRTVU) and China's e-Commerce
Association. Initially, Oztime.com will focus on developing e-commerce
certified courses to be used by Tsinghua University's continuing education
programs.
``As an education service provider, Oztime.com has the technology and
infrastructure to deliver quality education to students nationwide,'' says
Yanning Li, president, Oztime.com. ``Oztime.com's educational platform,
virtual community and administrative tools combined with Tsinghua's courseware
will create a world-class distance education offering.''
Tsinghua attracts top students from across the country with its programs
in science, engineering and management; earning the reputation as China's MIT.
In terms of distance education, Tsinghua is a leader among Chinese educational
institutions, boasting an extensive distribution network of 72 off-campus
teaching sites in over 30 provinces. Tsinghua advanced its reputation in
distance education when the Ministry of Education recently chose Tsinghua as
the administrator for the national distance education project delivered
through CERNET (China Education Research Network).
Currently, over 7,000 students register for Tsinghua degree programs
delivered through distance education, and another 10,000 register for
non-degree certified courses. As Tsinghua expands it capability through the
Oztime.com partnership, the number of students who receive long-distance
certificate training is expected to grow tremendously.
Each year, approximately 12 million senior high school students graduate
in China - but approximately 60 per cent of these graduates are underemployed
because they do not have access to further education, particularly in the
fields of technology. Oztime.com expects to recruit thousands of potential
students each month, through Tsinghua's distance education programs and CERNET
connections.
Under the cooperation agreement with Tsinghua University, Oztime.com
will:
- co-develop continuing education courseware in partnership with Tsinghua
University,
- webify a selection of Tsinghua University's current offering,
- conduct joint market research regarding course offerings,
- promote courses to additional audiences; and
- organize on-line student administration.
Courses will be offered on a user-pay basis with the partners sharing the
revenues.
Zi Corporation is a leading provider of embedded software technology and
educational products and services. The company's core product, eZiText(TM)
connects people to short messaging, e-mail, e-commerce, Web browsing and
similar applications in almost any written language. Zi's wholly owned
subsidiary, Oztime.com, is China's first Web-based education service provider.
Zi supports its strategic partners from offices in Calgary, Beijing, Hong
Kong, San Francisco, Shenzhen and Stockholm. A publicly traded company, Zi
Corporation is listed on the NASDAQ National Market (ZICA) and the Toronto
Stock Exchange (ZIC). |
