No Post-Retirement Blues for These Senior University Students

What will you do when you grow old? In Shanghai, many elderly choose learning new and trendy skills to enrich their retirement life, making the golden years as vibrant and fashionable as the young generation's.

On Monday, the new spring semester kicked off at the Shanghai University for the Senior and its branches citywide.

This semester, the university alone is offering more than 28,000 slots. With its 47 branch campuses and 65 teaching sites, the whole network provides over 300 courses and more than 500,000 learning opportunities.

The courses in 10 categories cover both traditional and trendy subjects, among which artificial intelligence (AI) application, intelligent musical instruments, self-media management, drone operation and fashion makeup are the most sought after, with enrollment slots gone in a flash once they opened.

At the university's Nantang Campus, more than 40 retirees have signed for a course on making pictures and videos with AI tools. They finished half of the classes last year and none quit.

Shanghai Daily saw most of them busy taking notes at the class; some even filmed the teaching process for learning back home.

"Our class is always full," said Mao Jianrong, a class teacher.

Mao, a photography enthusiast, added that he has also been learning how to use AI tools and was glad to share tips with his students.

"Nowadays, seniors are all using smartphones and eager to try out new technologies. They think it's really fun, and the results turn out great. They love it so much that they share the creations on WeChat Moments or even video channels."

Li Liansheng, 75, shared a video about the Lantern Festival that he made with the popular AI videomaker Jimeng.

"It's fun to use AI tools to create visuals," he noted. "I want to thank my teacher for teaching me how to make all this happen. It also inspired me to help my grandchildren solve their homework problems."

In the stringless guitar classroom at the university's Qinzhou Academy, 63-year-old Zhu Qi finally fulfilled her long-cherished music dream.

Featuring user-friendly keys and visual cues, plus smart AI support, it's incredibly easy to learn. It enables users to create a full-band sound on their own, while perfectly solving the problems of sore fingers and difficulty in reading sheet music.

"I've always admired people who can play the guitar while singing," she said. "Now, my music dream that has been on hold for years has finally come true."

Zhu pointed out that she had been learning at the seniors' university for almost eight years and had taken classes such as singing and dancing, while the stringless guitar was the first musical instrument she had picked up.

"Learning at the Shanghai University for the Senior makes me feel that I'm not so old and aging is not an issue at all."