Junhong Xiao is a professor at the Open University of Shantou (formerly known as Shantou Radio & Television University), China; founding member of the Center for Open Education Research (COER) of the University of Oldenburg; co-editor of SpringerBriefs in Open and Distance Education series (https://www.springer.com/series/15238); editor of Section I, History, Theory and Research in ODE, Handbook of Open, Distance and Digital Education (https://link.springer.com/ referencework/10.1007/978-981-19-0351-9#toc); editorial board member of several journals; co-author of over 250 publications in Chinese and English; and reviewer of numerous journals and conferences. He has been engaged in open and distance education for thirty-five years as a practitioner and researcher.