Zheng Susu, an e-commerce lecturer for 15 years, is visibly confident in her classes. She, however, was caught by surprise and felt anxious upon receiving an invitation from a local prison.

In December 2017, Qiaosi Prison in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, sought to collaborate with Taobao University, an education unit under Chinese tech giant Alibaba, where Zheng works as a lecturer, to impart lessons to the inmates.

The unique approach is aimed at better preparing the inmates with skills to help them reintegrate into society. Before approaching Taobao University, it had already offered classes in auto repair and plumbing installation.

"We set up the courses so they (the inmates) can live a good life after returning to society," said Hu Di, an official with Qiaosi Prison.

As the prison is in Hangzhou, where Alibaba is based and online businesses are booming, Hu came up with the idea to ask Taobao University to offer relevant courses.

Huang Lei, head of the Taobao University, attached great importance to Hu's request. "We were asked to help inmates learn more about the internet, but we then realized that teaching them certain skills could help them gain more opportunities in the future."

The boom of e-commerce in China spawned almost 40 new jobs related to the digital economy such as e-commerce customer service staff and trainers of artificial intelligence, data from Alibaba showed.

In January 2018, Taobao University worked out the teaching plan and signed the agreement with Qiaosi Prison. Zheng was listed in the first batch of lecturers.

"When I put away my mobile phone and walked through several iron gates, I felt I was in another world," Zheng recalled.

Since her students were of various age groups and educational backgrounds, Zheng started by explaining fundamental concepts such as QR codes. She said she never considered teaching as "cracking a hard nut."

"Our students were quite interested in outside information. They have very strong desires to learn," she said.

Learning e-commerce can boost inmates' confidence and help them earn their own living when they leave the prison, thereby contributing to a stable and harmonious society, said Yang Jianhua, head of the Zhejiang Academy of Social Sciences.

As of Dec. 10, the Qiaosi Prison had delivered e-commerce classes to over 2,500 inmates, and some of them worked on online sales of agricultural products in their hometowns while others established internet companies.

A former inmate surnamed Zhou, who attended six sessions of the comprehensive e-commerce course, founded a company that offers services related to e-commerce after leaving the prison.

"The study in the prison made me understand the changes that are happening in the outside world and inspired me a lot," said Zhou, who was sentenced to six years and nine months of imprisonment for illegally opening casinos.

After completing his prison term, Zhou continued to expand his knowledge by reading books and participating in offline training sessions, which allowed him to gain skills for effectively managing his company.

"The scariest thing about serving a sentence is self-abandoning and the lack of a goal," said Zhou. "The training helped me find a new direction."

Huang, head of Taobao University, said the university will forge further cooperation with drug rehabilitation centers, creating more job opportunities for people with special experiences.

"What we bring to them include but is not limited to knowledge," he said. "Through these training classes, the inmates can regain their lost hopes."