7 – 11 December 2020
Offered flexibly online and free to attend
The schedule for this year’s conference is listed below. Please click on the individual sessions to see abstracts for the presentations. All sessions will take place on Zoom – passwords for sessions will be provided by email to registered attendees.
Please register via Eventbrite to ensure you receive the password for sessions.
Monday, December 7
Session 1: Conference Introductions and
‘Knowledge domains of Chinese doctoral returnees’
Chair: Jenna Mittelmeier
Session recording available at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/097b6111-3ff4-4106-955c-1a5cd5ceacb6/
| Presenters | Session Title |
| Conference co-organisers | Welcome and introduction |
| Catherine Montgomery (Durham University) | Looking for ‘new domains’ amidst uncertain futures: Chinese doctoral research as knowledge of future global higher education |
| Yudan Zhang and Xiaoqing Wang (Huazhong University of Science and Technology) | Hotspots and trends of domestic literature research on academic returnees of Chinese universities from 2007-2019: A vizualised analysis based on Citespace |
Session 2A: Post-pandemic considerations for higher education
Chair: Helen (Choen Yin) Chan
Session recording available at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/b89c4ef4-090b-41ca-90ad-75169428e4b5/
| Presenters | Session Title |
| Chi Zhang (University of St Andrews) | Post-pandemic authoritarian resilience in higher education |
| Leigh Lawrence (University of Cambridge) | China’s higher education governance during COVID: A mixed methods study of policy analysis and student perspectives |
| Heather Cockayne and Jenna Mittelmeier (University of Manchester) | Global interpretations of Chinese international students during COVID-19: A thematic analysis of Twitter data |
Session 2B: China and UK higher education
Chair: Huili Si
Session recording avialable at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/3fc436b8-9169-4a13-8591-665e9581f84d
| Presenters | Session Title |
| Michael Natzler (Higher Education Policy Institute) | Evolving narratives around ‘China’ in higher education policy: A view from a think tank |
| Xi Tao (University College London) | Becoming a global citizen through study abroad: A longitudinal study of Chinese postgraduate students’ experience in the UK |
| David Law (Keele University) | Sino-British joint education institutes: Policy issues for university leaders in UK (Work in Progress paper) |
Keynote Session:
Ka Ho Mok (Lingnan University)
‘The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on international higher education: Chinese student perspectives’
Chair: Miguel Antonio Lim
Sesion recording available at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/5e7fd831-703e-46f1-ab08-73fe32187a11
Keynote abstract and speaker profile are available here.
Tuesday, December 8
Session 3A: International students’ experiences in China
Chair: Jingran Yu
Session recording available at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/07c10595-f039-435f-955b-9c4f23cd0f15
| Presenters | Session Title |
| Tinghe Jin (University of East Anglia) Paiwei Qin (University of Jyvaskyla) Palitha Edirisingha (University of Leicester) | Experiencing and reflecting Chinese Higher Education (CHE): Interviews with international students in mainland China |
| Jasvir Kaur Nachatar Singh (La Trobe University) | International students in China and their employability perceptions: A qualitative study |
| Ming Han (University of Nottingham Ningbo) | Cultures of learning: Exploring the learning experiences of international students in China (Work in Progress paper) |
Session 3B: Evaluating systems of university practice
Chair: Bowen Zhang
Session recording available at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/72f2f2eb-d7cf-45c1-a4f3-b9a656a47f71
| Presenters | Session Title |
| Yui-yip Lau and Tsz Leung Yip (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University) | Social transformation of education in Hong Kong: Changes of student mix and behaviours |
| Bing Liu (University of Manchester) | The definition of the world-class university in China’s higher education |
| Andrea Střelcová and Yuzhuo Cai (Tampere University) | European researchers in Chinese academia: What are their motivations, satisfaction and career trajectories? |
Session 4: Global experiences of international students during COVID
Chair: Ying Yang
Session recording available at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/baedbbd5-2000-4a0e-aaed-4eb28182d293
| Presenters | Session Title |
| Angela Lehmann (Australian National University) | Being international at home: Australia’s offshore Chinese international students during COVID-19 |
| Hong Yang (University of Reading) | Chinese students’ learning experience in one British university during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| Carolyn Hu (University of Edinburgh) | International postgraduate students’ learning experience within a crisis context: A qualitative study in the UK |
| Yizhe Huang and Michael Lanford (University of North Georgia) | The experiences of Chinese international students in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic (Work in Progress paper) |
Early Career Writing Workshop
Chair: Helen (Choen Yin) Chan
What does it mean to write effectively? A workshop on key elements of good academic writing
Jelena Brankovic (Bielefeld University)
Melina Aarnikoivu (University of Jyvaskyla)
ECHER – Early Career Higher Education Researchers
Workshop abstract and speaker profiles are available here.
Wednesday, December 9
Session 5 (Parallel Session): 11:00 am to 12:00 pm (UK time)
(7:00 to 8:00 pm China; 6:00 to 7:00 am EST)
Session A: Chinese international students’ experiences and identity formation
Chair: Xueting Ban
Sesson recording available at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/4d4a8737-5851-48b3-8450-de5392db2b6c
| Presenters | Session Title |
| Meng Xiao (University of Toronto) | Passive learners? Rethinking Chinese international student identities in Canadian post-secondary institutions |
| Lemin Shen (Zhejiang Wanli University) | Developing host students’ intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in a multicultural class in China |
| Shan Lu Concordia College Moorhead, USA; University of Toronto | A look at COVID-19 impact on two colleges’ international mobility plans and policies: United International College and Concordia College (Work in Progress paper) |
Session B: Teaching experiences in uncertainty
Chair: Heather Cockayne
Session recording available at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/06faf146-93b1-49c2-a05c-d8c677decb3a
| Presenters | Session Title |
| Annie McCartney, Phillippa Watkins, Clare Kell, Dawn Story, and Shane Galvin (University of South Wales) | The contractual and educational challenges in delivering ‘high quality’ online tuition to Chinese students across disciplines in the ‘New Normal’ |
| Kannass Chan, Laura Zhou, and Leo Chon (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University) | Responding to COVID-19 in transitioning to online teaching: Challenges and concerns from teachers’ perspectives at a university in Hong Kong (Work in Progress paper) |
Session 6: 12:15 to 1:15 pm (UK)
(8:15 to 9:15 pm China; 7:15 to 8:15 am EST)
Chinese international relations and higher education
Chair: Miguel Antonio Lim
Session recording available at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/ca277376-cec8-44fc-bef2-cc70db096172/
| Presenters | Session Title |
| Que Anh Dang (Coventry University) | How China and the UK influence ASEAN to navigate and engage with a changing higher education world? |
| Bowen Xu (University of Cambridge) | China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Reimagining, reshaping, and regionalizing a Sino-centric higher education space |
| Natalia Leskina (Ural Federal University) and Emma Sabzalieva (York University) | Central Asian education at the crossroads: Between post-soviet regionalism and China’s Belt and Road Initiative |
Session 7: 2:45 to 3:45 pm (UK)
(10:45 to 11:45 pm China; 9:45 to 10:45 am EST)
Macro systems of Chinese higher education
Chair: Xi Xi
Session recording available at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/341d5d88-97ea-4c48-af1c-d4d10981dd9b/
| Presenters | Session Title |
| Leping Mou (University of Toronto) Michael O’Shea (University of Toronto) Lu Xu (University of Pennsylvania) Ross Aikins (University of Pennsylvania) | Communicating COVID-19: Analyzing insitutional responses from Chinese universities |
| Abigail Smith (Pace University) Tavis Jules (Loyola University) | SINO-CARICOM: The fate of education and economic integration amidst COVID-19 |
| Ryan M. Allen (Chapman University) | A mixed-method exploration of perceptions and cooperation of China’s C9 league |
Keynote Panel: 4:00 to 5:00 pm (UK time)
(12:00 to 1:00 am China (Thursday); 11:00 am to 12:00 pm EST)
Chair: Jenna Mittelmeier
Session recording available at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/7344d869-dfbe-4729-a515-cf1321eecf9d/
Jenny J. Lee (University of Arizona)
Brendan Cantwell (Michigan State University)
John P. Haupt (University of Arizona)
Wen Wen (Tsinghua University)
‘What is the future of US-China research collaborations?’
Panel abstract and speaker profiles are available here.
Thursday, December 10
Session 8: 11:00 am to 12:00 pm (UK time)
(7:00 to 8:00 pm China; 6:00 to 7:00 am EST)
Soft power and knowledge diplomacy
Chair: Huili Si
Session recording available at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/7a7310a1-722a-4786-900c-952941260272/
| Presenters | Session Title |
| Anabela Santiago (University of Aveiro) | Chinese higher education trends in a post-pandemic era: still a tool of soft power? |
| Bingqing Shen (University of Toronto) | An attempt at knowledge diplomacy in Chinese higher education development: A rethinking of China’s Confucius Institutes |
Session 9 (Parallel Sessions): 12:15 to 1:15 pm (UK)
(8:15 to 9:15 pm China; 7:15 to 8:15 am EST)
Session A: International academics working in China
Chair: Bowen Zhang
Session recording available at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/fb229768-0182-4d0c-8b33-b17e4fc524c7/
| Presenters | Session Title |
| Yan Liang (University of Nottingham) | Expat academics in China: A future of opportunities, challenges, and uncertainties |
| Xin Xu (University of Oxford) and Giulio Marini (University College London) | The mobility of international faculty to China: Motivations, challenges, and future patterns |
| Jiexiu Chen (University College London) and Junwen Zhu (East China Normal University) | False anticipation and misfits in a cross-cultural setting: Exploring international scholars’ working experiences in Chinese universities |
Session B: Higher education systems in China
Chair: Bing Liu
Session recording available at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/3f0010d5-d93e-4812-9f90-5b40192e177f/
| Presenters | Session Title |
| Xiaoling Wang and Yangfan Li (Dailan University of Technology) | The evolution and features of programs adjustment mechanism in Chinese Universities since 1949 |
| Xu Liu (Southern University of Science and Technology) and Yitao Wang (Suzhou University) | Can independent colleges really be independent in China? |
| Cassidy Gong (University of Toronto) | Factors Contributing to the Regional Variation in the Growth and Development of Private Universities in China, Towards a Conceptual Framework (Work in Progress paper) |
Keynote Session: 1:30 to 2:30 pm (UK time)
(9:30 to 10:30 pm China; 8:30 to 9:30 am EST)
Chair: Miguel Antonio Lim
Session recording is available at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/9920a97d-e70b-4a2b-ac4e-e685654f91b7/
Wenqin Shen (Peking University)
‘International academic mobility: Academic careers in China and the challenges ahead’
Keynote abstract and speaker profile are available here.
Friday, December 11
Session 10: 11:00 am to 12:00 pm (UK time)
(7:00 to 8:00 pm China; 6:00 to 7:00 am EST)
Policies of internationalisation
Chair: Xueting Ban
Session recording available at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/c32ba097-848d-428e-a123-80cf22c98abb/
| Presenters | Session Title |
| Na Wei (National Institute for Curriculum and Textbook Research) | Case study: Going to an overseas university, a choice for a Beijing-born student who does not have the right to take the national entrance examination in Beijing |
| Jiaqi Liu (University of California San Diego) | Between embracing and controlling: The politics of student emigration in China |
| Huili Si and Miguel Antonio Lim (University of Manchester) | COVID-19, a new driver to optimize China’s transnational higher education? |
Session 11 (Parallel Sessions): 12:15 to 1:15 pm (UK)
(8:15 to 9:15 pm China; 7:15 to 8:15 am EST)
Session A: Pivots to online learning
Chair: Jenna Mittelmeier
Session recording available at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/2773fa6f-63a9-46ac-acfb-c1c8d3e352c5
| Presenters | Session Title |
| Yidan Zhu (Lingnan University) Yun Xia (Shanghai University) Yu Yan (Shanghai University), and Yufei He (Shanghai University) | Crossing boundaries through e-learning: Experiencing collaborative online international learning (COIL) in China’s Higher Education |
| Marieke Guy and Pip McDonald (Royal Agriculture University) | The certainty of uncertainty: Transnational online pivot in China (Work in Progress paper) |
| Yujun Xu (University of Edinburgh) | Data protection and privacy implications of online learning in international higher education (Work in Progress paper) |
Session B: Academic returnee staff in China
Chair: Jingran Yu
Session recording available at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/49db4402-e95a-48a1-8fae-d1dbb587be8c
| Presenters | Session Title |
| Yijun Hu (Griffith University) | Being and becoming academics: Returnees translating Western academic conduct to China |
| Jiaxin Chen (Lingnan University) and Xiaoxin Du (Fudan University) | Policy ambiguity for flexibility or uncertainty: The hidden rules in academic performance evaluation and academic returnees’ resocialization in Chinese universities |
| Bowen Zhang (University of Manchester) | The influence of Sino-Western exchange on internationalisation of Chinese higher education: Staff recruitment policy of Sino-Western universities in 20th and the 21st century |
Keynote Session: 1:30 to 2:30 pm (UK time)
(9:30 to 10:30 pm China; 8:30 to 9:30 am EST)
Chair: Heather Cockayne
Session recording available at: https://video.manchester.ac.uk/faculties/8856f85434e41fb156ec49cee2ff2134/5977ad12-f6be-4dcf-b05e-bc414456eb4e
Johanna L. Waters (University College London)
‘Transnationalising higher education in Hong Kong: A new paradigm for (im)mobilities in HE?’
Keynote abstract and speaker profile are available here.
