International Voices - Leina Shi

Think Education

To coincide with Judith’s trip to China, this latest episode of the Think Education sees Chris and Judith talking to Leina Shi, Director Education British Council China, about her move to China during the pandemic, leaving UK higher education after 20 years, and the scope and scale of the role she now occupies, including British Council priorities in China.

Leina reflected on the changes she has seen in western approaches to China over her career and the renewed interest and willingness to engage post-pandemic and offers insight on how this process could be managed.

We talked about digital engagement and virtual connections, as compared to face to face trust building. Leina talked about the event she is organising this week, which brings together key UK and Chinese university stakeholders to discuss collaboration and future activity. Leina gave us a sneak preview into some of the techniques she uses to increase engagement during both online and face to face events.

We asked Leina about identity in international education and discussed some of the reflections and case studies in our latest book The Evolving Nature of Universities: What Shapes and Influences Identity in International Higher Education to get her perspective on how identity is viewed in different contexts.

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