Time: 4:00 pm- 5:30 pm (HKT)
Date: Oct 7, 2024
Mode: by ZOOM
Speaker: Dr. Kun Dai (The University of Hong Kong); Dr. Kenichi Doi (The institute of Geoeconomics)
Chair: Professor HORTA, Hugo (The University of Hong Kong)
Registration link: https://hku.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEkde-vqz4sE9OIXBBtHTUpfbUSTDv5qCjb
Abstract:
This study explores the world of international doctoral students in the Chinese higher education system. It delves into their motivations, research experiences, and how they navigate the transitions across borders between their research, personal, and social worlds while pursuing their research in China.
The stories, presented in both patterned categories and individual reflexive narratives, illustrate how these students navigate themselves as doctoral researchers in the Chinese context. The stories highlight the opportunities and challenges these international students encounter in their doctoral research in China. While some students progressively become competent, confident, and positive researchers as they smoothly adjust, others struggle with difficult transitions and face challenges in their relationships with Chinese supervisors, peers, and the academic field. Through analysing international doctoral students’ lived experiences and the relevant policies, the study offers insight into China’s position and characteristics in the context of global doctoral education.
About the speaker:
Dr Kun Dai is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Educational Administration and Policy, Faculty of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His main research interests include international and comparative education, transnational higher education, and education policy. Dr Dai’s work has appeared in several leading international peer-reviewed journals, such as Higher Education, Studies in Higher Education, Journal of Studies in International Education, Higher Education Research & Development, and Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. He is the (co)authors of five scholarly books, including “Transitioning ‘In-Between’: Chinese Students’ Navigating Experiences in Transnational Higher Education Programmes” (Brill, 2021), “Developing Intercultural Competence ‘at Home’: Domestic Students’ Experiences in Chinese Universities” (Routledge, 2023), “Mapping Transnational Habitus: Epistemology, Theory and Boundaries” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024), “The Motivation and Research Experiences of International Doctoral Students in China” (Routledge, 2024), and “(Re)writing the Future: Creating Chinese International Students at Home” (Routledge, forthcoming in 2025).