The China in Europe Research Network has set out to facilitate the exchange among researchers, journalists, and policymakers. In this initiative, we identify significant events and provide the latter two groups with relevant insights from researchers from our network. We keep the briefings short and practical and leave it open to you whether you want to pursue a certain topic further on a one-on-one basis.
October 25, 11:00-11:45 CET
The event is aimed at journalists and policymakers
In the third CHERN Online Briefing we continue focusing on Risks and Opportunities in Academic and Research Collaboration.
SPEAKERS:
Yuzhuo Cai
Dr. Yuzhuo Cai is a senior lecturer and adjunct professor in the Higher Education Group, Faculty of Management and Business, Tampere University, where he also served as Acting Professor during the 2013-2014 academic year. He is a Visiting Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong (July-December 2024), and Co-Director of the Global Research Institute for Finnish Education (GRIFE) at the Education University of Hong Kong. Additionally, he is a Principal Investigator of a Horizon Europe project and an editor for three international journals: The Triple Helix, Journal of Studies in International Education, and Journal of the Knowledge Economy. His research primarily focuses on higher education and innovation studies, including international higher education cooperation between EU and China. He has been listed in Stanford/Elsevier’s Top 2% Scientist Rankings in the field of education for three consecutive years.
Cristina Pinna
Dr. Cristina Pinna is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow at the University of Groningen’s Faculty of Arts. Previously, she served as an Assistant Professor in Chinese Studies at the University of Sassari, Italy, and as a Senior Policy Advisor for the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in China. She has also collaborated with UNESCO and the Chinese University of Hong Kong and was an EU-China Science and Technology Fellow at Peking University. Dr. Pinna holds a PhD from the University of Cagliari and completed post-doctoral studies at the University of Toronto. Her current research focuses on China’s soft power and international relations, particularly in the context of the EU-China strategic partnership. She has published in academic journals, including on EU-China academic relations, and led policy reports for organizations like UNESCO and UNDP.
Yunpeng Zhang
Yunpeng Zhang holds a PhD in Human Geography from the University of Edinburgh. He is currently an assistant professor in Urban and Regional Planning at University College Dublin. He has a strong interest in urban-centric transformation and the politics of knowledge production. Empirically, his work focuses on mainland China. He has extensive experience working with China-based colleagues and is currently teaching in a dual degree program jointly offered by University College Dublin and Chang’an University.
Moderator: Alexandra Filius
Alexandra holds a bachelor degree China Studies from Leiden University and a master degree Culture, Organization and Management from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. During her studies she lived Beijing for one year. She wrote her master thesis about the experiences of Chinese PhD students in the Netherlands. Currently, she works as program manager for the Graduate School of Social Sciences at Vrije Universiteit and is the grant holder manager for CHERN.
