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Staff Profile

Dr Yao Wang

Lecturer in Intercultural Communication and Education

Background

Yao joined Â鶹´«Ã½ as Lecturer (equivalent to Assistant Professor) in September 2023, having previously worked as an Associate Lecturer.


Yao also held teaching and research posts in other higher education institutions in the UK, including:

  • Research Associate at the University of Sheffield,  (in partnership with UNICEF Innocenti and The LEGO Group, funded by The LEGO Foundation)
  • Research Associate at the University of East Anglia, Decolonising Teaching and Learning at UEA Project
  • Postgraduate Demonstrator, Research Associate, and Research Assistant at Â鶹´«Ã½
  • Mandarin Peer Teacher at the Language Resource Centre at Â鶹´«Ã½
  • CV Adviser, Careers Service, Â鶹´«Ã½


In addition to her academic roles, Yao has industry experience as an education consultant at an education consulting company in Beijing, where she advised students on overseas study and career pathways. She was recognised as a National Excellent New Employee for her contributions.



Roles and responsibilities

  • Degree Programme Director for MA Cross-Cultural Communication and Media Studies
  • Staff Chair of Student Staff Committee
  • ALC Seminar Coordinator (with Prof Tony Young)


Qualifications

  • 2018-2022, PhD in Education, Communication and Language Sciences, Â鶹´«Ã½ (Â鶹´«Ã½, UK) (with international PhD scholarship)
  • 2019, PGCert in Research Training, Â鶹´«Ã½
  • 2017, MA in Philosophy of Education, Institute of Education, University College London (London, UK)
  • 2016, First degree: BA in Philosophy, School of Philosophy and Sociology, Beijing Normal University (Beijing, China)
  • 2016, Second degree: BA in Chinese Language and Literature, School of Chinese Language, Beijing Normal University (Beijing, China)
  • Senior Fellow of The Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).


Awards

  • Adam Smith Institute John Blundell Studentship 2020 (£4,000)
  • UN Sustainable Development Goals poster competition winner, presented at Global Partners Research Forum: Sustainable Future in Focus 2021.
  • 2021 British Educational Research Association Annual Conference Scholarship
  • 2019 Gender and Education Association International Conference Scholarship


Esteem Indicators

  • Professional Standards Framework (PSF) mentor 
  • Grants Assessor, Member of the ESRC Peer Review College, UK Research and Innovation
  • Editorial board member (Associate Editor) of the Springer Nature Journal - Humanities and Social Sciences Communications.
  • Editorial advisory board member of Learning Futures and Emerging Technologies
  • Regional Editor for the open-access Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education.
  • Regular reviewer for journals such as Educational Review, Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, Journal of Regional Science Policy and Practice.






Research

Yao has an interdisciplinary background encompassing philosophy, literature, education, and cross-cultural communication, employing various methodologies (mixed methods, ethnography etc.). Her research sits at the intersection of migration, intercultural education and digital transformation, with a particular interest in how mobile communities build resilience amid sociotechnological change.


She actively explores, evaluates, and implements institutional teaching and learning policies, with a specific emphasis on decolonisation and the advancement of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) practices.




Current Research Projects:

Digital Empowerment for Migrant Families: Scaling Experiential Language Learning and Culture Immersion. PI with Dr Müge Satar (Co-I) and Dr Sara Ganassin (Co-I). 2026-2027, £13,556.


British Council Going Global Partnerships TNE Exploratory Grant. Project title: TNE Conference: Opportunities and Challenges in Brazil. (Co-I) with Dr Müge Satar (PI) and Alexandre Anselmo Guilherme (PI). PUCRS. 2025-2026, £ 25,000.



Completed research projects：

British Sociological Association Early Career Regional Event Funding. Academia Across Borders: Experiences and Challenges of International Academics in the UK. PI. 2025, £1,000.


Domestic Migrant Children in Guiyang (China): Role of Parental Support in their Learning Experience. NU Faculty Research Fund. PI with Dr Sara Ganassin (Co-I), 2024-2025, £3,953.2.


British Council Connect4Innovation: UK-Turkey Higher Education Institutional Partnerships Fund: Global Graduates through Virtual Exchange: A Model for Language Teachers and Internationalization in UK-Türkiye Higher Education (GlobVELT UK-TR), with Prof Asuman Asik, PI (Gazi University, Turkey) and Dr Müge Satar (Co-I). October 2023-2025, £23,500 


Â鶹´«Ã½ Education Development Fund. Student Employability Preparedness in the AI Era. PI with Dr Thinh Pham (Co-PI) 2023-2024, £660.


Doctoral supervision: 

Yao is welcoming applications from prospective doctoral students interested in the following topics:

  • Internationalisation in higher education
  • Experiences of mobile groups (e.g., international students, migrants and internally mobile groups)
  • Interculturality in various contexts (e.g., virtual and professional spaces)
  • Technology-assisted learning (e.g.,digital games and other digital learning environments)


Current supervisions:

  • Helen Chen (as first supervisor, with Prof Pauline Dixon): Academic Staff Competencies and Professional Development in the Context of Internationalization: A Comparative Case Study of Two Universities in the UK and China



Invited Talks:

Scott, F., & Wang, Y. (2024) Ethically negotiating an international dissemination agreement, the University of Sheffield.

Pham, T., & Wang, Y. (2024) Student employability preparedness in the AI era, the University of Manchester.

Wang, Y. (2023). Everyday Bordering in the Higher Education Setting, Salzburg University. 

Wang, Y. (2023). Understanding the experience of internationally mobile students in the context of everyday bordering. European Master in Migration Studies – EuMIGS Network Lecture Series.

Wang, Y. (2023). The privately-run migrant school and the experience of internal migrant children in Guiyang, China, University of Nottingham.

Wang, Y. (2022). Careers and employability of international students in the UK, the University of Toronto.


Selected Conferences:

·     Wang, Y., Roscoe, S, & Scott, F. (2024). Exploring the Nexus Between Digital Place Attachment and Children's Well-being: Insights from the RITEC Project. BERA Conference 2024. Manchester, UK.

·     Bannister, C., Scott, F., Roscoe, S. & Wang, Y. (2024). Digital play as a family celebration. Digital Folklore Conference. London, UK.

·     Wang, Y. (2023) A reflective journey from Northeast to Southwest China: Is Mandarin the universal Chinese language in doing fieldwork? Paper presented at Cultnet: Intercultural Community for Researchers and Educators Annual Conference. Durham, UK.

·      Schartner, A. & Wang, Y. (2023) Intercultural orientation workshops for students on the MA Cross-Cultural Communication+ programmes. Paper presented at Learning and Teaching Conference 2023. Â鶹´«Ã½, UK.

·      Theuerkauf, U., Wang, Y., Simon, S. and Pham, T. (2022). Finding Common Denominators in Initiatives for a More Inclusive Higher Education. Advance HE EDI Colloquium: Decolonising Pedagogies 2022.

·      Wang, Y., Simon, S. and Theuerkauf, U. (2022). Conceptual and Methodological Challenges in the Design of a Decolonisation-Inspired Teaching & Learning Toolkit. European Conference on Education. London, UK.

·      Wang, Y. (2022) UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) Annual Conference 2022 (Invited speaker).

·      Wang, Y. (2022) How privately-run migrant schools are perceived by staff in relation to migrant children’s development in Guiyang. Paper presented at Workshop on ‘Chinese Migration, Diaspora and Mobility’, Pembroke College, Cambridge University, UK.

·      Schartner, A. & Wang, Y. (2021) The ‘international student experience’ in 2021: Understanding the impact of the Covid19 Pandemic on the academic, psychological and sociocultural adjustment experiences of international students in the UK. Paper presented at BERA Annual Conference 2021.

·      Wang, Y. (2021) Bridges to urban communities: the voice from managerial staff on the roles of privately-run migrant schools in rural-to-urban migrant children in Guiyang city. Paper presented at European Conference on Educational Research. Geneva, Switzerland.

·      Wang, Y. (2021) What roles do privately-run migrant schools play in Guiyang? Paper presented at British Education Studies Association Online Conference 2021.

·      Wang, Y. (2020) Migrant children’s education in China’s disadvantaged area: privately-run migrant schools in Guiyang. Annual PGR Student Conference. Â鶹´«Ã½, UK (Best paper award).

·      Wang, Y. (2019) Exploring privately-run migrant schools in Guiyang city: A pilot study. Paper presented at the Chinese Educational Research Association Conference. London, UK.


Teaching

I am module leader for:

  • ALC8013 Introduction to Intercultural Communication

I contribute to:

  • ALC8003 Research Portfolio 
  • ALC8037 Multilingualism
  • ALC8020 Research Methods for Applied Linguistics


As of September 2025, I have successfully supervised:

  • 53 MA dissertation projects with a range of topics, such as international student adaptation , social media usage, language teaching, and intercultural communication in the workplace.




Publications

  • Articles

    • Scott F, Chesworth L, Bannister C, Kuria D, Roscoe S, Wang Y. . Reading Research Quarterly 2026, 61(2), e70116.
    • Wang Y, Ganassin S. . Educational Review 2025, 77(7), 2260-2281.
    • Simon S, Wang Y, Pham T, Hynes C, Henry S, Theuerkauf U. . Sage Research Methods 2025.
    • Scott F, Chesworth L, Kontovourki S, Murcia K, Murris K, Balnaves K, Bannister C, Christofi M, Kuria D, Maditsi K, Menning F, Neokleous T, Peers J, Roscoe S, Samuels V, Scott C, Caetano-Silva G, Tsoukka A, Wang Y, Woodward N, Trzebiatowski C. . New Media & Society 2025, epub ahead of print.
    • Schartner A, Shields S, Wang Y. . Comparative and International Education 2024, 53(2), 1-17.
    • Schartner A, Wang Y. . Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education 2024, 16(1), 60-74.
    • Wang Y, Sercombe P. . Regional Science Policy and Practice 2023, 15(9), 1941-1955.

  • Book Chapters

    • Pham T, Wang Y. . In: Hammond, K; Lemon, N, ed. Navigating Tensions and Transitions in Higher Education. Routledge, 2024, pp.171-181.
    • Wang Y, Pham T, Henry S, Simon S, Hynesc C, Theuerkauf U. . In: Lopez A; Singh H, ed. Decolonizing Educational Knowledge: International Perspectives and Contestations. Palgrave MacMillan, 2024, pp.55-72.
    • Wang Y. . In: Han J; Feng S; Liu Y, ed. Annaul Report on China's Education for Migrant Children (中国流动儿童教育发展报告（2021～2022)). Beijing: 社会科学文献出版社·皮书出版分社, 2023.
    • Wang, Y, Sercombe, P. A Tale of the Field: Can Ethnographic Challenges Become Opportunities?. In: Shaban, A, ed. Overcoming Fieldwork Challenges in Social Science and Higher Education Research. 2020.

  • Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)

    • Satar M, Chan JYH, Wang Y. . In: The Learning and Teaching Conference 2025. 2025, Â鶹´«Ã½ upon Tyne.

  • Reviews

    • Wang Y, Zuo M. . Journal of Multicultural Discourses 2023, 18(1), 87-93.
    • Wang Y. . Intercultural Communication Education 2022, 5(2), 59-63.