Academic exchange and Exploring Institutional Collaborations in Finland

The Vice-President of Lingnan University, Prof Mok Ka Ho, and the Director of Lingnan Institute of Further Education, Prof Kar Ming Yu, led a team that included Prof Yu Baohua, Associate Professor and Prof Huang Jing, Assistant Professor of the School of Graduate Studies, and Prof Cheng Wing Tung, Research Assistant Professor of the School of Graduate Studies to Finland to promote academic exchange and consolidate institutional collaborations.

The team participated in the JoLII-GINTL Global Conference 2023- Education for the Future, at the University of Helsinki in Finland on 15-16 August 2023. In one of the thematic sessions, Prof Yu Baohua presented a study titled"Life Here Is Bittersweet: Hong Kong Students’ Identity Paradox During Their Pursuit of Tertiary Education in the Greater Bay Area". Prof Mok and Prof Huang jointly presented a project titled"Contributions of Tertiary Students’ Background Factors, Behavioral Engagement, and Cognitive Skills to Problem Solving in Technology-Rich Environments: Evidence From 31 Countries", and Prof Yu and Prof Cheng presented a topic on"Supporting the First Generation College Students and Their Parents from Rural Areas".

On the next day (17 August 2023), the Lingnan team had a fruitful and productive meeting with the Vice President and colleagues of Tampere University to confirm the development of a joint-degree arrangement with Lingnan's International Higher Education and Management Program to promote exchange opportunities for research and taught postgraduate students. Invited by Tampere University, the Lingnan team later joined a workshop titled"Rethinking the Relationship between Higher Education and Society in a Rapidly Changing World", together with other academics from Peking University, Beijing Normal University, and Tongji University. Prof Mok delivered a keynote speech that inspired the panel and workshop discussions. Intellectual exchange was promoted among Finland and China’s scholars as they discussed topics such as"Transition from Education to Labor Market,""Knowledge Exchange between Universities and Industries," and"Universities’ Roles in Social Innovation."