Visiting Scholar 2026: Jing Zhang, Guizhou Open University

We are delighted to welcome Jing Zhang as a visiting scholar to the Imaginative Curriculum Centre (ICC) in the School of Education at the University of Leeds from September to December 2026.

Jing joins us through a Sino-British Fellowship Trust (SBFT) award, co-funded by the China Scholarship Council, which supports international collaboration in open and distance education.

Jing is based in the School of Business and Trade at Guizhou Open University in China, an institution with a long-standing commitment to widening access through vocational and distance learning.

With over seven years of teaching experience, Jing works across areas such as Marketing, Human Resources, and Cross-Border E-Commerce, engaging both full-time vocational students and adult online learners. Alongside her teaching, she contributes to a range of international initiatives, including the China-ASEAN Education Assistance and Exchange Programme and projects linked to the “Belt and Road” initiative.

During her time at Leeds, Jing will explore how creative, cross-boundary learning approaches can inform new ways of developing talent in open and distance education. Jing is particularly interested in how collaborative, community-based practices and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) can help create more engaging, flexible, and meaningful learning experiences.

At ICC, Jing will connect with our work around imaginative curriculum, creative pedagogies, and open, participatory learning communities.

Her visit offers a valuable opportunity for shared learning and exchange, strengthening connections between Chinese and UK institutions while contributing to ongoing conversations about equity, creativity, and innovation in education.

We look forward to working with Jing and to the conversations, collaborations, and ideas her visit will inspire.