In 2025, Lancaster University Confucius Institute has hosted three international academic conferences at Lancaster University on the topics of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Teaching and Learning Chinese in Higher Education and the Belt and Road Initiative.

The conferences brought together academics and experts from around the world to discuss interdisciplinary research on a variety of themes.

The International Forum on the Education Globalisation and Intercultural Communication of Traditional Chinese Medicine

The International Forum on the Education Globalisation and Intercultural Communication of Traditional Chinese Medicine took place from 1st to 4th May 2025. Over the four days, the forum discussed the international future of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and its integration into global health and education systems.

The themes included TCM health education and cross-cultural communication in the context of globalisation; the formulation and practice of international certification standards for traditional Chinese medicine majors; the dissemination and reception of traditional Chinese medicine culture and the elucidation, and translation of traditional Chinese medicine terminology and concepts.

A key achievement of the forum was the official launch of the Network for Traditional Chinese Medicine Humanities and Health Education & Dissemination. Co-founded by Dr Amily Guénier and Professor Shan Baozhi, the network comprises of ten founding members from China, the UK and Germany. The centre aims to foster a dynamic and sustainable global research community at the intersection of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), intercultural communication and health humanities.

The 2025 Annual International Conference of the British Chinese Language Teaching Society

The 2025 Annual International Conference of the British Chinese Language Teaching Society: The 22nd International Conference on Teaching and Learning Chinese in Higher Education took place from 3rd to 5th July 2025. The theme of the conference was innovation and sustainable development of international Chinese education.

The conference lasted two and half days, featuring 6 keynote speeches, 46 parallel sessions and an academic poster exhibition of 4 posters. More than 90 participants attended from 7 countries and regions, including the UK, China, the USA, Singapore, Sweden and Norway.

Insights and discussions about teaching Chinese as second language, technology-enhanced language teaching, applied linguistics and science of language learning and other relative topics were shared by educators and scholars among 46 parallel sessions.

The success of the 2025 conference highlights Lancaster University and the Lancaster University Confucius Institute’s strong commitment to promoting academic exchange and collaboration in Chinese language education and higher education more broadly.

The Fifth Belt and Road Initiative Interdisciplinary Conference

The Fifth Belt and Road Initiative Interdisciplinary Conference at Lancaster University took place from 23rd to 24th September 2025.

The conference had a variety of themes related to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)for academics to present and discuss their research. The themes included China and the world in dialogue: vision and mission; BRI and business sustainability; language education and cultural communication in the era of AI; interdisciplinary insights into doctor-patient communication: ethical concerns and humanistic dimensions in Chinese healthcare; ethical/philosophical considerations of AI and BRI, and translation and communicating China overseas.

As part of the conference, Dr Derek Hird and Dr Amily Guenier facilitated a session on potential joint-funding applications to identify potential areas of collaboration around the conference themes and jointly develop concrete research projects. They also facilitated a session on AI-based interdisciplinary matchmaking to find connections across disciplines and institutions and identify shared research interests or potential areas for collaboration.

Lancaster University Confucius Institute is eager to facilitate research collaboration on China through seminars, conferences and other activities. For further information about Lancaster University Confucius Institute’s research activities, please visit: Research - Lancaster University