Shanghai Magnolia Pujiang Talent Program Success

Isabella’s Award Certificate (Image credit: Yixi Qiu)

Congratulations to Language-on-the-Move team member Dr Yixi Qiu (Isabella) for winning an award under the Shanghai Magnolia Pujiang Talent Program (上海白玉兰浦江人才计划) for her project “人工智能赋能双一流理工特色高校学生学术论文写作能力培养” (“AI Empowerment for Enhancing Academic Writing Skills among Students in Double First-Class STEM Universities”).

The Shanghai Magnolia Pujiang Talent Program was launched in 2005 by the Shanghai Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau and the Science and Technology Commission. It aims to attract and support overseas-returned scholars to contribute to research, innovation, and social development in Shanghai.

For Isabella, who is now an Assistant Professor at the School of Foreign Studies, Tongji University, this is a fantastic recognition and remarkable opportunity to reestablish herself in Shanghai after her time in Sydney.

人工智能赋能双一流理工特色高校学生学术论文写作能力培养 (“AI Empowerment for Enhancing Academic Writing Skills among Students in Double First-Class STEM Universities”)

Isabella’s project focuses on integrating generative AI into academic writing pedagogy, with the goal of supporting STEM students in developing stronger writing competence. Drawing on our team’s long-term research program into the relationship of linguistic diversity and social participation, “AI Empowerment for Enhancing Academic Writing Skills among Students in Double First-Class STEM Universities” conceptualizes writing as more than a technical skill. Instead, Isabella approaches it as a means of expressing agency, negotiating identity, and participating in academic and social life. The aim is to explore the potential of AI to support multilingual students in accessing richer linguistic, social, and epistemic resources, for personal and collective growth.

For background, “Double First-Class University” refers to a university in China that has been selected for development under the Double First-Class Initiative (双一流), launched by the Chinese government in 2015. The goal is to cultivate: First-Class Universities and First-Class Disciplines. These universities and their designated disciplines are given special funding and policy support to become world-leading in research, education, and global influence. Examples of such institutions include Tongji University, where Isabella is based, and Fudan University, where she did her PhD.

Next Generation Literacies and the power of global networking

Isabella’s project was partly inspired by her membership in the Next Generation Literacies network. This network connects the Fudan Multilingual Innovation Research Team under the leadership of Professor Yongyan Zheng and the broader Shanghai Multilingualism Research Alliance with the Language-on-the-Move team at Macquarie University, and the Literacy-in-Diversity-Settings (LiDS) Research Center at University of Hamburg. Next Generation Literacies is a part of the strategic trilateral relationship of these three universities but includes researchers from many other universities from around the globe.

More exciting hot-off-the-press news for the network: Next Generation Literacies has been the launch pad for a new International Research Network (IRN) devoted to “Literacy in Multilingual Contexts” under the umbrella of the World Education Research Association (WERA). The “Literacy in Multilingual Contexts” IRN will be led by LiDS member Dr Irina Usanova. Watch this space to learn more about the IRN as it constitutes itself!

The magnolia and the river

The magnolia (白玉兰) is the official city flower of Shanghai symbolizing openness and elegance, while Pujiang (浦江) refers to the Huangpu River, which flows through the heart of the city. Together, the Magnolia Pujiang Talent Program reflects Shanghai’s vision of cultivating global talent rooted in local vitality.

An impressive example of our maxim to think globally and to act locally. Congratulations again, Isabella! 恭喜!