Bournemouth University’s global Festival of Learning heads to China and Hong Kong this month, showcasing the best of BU research, education and professional practice.
The global Festival will take place in Chengdu, Hangzhou and Beijing, culminating with a day supporting the GREAT Festival in Hong Kong, organised by the UK government’s Department for International Trade (DIT).
This is the third year that Bournemouth University’s Festival of Learning has gone global, with events also planned in Europe and ASEAN, while a week of events has already taken place across India.
For 2018, the overarching theme of the Festival of Learning is ‘Global Education 2050: The Future of Learning in China and the UK'. Participants will be giving presentations and engaging in debate on the subject of the future of global education.
In Chengdu, the Festival visited the South Western University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE), and focussed on sports and event management, looking at elite sports performance, and the role universities can play in creating global talent in these areas.
Speakers from BU included Dr Debbie Sadd, Dr Lynda Challis (sharing her research on Olympians and their experiences) and Xiaosong Yang, who talked about the National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA) and its role in sports modelling using VR and computer animation.
The Festival will then head to Dream Town, Hangzhou, for panel discussions and presentations on the future of talent in the creative industries in the UK and China.
The BU delegation will then move to Beijing, and to Capital University of Physical Education and Sports (CUPES) for a day of hands on sport training and keynote talks about sport and community.Dr Sonal Minocha, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement) at Bournemouth University, said, “The second leg of our 2018 global Festival of Learning takes us back to China where we celebrate our deepening collaboration across the country. We are looking forward to engaging with partners, prospective students, colleagues, and alumni in China as we showcase our distinctive blend of education, research and practice through the lens of global education.”
BU has engaged with stakeholders and partners in China on many initiatives, such as the China football coaching project, which has taken place at BU for the last two years, and sees football coaches from across China come to Bournemouth to learn from coaching experts.
BU’s global Festival of Learning will culminate in Hong Kong at Day 4 - LEARN of the GREAT Festival of Innovation, where BU will join a number of other UK universities showcasing the best of innovation from BU and the UK HE sector.
The GREAT Festival of Innovation takes place from 21-24 March in Hong Kong, and is intended to fuel debate and discussion to drive collaboration and partnerships between business, higher education and government, building on longstanding trade relationships between Asia and the UK.
Several hundred delegates will attend the Hong Kong event, the third of its kind following successful events in Istanbul (2014) and Shanghai (2015). BU will be among contributors such as Bloomberg, HSBC and BMW for the event.
BU will be displaying the virtual reality software behind research project DigTrace, a software and analytical tool that allows footprints and tracks to be captured and analysed in 3D. The software has historical application, as experts can analyse ancient footprints to understand more about human history, while the technology also has modern day application, used by police forces to capture footprint evidence at crime scenes. BU academics will also be on key panels to look at the future of learning and healthcare.
For more information about the global Festival of Learning, visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/global-bu, and for more information about the GREAT Festival, visit www.great.gov.uk/innovation
