Yuning Fang
PhD Candidate,
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Biography
I am a human geographer with specific interests in geographies of education, globalization, and student transition, with a focus on China. My PhD study, titled "Glocalised Higher Education Hub in The Making? A Case Study of Shenzhen's Higher Education", has a particular focus on the city of Shenzhen (China) aiming to unpack how global higher education unfolds in, and through the urban space of Shenzhen. From March 2021 to March 2022, I conducted 12-month fieldwork interviewing policymakers, university managers and students in Shenzhen.
Previously, I had my study in MSc Sociology and Social Research at the University of Southampton. My dissertation during the study focused on the elite-making process in the Chinese labour market, for which I examined the 'cultural matching' phenomenon by interviewing employers from elite firms in Beijing (China). The finding contributes to an understanding of the Chinese recruiters' sense of merit in job candidates and an original insight into the (re)production of cultural capital within the elite labour market. This research experience led me to the significance of geographies in elite making and higher education in general. Before that, I completed my undergraduate study in BA Journalism at the Communication University of China.
Research Summary
My case study on the geographies of higher education in Shenzhen unpacks the changing nature of higher education in China through investigating the case of Shenzhen as a special economic zone (SEZ)… read more
2022-2023: Funded by Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, 'UK perspective on UK-China cooperation in agricultural research and innovation' (Research Assistant, PI Dr Bin Wu)
2021-2022: Guangdong Educational Science Planning Project (2021), 'Model and Pattern of the Innovative Development of Higher Education in the Pilot Demonstration Area' (Research Assistant, PI Dr Xu Liu)
2021-2022: Shenzhen Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project (2021), 'A Study on the History of Development for Higher Education Innovation of Shenzhen' (Research Assistant, PI Dr Xu Liu)
Current Research
My case study on the geographies of higher education in Shenzhen unpacks the changing nature of higher education in China through investigating the case of Shenzhen as a special economic zone (SEZ) with the great autonomy in policy experiment and the strategic mission in integration in the global market economy. In doing so, this study draws on original empirical data (including interview data of local officials, university leaders, managers, and students) collected from 12-month fieldwork in Shenzhen between 2021 and 2022. The PhD program is supervised by Sarah Hall and Shaun French.