Keynote Speakers
 | Dr CHIU Sau Mee Deputy Executive Director Hong Kong Council for Accreditation |
Topic: Multiple articulation pathways
Dr Chiu is a seasoned senior executive with profound experience and knowledge in strategic planning and strategy formulation, talent development and management, vocational and professional education and training (VPET) provisions, teaching and learning pedagogies. In addition, she is well versed with governance and public administration, legal matters, clinical psychology, counselling practice, and social work profession. Dr Chiu is a member in a wide range of professional bodies which cover areas in clinical psychology, counseling, play therapy, social work and law.
Dr Chiu had held senior management positions in government departments. Concurrently, she had held part-time teaching positions in disciplines such as clinical psychology, counseling, psychology for law enforcement, public policy and administration in universities and non-government organisation. In recent years, she has been devoting her personal time to public services relating to mental wellness, psychotherapy, home care for girls and development of street dance.
Dr Chiu has been appointed as Deputy Executive Director, Vocational and Professional Education and Training, DED (VPET) of HKCAAVQ since September 2020. Dr Chiu is responsible for the strategic management of the Qualifications Register (QR) as well as vocational and professional qualifications accreditation services in Hong Kong to facilitate the development of the VPET pathway in Hong Kong. In recent years, she has overseen the development of quality assurance of Applied Learning programmes, accreditation of Diploma in Applied Education programmes, review of sub-degree level education, research on pilot scheme for applied degree programmes, and consultancy study on work-based learning. In addition, Dr Chiu is also responsible for collaborative projects with the Greater Bay Area to promote exchanges and collaborations between educational institutions.
 | Prof Keiko IKEDA Professor Kansai University, Division of International Affairs, |
Topic: Navigating the Future of International Education: Building Human-Tech Synergy and Global Credit Mobility for Inclusive, Sustainable Learning Ecosystems
Keiko Ikeda is a Professor in the Division of International Affairs and serves as the KU-COIL Coordinator at Kansai University. She is also the Vice-Director of the newly established Institute for Innovative Global Education (IIGE) at the same university. Keiko holds a Ph.D. from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, where she specialized in Japanese linguistics, foreign language education, and conversation analysis. Her interests in international education include internationalization at home and developing active learning programs in collaboration with overseas universities. From 2018 to 2022, Keiko led the COILPlus program, aimed at fostering a global career mindset and enhancing universities' global development capabilities. From 2022 to 2023, she was a member of the Second Council for Creating the Future of Education at the Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, contributing to the "J-MIRAI: Initiative to Promote Study Abroad by Young People Who Create the Future." Starting in 2023, she has been overseeing the implementation of the new MEXT grant project "JIGE (Japan hub for Global Innovative Education) - Developing 'Society 5.0 Human Resources' through Blended Mobility and Creating the Infrastructure to Support Them." Additionally, since December 2024, she has assumed the role of project manager for the Osaka Social Impact Project, running from 2024 to 2030.
 | Mr Steve LAI General Manager Qualifications Framework Secretariat, Hong Kong |
Topic: Credit Accumulation and Transfer (CAT) from a Policy Perspective
Mr LAI has been engaged in Vocational and Professional Education Training (VPET) for over 20 years. He first participated in the foundation development of the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (HKQF) in 2002 and has been appointed as the General Manager of the Qualifications Framework Secretariat since 2017. In addition to promoting HKQF, Mr LAI also represents the Education Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government to sit on various advisory committees related to manpower development in government departments and public institutions, including the Development Bureau's Arboriculture and Horticulture Industry Development Advisory Committee, as well as the Programme and Quality Committee of the Hong Kong Institute of Construction. Mr LAI is also a Member of the Panel on Manpower Development of the Hong Kong Council for Testing and Certification under the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau. Apart from public bodies, Mr LAI contributes his expertise in the post-secondary education sector as a Member of Advisory Committee of Diploma of Applied Education starting in 2024.
Mr LAI has extensive experience in VPET. He previously worked for the Employees Retraining Board, where he was responsible for research and business development. In recent years, Mr LAI has also been involved in the collaboration with the Guangdong Lifelong Education Qualifications Framework, providing advice on the development and implementation of the qualifications framework in Guangdong Province.
 | Prof YANG Xiaojuan Professor Faculty of Education, Shandong Normal University, |
Topic: Alternative Pathways to Undergraduate Studies in Mainland China: Challenges and Opportunities
Professor and doctoral supervisor at the Department of Education, Shandong Normal University, and senior visiting scholar at the University of Georgia in the United States. Research focuses on artificial intelligence education applications, learning behavior analysis, technology supported teaching innovation, and teacher professional development. Appointed as Executive Director of the Information Technology Education Professional Committee of the China Education Technology Association and Vice Chairman of the Shandong Provincial Art Education Association. Hosted multiple national level projects such as "Research on Optimizing the Development Path of TPACK for Primary and Secondary School Teachers in the Intelligent Era" funded by the National Social Science Fund; Hosted the Ministry of Education's "Research on Evaluation of Virtual Simulation Experiment Teaching" collaborative education project between industry and academia.
 | Prof Fengying ZHANG Professor, Vice Dean |
Topic: Development and Implementation of a Virtual Teaching and Research Platform: Enhancing Collaboration for Educational Pathways
Dr Fengying ZHANG (张凤英) is a full Professor, Master's supervisor and Vice Dean in West China School of Nursing, Sichuan University. Dr Zhang earned her Doctoral degree from Sichuan University and completed postdoctoral work at The University of Tokyo, conducted academic visits and exchanges at prestigious institutions including Harvard University, Michigan State University, and the Texas Medical Center in the United States. Dr Zhang's research focuses on challenges in geriatric care, nursing management, and nursing education highlights a commitment to improving the quality of care for elderly patients, optimizing the administration of nursing services, and enhancing the collaboration for educational pathways. As the Chief Investigator, Dr Zhang has been awarded 12 competitive external grants in China from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the Ministry of Education, and the Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province, etc. Having served as the chief editor, deputy editor, and a contributing author, she has been involved in the compilation of 13 nationally planned textbooks and various other academic works. As first author/corresponding author, Dr Zhang has published more than 40 peer-reviewed papers in Nurse Education Today, Journal of Clinical Nursing, BMJ OPEN, and other journals.
 | Prof ZHOU Yun Professor Faculty of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, |
Topic: Ethics and Policy in Generative AI for Education: Articulating Guidelines and
Technology Integration Across Educational Institutions
Dr Zhou Yun （周筠） is a full professor and Ph.D. supervisor in the Faculty of Education at Shaanxi Normal University, specializing in Educational Technology. She earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science from Ecole Centrale de Lyon and is currently focused on research in intelligent interaction and virtual reality applications in education, and educational brain-computer interfaces. Dr Zhou has authored one book and published over 40 papers in international conferences and SCI/SSCI journals (e.g., CHI, IEEE VR, British Journal of Educational Technology, IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Journal of Neural Engineering). She serves as a reviewer and guest editor for journals in educational technology and human-computer interaction and is a committee member of the Intelligent Interaction Committee of the Chinese Association for Artificial Intelligence (CAAI). Dr Zhou has led two projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and contributed to a key research project under the Ministry of Science and Technology.