Recently, Professor Ma Yingxin from Dezhou University was invited to deliver an online special report entitled Local Practice in the Construction of Area and Country Studies from the Perspective of Qilu Culture. The report was hosted by Song Xiukui, Executive Dean of the Institute for Area and Country Studies and Dean of the School of Foreign Languages. Members of all centers of the Institute for Area and Country Studies and all faculty of the School of Foreign Languages attended the report.
Centering on core topics including the disciplinary development logic, local practice paths and innovation of talent training mechanisms from the perspective of Qilu culture, the report offered systematic elaboration and provided practical ideas for the distinctive and differentiated development of area and country studies in our university.
By sharing the experience of area and country studies at Dezhou University, Professor Ma Yingxin first pointed out that platform construction and think tank development serve as an important foundation for the advancement of area and country studies. Qilu culture is not merely an object of research, but also provides guidance for local methodology. Faced with homogeneous competition among more than 200 universities nationwide, local colleges and universities should base themselves on geographical proximity and local demands, follow a differentiated development path, carry out in-depth "sparrow-dissecting" investigations, and conduct intensive research on small countries. Special focus should be placed on ASEAN, a key node in the Asia-Pacific order, to fill the gaps in existing research such as insufficient interdisciplinary integration and weak studies on small nations.
Meanwhile, Professor Ma Yingxin suggested that our university establish an interdisciplinary talent training model of "Foreign Language + Region + Field + Technology". Combining the development of micro-majors with the characteristics of teacher education, we may organize students to participate in drafting country reports, conducting enterprise risk assessment and foreign affairs research. Relying on the strengths of international Chinese language education, local teachers can be assigned to teach at overseas Confucius Institutes, creating conditions for long-term field research. We can provide investment risk assessment and guidance for foreign trade enterprises in Shandong Province, and develop real-time updated electronic teaching materials. We shall actively connect with departments of commerce, culture and tourism, foreign affairs and other authorities to produce policy consultation results, and plan the publication of blue books and white papers. She hopes to push the Institute for Area and Country Studies of our university toward the application for master's degree authorization, integrate disciplinary resources such as cross-cultural studies, geography and tourism, and strive to pursue academic research that is "rooted, useful and soulful".
During the interactive session, participants raised questions and exchanged views on topics including artificial intelligence empowered research, theoretical transformation of local knowledge, and comparative studies of youth culture. Professor Ma Yingxin recommended starting with lightweight visualization platforms, conducting thorough interdisciplinary research based on specific samples. She affirmed the feasibility of taking youth culture as the entry point for research and suggested exploring relevant topics with the paradigm of cognitive comparative studies.
Professor Ma Yingxin holds a doctoral degree and serves as doctoral and master’s supervisor. She was the first Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman in Malaysia. She once held the posts of Director of the International Affairs Office, Dean of the School of Foreign Languages, and Director of the Academic Affairs Office at Dezhou University. She also worked as Executive Director of the ASEAN Research Center, a registered center for country and regional studies under the Ministry of Education and one of Shandong’s first batch of foreign affairs research and development think tanks. Her research interests cover language education, intercultural communication, and area and country studies (with a focus on ASEAN).
