Professor Chris Harris, BA, PhD, SFHEA, FRSA, is a senior academic leader with extensive experience in UK–China Transnational Education (TNE), Sino-foreign cooperative education, academic governance and international higher education leadership. He is the former Vice-President for Academic Affairs at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) and served as Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Liverpool from 2018 to 2021.

Through his leadership at XJTLU, Professor Harris developed deep expertise in TNE governance, quality assurance, curriculum delivery, academic standards, student experience and operational management in China. His work has focused on aligning UK academic expectations with Chinese regulatory requirements, institutional priorities and local student needs.

He brings particular strength in TNE strategy, academic quality, partnership governance, cross-cultural leadership and sustainable delivery, and continues to contribute to higher education through academic and advisory roles.

Dr Lindsay Jones has over twenty years’ experience in international education and business development. A highly experienced TNE practitioner, Lindsay has developed and delivered programmes through partners in the Gulf, China, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, the Caribbean, Hong Kong and the USA. A Higher Education Leader in the Gulf Higher Education Network, Lindsay regularly contributes to TNE best practice seminars, including British Council Going Global events.

Following postdoctoral research positions in Ireland and the USA, Lindsay led on the development and operational management of global programmes at Manchester Business School Worldwide, before moving to Bangor University and later to Queen Mary, University of London. She has been responsible for the operational management of TNE portfolios, including new business proposals and current partnerships, including validated and franchise provision, multiple joint programmes, JEIs and IBCs. She was also the institutional lead for in-country approvals and registration.

Lindsay’s areas of expertise include TNE business case development, in-country registration and approval, strategic planning, financial modelling, due diligence, risk assessment and international partnership development. She also contributes to the Level 7 Cert in Teaching Learning and Professional Practice for TNE.

Dr Cheryl Yu is a UK–China higher education student recruitment and TNE specialist with more than 18 years of experience across UK universities, including the University of the Arts London, University for the Creative Arts, Birmingham City University, University of Southampton and Lancashire University.

Her expertise includes UK–China TNE partnerships, Sino-foreign cooperative education, China higher education strategy, international student recruitment, curriculum internationalisation, academic delivery and TNE quality assurance.

Dr Yu has played a leading role in the development and delivery of major UK–China TNE partnerships, including two Joint Education Institutes (JEIs) in China, each enrolling around 1,200 students. She has also supported Joint Education Programmes (JEPs), international branch campus proposals and other cross-border education projects. Her experience includes working in China as an Assistant Dean responsible for JEI delivery.

As a researcher, Dr Yu publishes on internationalisation, TNE, international student experience, curriculum internationalisation and global higher education policy. She is also co-editor of Critical Reflections on the Internationalisation of Higher Education in the Global South.

Heather McClean is a Pre-sessional Senior Coordinator at University College London and a former Education and Recognition Adviser at Queen Mary University of London. She has over 25 years’ experience in English language teaching, academic communication and international student support.

Heather has particular expertise in supporting Chinese students transitioning into UK higher education, including academic writing, critical thinking, independent learning, classroom participation, assessment and feedback. Her work reflects a strong understanding of the linguistic, cultural and educational adjustments involved in UK and transnational education.

She also has extensive experience in staff training, professional development and academic mentoring, helping colleagues strengthen intercultural communication, inclusive teaching and academic language support. Heather is an experienced external examiner for UK higher education institutions, contributing to quality assurance and academic standards in English language and academic skills provision.

Based in Beijing and with more than a decade of experience working in China, Richard specialises in UK–China Transnational Education (TNE) operations and academic delivery.

His expertise bridges academic and administrative functions, with practical experience across the full TNE lifecycle, including due diligence, academic integrity, curriculum design, pedagogy, institutional approvals, partnership governance and operational management.

Richard brings a strong understanding of both UK and Chinese higher education cultures, helping institutions translate strategic TNE ambitions into effective day-to-day delivery. He is also highly student-focused, supporting both academic success and pastoral wellbeing, and holds the British Council UK Agent Counsellor Training Certificate as well as TNE Fellow from TNE Institute.

Dr Gareth Morris, SFHEA, is a senior higher education professional with over fifteen years’ experience in transnational education. He spent a decade at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University before moving to the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, and has also held senior academic leadership roles in Bahrain and worked for The Perse School (Suzhou).

His professional experience encompasses academic leadership, management and teaching across international and transnational education. His publications and conference presentations examine key issues in transnational education, including leadership and management, organisational behaviour, academic workforce motivation and satisfaction, and curriculum and materials design.

A Lecturer in Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics on the SWJTU-OSU joint programme, Jamie has spent over five years at the intersection of Chinese and Western engineering education. This daily classroom reality, which involves navigating differing expectations of the lecturer-student relationship, varying definitions of "participation," and contrasting approaches to problem-solving, has shaped Jamie's distinctive perspective on transnational pedagogy.

Alongside ongoing teaching and research, Jamie advises UK partner universities on curriculum design that is not simply "delivered" in China, but genuinely translated culturally, pedagogically and linguistically. This includes developing classroom leadership techniques that encourage Chinese students to voice uncertainty, question assumptions and engage in constructive academic disagreement. It also involves designing problem-based learning activities that reflect local industrial contexts while meeting UK learning outcomes, and building faculty development programmes that prepare expatriate and local staff alike for the complexities of intercultural teaching.

Jamie's approach is grounded in evidence, tested in real classrooms and focused on one core outcome: programmes that are academically rigorous, culturally responsive and sustainable for all stakeholders.

Jon Santangelo is an international education professional and educator with nearly 15 years’ experience across China and Asia. He holds a Master’s in Education Management & Leadership with Distinction and currently teaches and coordinates Critical Thinking, Global Citizenship Education, PBL, IELTS and Cambridge IGCSE ESL in China.

Jon currently works at a bilingual boarding school in China, where he coordinates and teaches Critical Thinking, Global Citizenship Education (GCE), Project-Based Learning (PBL), IELTS, and Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second Language (ESL). His expertise bridges academic instruction with strategic educational development.

His experience spans academic delivery, education partnerships, consultancy, communications and AI in education. Since 2014, he has advised BOSSA, China’s study abroad industry association, and he also consults for KEATH.ai. Jon has contributed to hundreds of international education partnerships across China and Southeast Asia and has been featured in media including the Financial Times, CNN, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and The PIE News.

Dave brings extensive international higher education experience, with expertise in market intelligence, student recruitment, data strategy and transnational education. He recently completed his Level 7 Certificate in TNE.

Dave has deep roots in China and the wider Chinese-speaking world. He began his career by studying Chinese in Taiwan and working as an education agent — an experience that gave him an on-the-ground understanding of student decision-making and the education intermediary landscape that few UK practitioners can match. He then joined INTO as Regional Manager in China, where he developed substantial expertise in the Chinese higher education market and UK institutional partnerships.

Returning to the UK, Dave held senior international recruitment roles across several universities before becoming Director of Market Intelligence, where he led data-driven international strategy at an institutional level.

Since 2023, he has focused on advising higher education organisations on international strategy, covering student mobility trends, recruitment channel effectiveness, market diversification, pricing and TNE opportunities.

He recently contributed to the British Council’s 2025 ASEAN 5 undergraduate recruitment channels paper.