what does it mean to move across borders, not only physically, but also socially and intellectually?<\/strong><\/p>\nThis question lies at the heart of my research in international higher education. I am interested in how people, knowledge, and institutions interact across national and cultural boundaries, and how these interactions shape both individual lives and broader academic systems.<\/p>\n
Concrete research activities<\/h3>\n
My recent work focuses on two closely related areas: individual experience and international collaboration.<\/p>\n
The first project examines the experiences of Asian female students studying at elite universities in Western countries. These students are often viewed as highly successful: they are academically strong, globally mobile, and visible in international higher education. Yet through in-depth interviews, I found that their experiences are much more complex than this success narrative suggests.<\/p>\n
Despite their achievements, many of these students described anxiety, self-doubt, and imposter syndrome. They often had to navigate unfamiliar academic cultures and implicit expectations that were not always visible or clearly explained. To interpret these experiences, I draw on concepts such as \u201chabitus\u201d, which helps explain how past experiences shape ways of thinking and acting, and \u201cintersectionality\u201d, which highlights how gender, race, and nationality interact. Together, these perspectives help explain why even highly capable students may struggle in new environments. At the same time, many of them develop new ways of understanding themselves and the world, becoming more reflective and adaptable through the process.<\/p>\n
My second line of research shifts from individuals to systems. It examines research collaboration among China, Japan, and South Korea over the past 25 years using large-scale Web of Science publication data. Despite historical tensions and ongoing geopolitical challenges in the region, we found that research collaboration among these countries has increased significantly.<\/p>\n
Research findings<\/h3>\n
These two strands of research point to a shared insight: mobility, whether of people or of knowledge, is both an opportunity and a challenge.<\/p>\n
At the individual level, mobility can create tension between different cultural and academic expectations, but it can also foster new perspectives and personal growth. The findings also suggest that different populations experiencing varying forms of physical and embodied mobility could undergo similar transformations.<\/p>\n
At the system level, international collaboration is shaped by political and economic conditions, yet it is also sustained by relationships between researchers. Even in times of geopolitical tension, collaboration often continues because it is grounded in trust, shared goals, and long-term engagement.<\/p>\n
One particularly interesting finding is that collaborative research involving China, Japan, and South Korea tends to have a higher academic impact than the global average. This suggests that regional collaboration is not only expanding in quantity but also showing strong quality and potential.<\/p>\n
Future aspirations<\/h3>\n
Building on these findings, my future research aims to bridge the gap between large-scale data and lived experience. Publication data can show us patterns: who collaborates with whom, and with what outcomes. But it cannot tell us how researchers themselves experience these collaborations. How do they navigate political tensions? What motivates them to collaborate across borders? What kinds of challenges do they face in their daily work?<\/p>\n
To answer these questions, I plan to begin a new project focusing on researchers engaged in international collaboration, especially with partners in China and South Korea. Through interviews, I hope to better understand the human side of global knowledge production.
\nIn a world where divisions are becoming more visible, academic collaboration offers an important alternative. It creates spaces where people from different backgrounds can work together, exchange ideas, and build mutual understanding. I believe that studying these processes can contribute not only to academic knowledge but also to broader social understanding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WANG Lizhou, Assistant Professor What led me to my current research My research journey is closely connected t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":22955,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[73,107],"class_list":["post-22957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","tag-research-en","tag-spotlight-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22957"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22957\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22958,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22957\/revisions\/22958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/wias\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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