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Academic research should contribute to national development: IFTM scholar Dr. Yang Jingjing

IFTM Assistant Professor Dr. Yang Jingjing
中文摘要 / Summary in Chinese

An important goal of academic research should be to contribute to national development, says IFTM Assistant Professor Dr. Yang Jingjing. For a scholar, “we need to pay attention to, and contribute to, national development via our research,” she states.

“I strive to link my research with national development and national strategy, to contribute to China’s advancement based on my expertise,” Dr. Yang explains. Her aim is to conduct research at micro- and macro-level, and to achieve theoretical and practical benefits for society, she says.

Dr. Yang joined IFTM at the start of the current academic year. She is an accomplished scholar: prior coming to Macao, she taught at universities in the United Kingdom and Mainland China. Her experience also includes work related to governmental affairs, tourism, planning and consultancy.

Her research has been recognised with awards, and her academic papers feature in top-tier international journals. Dr. Yang has also been a speaker at a number of national and international conferences. She is Associate Editor (China) for the highly respected academic journal Tourism Management.

Before joining IFTM, Dr. Yang worked for more than 2 years at Beijing International Studies University. Prior to that, she taught for 6 years at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom. She received her PhD from the University of Waikato, New Zealand.

Dr. Yang decided to return to China to contribute to the country’s advancement. “I had already learned and seen a lot, so I thought I should contribute with what I could, to my own country’s development.”

Dr. Yang’s research interests range from the sociology of tourism to tourist behaviour. In recent years, she has studied topics related to the role of tourism in national strategy, namely in the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative and the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. For her research work, she cooperates with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China, as well as national-level bodies such as the China Tourism Academy and the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research.

She uses a variety of methods for research and for the presentation of her results. The latter channels include via seminars, by providing training or via writing academic papers, “all depending on the nature of the research and the audience,” Dr. Yang says.

Ski and snow tourism is a topic linked to national strategy, and one which Dr. Yang has been researching since 2006. She has already published a book on the subject. It is considered the first Chinese publication covering academic knowledge linked to ski and snow tourism. As China prepares to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, the topic has gained additional relevance, as has Dr. Yang’s ongoing work on this field.

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