IONIAN UNIVERSITY (IU)

Doctoral Supervisors 

Professor Stavros KATSIOS

Dr. Stavros Katsios is Professor of International Economic Relations and International Economic Crime at the Department of Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpreting, of the Ionian University, and Director of the Laboratory for Geocultural Analyses (Geolab). He is also Chairholder of the UNESCO Chair on Threats to Cultural Heritage and Cultural Heritage-related Activities, Director of the Institute for Language, Translation and Interpreting Studies of the IU's Research Center, Director of the Hellenic Sinology Center, Coordinator of the Yellow Tourism Research Consortium and Institutional representative at the Scholars at Risk (SAR) international Network. He has studied law at the “Albertus Magnus” University, Cologne, Germany, at Georgetown University, Washington D.C., USA and at the Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece. He holds a university degree in Law from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (1987), a MA in European Law from the “Europa-Institute” of Saarland University, Germany (1991) and a Ph.D. degree in Commercial and International Economic Law from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (1997). He is an institutional representative and member of the Supervising Body for Certified Translators at the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Professor Stefanos VLACHOPOULOS

Dr. Stefanos Vlachopoulos is Professor of Interlingual Communication in Intercultural Settings and Head of the Interpreting Specialization Committee. He holds a BA in Translation (1991), a BA in Interpreting (1993) and a Doctorate in translation (1999). Before joining academia, he worked as a language teacher, translator and interpreter.

His main areas of research are domain-specific communication (legal and business), legal translation, legal and public service interpreting, lexicography and curriculum development. He has managed competitive research projects mostly in the field of legal and public service interpreting. He is the author of five books, numerous papers and book chapters.

Professor Sotiris LIVAS

Dr. Sotiris Livas had been Head of the Department of Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpreting at the Ionian University from 2018 until 2022, Director of the Post-Graduate Programme "Language and Intercultural Communication" (2018-2022) and Departmental Internship Coordinator (2010-2022). He is currently Director of the "Laboratory for Language and Politics".

He holds a BA in Law from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (1989), an MA in International Development Law and Development Studies from Panteion University (1997) and a PhD in Law and International Relations from the Ionian University (2003). He is a writer of five books and he has translated and edited five more. He has contributed with a chapter to Annmarie Profanter – Francis Owtram’s Citizenship in Transition (Cambridge Scholars, 2013). He has taken part in international conferences about Islam and democracy and about Islamic political and religious networks.

Professor Ioannis KARRAS

Dr. Ioannis Karras is Full Professor at the Department of Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpreting at the Ionian University. He holds a BA in English and a BA in Linguistics from the University of Calgary, Canada; an M.Ed. in TEFL from the HOU, Greece, an MSc in Intercultural Communication in Business and the Professions from the University of Warwick, the UK and a PhD in Applied Linguistics, University of Athens, Greece. He also serves as Institutional Erasmus Coordinator.

Ioannis Karras has worked as an adjunct lecturer at the Universities of Thessaly, Patras and Piraeus, the Technological Education Institute of Western Greece, the Hellenic Open University as well as New York College-University of Greenwich the UK.

Associate Professor Maria TSIGOU

Dr. Maria Tsigou is Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpreting at the Ionian University. She also servers as Director of the Postgraduate Programme "Science of Translation" and Head of the Departmental Internal Assurance Unit Committee (ΟΜΕΑ). She holds a BA in Classics from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (1988), and a PhD (Hons) in Language Studies - General Linguistics and Phonetics from Paris 5 - René Descartes Sorbonne University (2000). She has taught Linguistics at undergraduate level at René Descartes University, French as a Foreign Language at postgraduate level at the Hellenic Open University, Linguistics and Translation, and French at both undregraduate and postgraduate levels at the Ionian University.

Associate Professor Vassilis LETSIOS

Dr. Vassilis Letsios is an Associate Professor of Modern Greek Literature and Literary Translation into Greek at the Department of Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpreting of the Ionian University. He serves as Director of the Laboratory for Language, History and Culture of the Ionian Islands.

He holds an MA in Modern Greek Studies (1997) and a PhD in Modern Greek Literature (2003) from the Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies Department of King’s College, London University. He has published the monograph The Ghost Behind the Arras: transformations of the “political verse” in twentieth-century Greek poetry (Scholars’ Press, 2013), and co-edited a study on travel writing entitled A Ship Gleaming on the Horizon. Finnish traveller Oskar Emil Tudeer in Greece and Hisarlik (1881-1882) [in Greek] (Asini Publishing, 2017).

BEIJING LANGUAGE AND CULTURE UNIVERSITY (BLCU)

Doctoral Supervisors 

Prof. Zhang Xiping

Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU)

Professor Zhang Xiping is a distinguished professor and PhD supervisor at Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) and the Chief Editor of the journal International Sinology. He has served as the Director and Chief expert of the BFSU Academy of International Communi- cation of Chinese Culture, and Director of the BFSU Academy of Comparative Civilization and Intercultural Communication at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), as well as an Honorary Director of the BFSU International Institute of Chinese Studies (National Research Center of Overseas Sinology).

In addition, Professor Zhang has also held roles as a Vice President of the International Confucian Association, Director of the International Society for the History of Chinese Language Education, and Director of the International Institute for Chinese Studies. He is a council member of the Chinese Association for Religious Studies and the China Association of Comparative Literature. Recognized as an expert with outstanding contributions by the State Council of China, he is a recipient of the government's special allowance.

Professor Zhang’s primary research areas include modern Western culture, the history of Sino-Western cultural exchanges from 1500 to 1800, the history of Western Sinology, and the history of Christianity in China. His current work focuses on the history of Sino-Western cultural exchanges, early Western Sinology, and the overseas communication of Chinese

culture. He has undertaken several major research projects, including “Analysis of the Vatican Library’s Ming and Qing-era Chinese Catholic Documents” sponsored by the National Social Science Fund of China, and “The Communication and Influence of Ancient Chinese Culture Abroad in the 20th Century” sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Education.

Professor Zhang has published 15 academic monographs and more than 300 academic papers.

Prof. Huang Zhuoyue

Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU)

Professor Huang Zhuoyue is a professor, PhD supervisor and academic leader at Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU). He holds roles as the Director of BLCU’s Institute for Sinological Studies, Chief Editor of academic journals Chinese Culture and East Asian Sinology, host of the BLCU International Cultural Research Forum, and Director of the Chinese Culture Translation and Communication Research Center.

In addition, Professor Huang’s primary research interests include world Sinology, world cultural studies, Chinese intellectual history, history of writing and writing theory. He has published numerous academic papers in English and has been invited to conduct academic exchanges and guest lectures at universities in over 30 countries.

Professor Huang has authored several academic monographs, including The Paradigm of Art Psychology, Cultural Choices in the Transitional Period, Research on Poetry and Prose Views from the Ming Yongle to the Early Jiajing Period, Collected Essays on the History of Thought and Criticism by Huang Zhuoyue, and Dimensions of Reconstructing Culture: The Three Major Topics of Cultural Studies. Professor Huang has also been instrumental in editing several academic compilations, including Overseas Sinology and Chinese Literary Theory (in three volumes), Confucianism and Postmodern Perspectives: Overseas and China, and Inside and Outside the Text: Research on Early Chinese Writing (proceedings of an international academic symposium).

Prof. Xu Baofeng

Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU)

Professor Xu Baofeng is a professor and PhD supervisor at Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU). He currently serves as the Dean of the Belt and Road Academy (Institute of Global South Studies) and the Dean of the College of Sinology and Chinese Studies at BLCU. He also holds roles as the Director of the World Sinology Center, and the Head of the Secretariat of the Special Office at the Translation Program for Asian Classics under the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee.

In addition, Professor Xu is the Chief Expert for a major project sponsored by the National Social Science Fund of China, expert consultant on China’s Project 22, Director and Chief Expert of the Beijing International Communication Capacity Building Center for Sinology and Chinese Studies, and Chief Expert of the Outstanding Young Scientists Project of Beijing Higher Education Institutions.

Professor Xu has been recognised as one of the “Four Batches” Talents (in theoretical studies) in the Philosophical and Cultural Communication System of Beijing, and Outstand- ing Young Scientist of Beijing Higher Education Institutions. He is also a recipient of the State Council of China's special government allowance.

His research focuses on world Sinology and Chinese studies, where he has published fourteen research papers, three academic monographs, two research reports, and edited two books in recent years. He has undertaken a major project sponsored by the National Social Science Fund of China and five other major national-level projects.

Prof. Hu Yanchun

Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU)

Professor Hu Yanchun is a researcher at the Belt and Road Academy (Institute of Global South Studies) of Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU). Her areas of research include comparative poetics, the overseas communication of Chinese culture, and American Sinology. She teaches comparative poetics, American Sinology, and introductions to Nobel Prize-win- ning literary works.

In recent years, Professor Hu has led and completed two projects sponsored by the National Social Science Fund of China, as well as several provincial and ministerial-level research projects (including a key project).

Professor Hu has authored four academic monographs: Reception and Reflection: Research on Contemporary American Literary Theory in China Since the 21st Century, Studies on Modern and Contemporary Chinese Novels in American Sinology, Research on Anglo-American New Criticism, and René Wellek in the Perspective of Comparative Literature.

She has published over 80 academic papers in publications such as People's Daily (Internal Consultative Readings), Comparative Literature in China, Studies of Ethnic Literature, Dialogue Transculturel, Research of Chinese Literature, People's Daily, Guangming Daily, Study Times, and Wenyi Bao (Literature and Art Newspaper). Many of her works have been reprinted or excerpted by Xinhua Digest, Chinese Social Science Excellence, History and Society, and the Chinese Cadres Reference.

She has received a number of grants and recognitions, including two grants from the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (awarded by the Ministry of Human Resources), funding support from Beijing Social Science for social science publishing, and the Outstanding Paper Award from the China Association for Intercultural Communication (under the Translators Association of China).

Dr. AVRAMIDOU Eleni

Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU)

Dr. Elena Avramidou is a PhD supervisor at Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) and Consultant Specialist at the World Sinology Center. She currently serves as the Executive Director and Coordinator of the Hellenic Sinology Center and Visiting Professor at Ionian University (IU). In addition, she is a member of the Steering Committee of the UNESCO Chair on Threats to Cultural Heritage and Cultural Heritage-related Activities and a Senior Research Fellow at GEOLAB (Laboratory for Geocultural Analyses) at IU. She holds the position of Guest professor at the World Art history Institute (WAI) at Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) and is a Research Associate at the Center for Latin American Studies on China (CELC) at Andrés Bello University, Chile.

She previously served as an Associate Professor at Peking University (PKU), where she also oversaw the Examination Center for Greek Language. Furthermore, she lectured at the Center for Mediterranean Area Studies at PKU and Nankai University and served as the Educational & Cultural Attaché at the Embassy of Greece in China.

She is a council member of the International Confucian Association (ICA), a member of the Working Group for the implementation of the Greek Chinese Translation Program running by the Greek and Chinese Ministries of Culture, a member of the Steering Board of the International Literature Society of Friends of Nikos Kazantzakis, and of the Advisory Committee for Artistic Issues at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation in Athens.