Qing Fang, Professor at the Department of Publishing Science at Wuhan University, Director of Wuhan University Publishing Research Institute, led a delegation on an academic visit to the UK from May 28th to June 6th, 2025. Aimed at deepening international academic cooperation, expanding publishing-sector communication channels, and enhancing global impact, the visit included stops at the University of Aberdeen, University of Strathclyde, Reed Elsevier, and Taylor & Francis publishing groups.

From May 28th to June 1st, the delegation’s first engagement was at the Confucius Institute of the University of Aberdeen. They delivered a special lecture titled Game Going Global: Cultural Elements in Chinese Online Games. The lecture’s accessible content ignited vibrant discussions among students, who explored topics like China’s gaming industry landscape and cultural export strategies.

Meeting with Sarah Wang, the Confucius Institute’s local director, proved fruitful. The delegation outlined the Wuhan University Publishing Research Institute’s disciplinary strengths in publishing science, international talent cultivation models, and digital publishing breakthroughs. Sarah Wang shared insights into the Confucius Institute’s language-cultural promotion efforts and innovations in integrating digital media with traditional culture. Both sides agreed to foster faculty-student exchanges through regular seminars, short-term exchange programs, and faculty resource sharing.

Accompanied by Confucius Institute staff, the delegation toured the University of Aberdeen Library, focusing on its digital transformation initiatives—including intelligent retrieval systems, digital resource management platforms, and disciplinary-specific collections. Discussions on Transformation and Innovation of Library Knowledge Services in the Digital Age, the Wuhan team share experiences in smart services, open access, and academic publishing integration, highlighting AI-driven disciplinary knowledge systems and institutional repository projects. Library staff presented strategies for supporting interdisciplinary research and advancing open science.

The delegation also visited the data hosting center of the National Health Service (NHS) of UK, gaining insights into health big data management practices while introducing Wuhan University’s research in health information communication and analytics. Center officials detailed innovations in secure storage of patient data , intelligent medical information analysis, and public health decision-supporting systems, offering fresh perspectives on medical data management of the UK.

From June 2nd to 3rd, the delegation participated in the International Conference on Conceptions of Library and Information Sciences (COLIS), held at the University of Strathclyde. The delegation were engaged with global scholars to share the Institute’s latest research on information behavior and explore collaborative directions.

On June 4th, guided by Caitlin Beddows, Market Channel Manager of Reed Elsevier, the delegation toured Reed Elsevier’s rare book library and The Lancet headquarters, learning about the journal’s 200-year history and viewing archived editions. As a token of friendship, Elsevier presented the delegation with a limited-edition facsimile of The Lancet’s first issue.

Talks with Sebastien Schlosser, Business Development Director of Reed Elsevier, centered on the Institute’s advancements in intelligent publishing systems, educational big data analysis, and digital reading cognition. Schlosser shared Elsevier’s AI strategies for research-education, including intelligent academic assistants. Collaborative opportunities were explored in AI-for-education applications, technology-empowered library services, smart education product development, and academic publishing transformation. Schlosser expressed eagerness to co-develop new academic service models for the AI era.

From June 5th to 6th, the delegation met with Jason Hu, a Wuhan University alumnus and Taylor & Francis Senior Vice President, exchanging overviews of institutional strategies. The Institute showcased frontline research in digital publishing transformation and academic communication innovation, while Hu shared the group’s global experiences in open access, academic monograph digitization, and AI applications. Discussions spanned AI-era publishing ethics, intelligent knowledge service upgrades, and monograph digitization, with particular focus on AI’s role in peer review and knowledge graph construction. The Institute proposed a long-term strategic partnership to advance global academic publishing sustainability, while Hu pledged to deepen collaboration with top Chinese institutions for mutual growth, concluding the visit on a positive note.