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Beyond the Classroom: SDG×EL Ambassadors Embark on First Leg of Study Trips at HERA 2026
Beyond the Classroom: SDG×EL Ambassadors Embark on First Leg of Study Trips at HERA 2026
13-14 June 2026, Beijing—The SDG×EL (Sustainable Development Goals × Experiential Learning) Team embarked on a landmark study trip to Beijing, Chinese Mainland, bringing 14 student ambassadors to learn more about SDG 4 (Quality Education) at the 2026 HERA Conference.
13-14 June 2026, Beijing—The SDG×EL (Sustainable Development Goals × Experiential Learning) Team embarked on a landmark study trip to Beijing, Chinese Mainland, bringing 14 student ambassadors to learn more about SDG 4 (Quality Education) at the 2026 HERA Conference.
The 2026 Higher Education Research Association (HERA) Conference, themed Asian Higher Education in a Changing Global Context, was jointly hosted by the Graduate School of Education at Peking University and the School of Education at Tsinghua University on June 13–14, 2026. The conference convened scholars, policymakers, and educators from across the globe to examine how higher education systems in Asia are navigating an era of geopolitical shifts, sustainability imperatives, and rapid digital transformation.
Key themes at the conference included higher education and sustainable development, policy dialogues and regional cooperation, and the future of higher education in a changing world — all of which closely mirror the vision that SDG×EL ambassadors carry back to EdUHK.
For the ambassadors dedicated to embedding sustainability into student life and campus culture, HERA 2026 offered a front-row seat to the global conversations shaping education policy and practice. Our 14 ambassadors attended sessions and listened to presentations from leading researchers across Asia and beyond, gaining exposure to cutting-edge scholarship on how universities can and must become drivers of sustainable futures.
The trip was an opportunity not just to learn, but to see the SDGs come alive in academic discourse, policy proposals, and cross-institutional partnerships spanning the region.
Our Team in the Spotlight
The SDG×EL delegation wasn’t only in the audience. One of the Principal Investigators and one student ambassador made their own contributions to the scholarly conversation.
Xinyu ZHANG, an ambassador from the Master of Arts in Global Higher Education program, presented her and her colleagues’ research paper, a proud milestone that reflects the depth of engagement our ambassadors bring to their advocacy work. Her presence at HERA as a presenter underscores what SDG×EL has always believed: that student voices belong in the room where decisions are made.
Photo credits: 2026 HERA Conference
Our Principal Investigator, Dr. Weiyan XIONG, also presented his paper titled “Escaping or self-empowering? Career inspiration and development of Chinese mainland students in Hong Kong self-financed taught postgraduate programs,” contributing EdUHK’s scholarly perspective to the wider conversation on higher education in Asia.
Photo credits: 2026 HERA Conference
In Their Own Words
Bringing 14 ambassadors to an international academic conference is not just a study trip—it is an investment in the next generation of education advocates. What our ambassadors witnessed, the partnerships being forged, the research being shared, and the policies being debated will inform how they advocate for sustainability and quality education at EdUHK and beyond. To quote one of our ambassadors in her insights about the trip: “… my biggest takeaway is this… my job isn’t to ‘study sustainability,’ but to ‘make sustainability visible.’”
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