Professor Zhoulin Ruan joined Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) at its founding in 2006 and has served as Vice President for Academic Affairs since 2023, overseeing undergraduate and postgraduate education as well as the enhancement and development of the University’s research capability.
Over the years, he has held a number of key academic leadership positions at XJTLU, including Associate Vice President for Education, Academic Director of the Graduate School, Head of Department of English, Head of Department of English Culture and Communication, Founding Head of the Department of Languages and Culture, and Deputy Director of the English Language Centre.
As Vice President for Academic Affairs, Professor Ruan is responsible for university-wide academic strategy development, disciplinary excellence and enhancement, programme planning and development for undergraduate, master’s and doctoral studies, and the design and implementation of distinctive quality assurance systems that integrate strengths from both Chinese and UK higher education.
He leads on the development of a vibrant international academic community and a high-calibre academic staff team. He chairs major University academic committees, including the Academic Board, the University Academic Promotions Review Committee, the University Board of Examiners, the University Learning and Teaching Committee, and the University Research Committee. He also serves as an Independent Chair for PhD examinations for the University of Liverpool.
Professor Ruan obtained his PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Reading, UK. His research areas include Systemic Functional Linguistics, academic English, second language acquisition, and discourse analysis. He has long been committed to applied linguistics research, supervising doctoral students and publishing in leading international journals in the field. Prior to joining XJTLU, he taught and conducted research in English language and linguistics at universities in both China and the UK.
