Department of Educational Studies

Motto

Awaken, Innovate, Impact

Vision

To be a globally recognised leader in future education, advancing transformative research and shaping innovative learning ecosystems that create meaningful impact across China and the world.

Mission

To cultivate globally-minded, reflective educators, designers, leaders, entrepreneurs, and researchers who transform learning, organizations, and society through AI-powered, research-led, and real-world educational experiences.

About the Department

In an era in which digitalisation and intelligent technologies are profoundly reshaping society, education faces unprecedented challenges and opportunities. The traditional model of knowledge transmission is declining in value. Cultivating lifelong learners and problem-solvers who can navigate a world defined by Uncertainty, Ambiguity, Complexity, Changeability, and Scarcity (UACCS), has become the core mission of future education.

The Department of Educational Studies (EDS) at XJTLU’s Academy of Future Education was established to respond to this mission. We are committed to developing “Education Reimaginers”, leaders who drive educational innovation, lead systemic change, and create new educational value. They fundamentally redefine the role of teachers, awakening from “knowledge transmitters” to “designers of learning ecosystems,” and from “passive implementers” to “problem-solvers and initiators of innovation.”

We firmly believe that the future belongs to those who, in a world increasingly reshaped by artificial intelligence and rapid societal change, can learn with agility, lead with courage, innovate with mastery, and create lasting impact.

Our Programmes

Grounded in XJTLU’s distinctive “HeXie Education Model” and “Five-Star Education Model,” EDS offers a portfolio of future-oriented master’s and doctoral programmes designed for both full-time students and working professionals, enabling work and learning to empower each other.

Why Choose EDS?

At EDS, students gain far more than a qualification. They join a unique Future Education ecosystem, an education innovation platform shaped by XJTLU’s two decades of exploration, amplified by an ever-expanding network of global partners. At EDS, educational innovators no longer walk alone; they transform from “solitary warriors” into members of a “Light Chasers” community.

Our students benefit from:

• Internationally recognised faculty with multidisciplinary expertise across education, psychology, leadership, AI, technology, and learning sciences (over 95% hold degrees from world-leading institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, and Cambridge);
• Flexible part-time and full-time study modes that enable professionals to learn while working;
• Strong partnerships with industry, schools, communities, and government;
• Access to cutting-edge AI-enabled learning environments;
• Opportunities to engage in real-world projects with measurable impact;
• A growing international network of students, alumni, researchers, and educational leaders.

Most importantly, throughout their learning journey, students refine five future-ready professional identities, achieving a complete awakening from cognition to identity:

• Transformative Educator: Going beyond teaching to lead pedagogical innovation and design learning systems with lasting impact
• Practitioner-Researcher: Conducting original research on complex, real-world challenges that drives meaningful social change
• Visionary Leader: Driving systemic change with a global perspective and influencing regional educational policy and practice
• Disruptive Designer: Using interdisciplinary thinking to create innovative tools and models that reshape educational practice
• Foresightful Innovator: Identifying educational opportunities with acuity and building sustainable, high-impact educational ventures

These five identities prepare graduates not merely to adapt to change but to lead it.

The EDS Future Education Ecosystem

To realise our vision, EDS has developed three strategic initiatives that collectively redefine how future educational leaders are cultivated.

RiPE: Research on Real Problems for Impactful Ecosystem
Research should not sit on a shelf. In the UACCS era, what educators need is not textbook theory but the capability to solve real problems.
RiPE connects students, researchers, schools, organisations, industries, and communities to address authentic challenges that matter. Through RiPE, research becomes a catalyst for meaningful change, generating solutions with measurable impact while strengthening connections between academia and society. Here, every student learns to “research in action and awaken through research.”

PLATO: Project-Led AI Teaching and Outcomes
PLATO integrates artificial intelligence and project-based learning into the very heart of the student experience.
Students work on authentic challenges while leveraging AI as a learning partner, research assistant, design collaborator, and innovation accelerator. Through PLATO, learners not only master cutting-edge AI tools but also develop AI governance mindsets, forming critical understanding of AI ethics, algorithmic bias, data governance, and other higher-order issues, building irreplaceable human advantages in an increasingly intelligent world.

GROW: Growth, Recognition, Opportunities, and Well-being
Great leaders thrive in supportive ecosystems, completing the full journey from self-awakening to mission awakening.
GROW ensures that every student and faculty member receives personalised support for academic development, professional growth, career advancement, networking opportunities, and personal wellbeing. Through dual-supervisor guidance, leadership opportunities, and community engagement, students build confidence, resilience, and the foundation for long-term success. We care not only about your academic achievements, but about your holistic flourishing as a complete human being.

Leveraging XJTLU’s unique Future Education ecosystem, we integrate talent, technology, and global partnerships to develop educational leaders who confront unknown challenges and seize future opportunities. We support every educator in undergoing a transformative journey from self-awakening, cognitive awakening, belief awakening, and identity awakening to mission awakening, empowering them to explore the future of education with “HeXie Mindset” and “Syntegrative Wisdom,” and to influence educational development in China and the world.

Featured Educational Innovations

PG Transition
The learning journey begins with a shift in mindset.
From the very first day, we support students in moving from passive consumers of knowledge to active creators of knowledge, problem-solvers, and educational innovators. This is a journey of identity awakening, from “knowledge transmitter” to “designer of learning ecosystems.”

Syntegrative Projects
Rather than completing disconnected assignments, students work on meaningful projects that connect multiple modules, disciplines, and perspectives.
This approach mirrors real-world professional practice, where complex challenges demand integrated thinking, collaborative synergy, and innovative breakthroughs, a vivid embodiment of XJTLU’s “Syntegrative Wisdom.”

Syntegrative Graduation Evaluation
The final assessment should be more than an academic exercise.
The Syntegrative Graduation Evaluation enables students to integrate research, innovation, leadership, design, and impact into a coherent body of work. While addressing real-world challenges, students produce demonstrable, applicable outcomes that carry both academic and professional value.

Join the Future
The world does not need more graduates who simply know about education.
It needs leaders who can redesign learning, harness artificial intelligence responsibly, generate impactful research, and create meaningful change.

At EDS, we cultivate precisely these leaders, Education Reimaginers, Light Chasers, those ready to co-shape what comes next!