Staff profile

I am an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Durham University.

My research focuses on higher education policy and university governance, with particular attention to how they interact with globalisation and wider political and social change. Much of my work draws on the experiences of East Asian societies, particularly Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, to explore how universities and higher education systems respond to global developments while negotiating their own historical, cultural and political contexts.

My research encompasses two closely connected areas. One examines higher education policy, particularly internationalisation, international student mobility, university rankings and the changing balance between global aspirations and national priorities, as in my work on Hong Kong as an education hub. The other explores university governance and culture, including institutional autonomy, governance arrangements and the interactions among university stakeholders. My more recent work has examined policy discourses in Hong Kong and Macao, trust and shared governance, and student participation in university governance.

My publications include University Rankings: Implications for Higher Education in Taiwan (Springer, 2014) and my forthcoming book, University Governance in Chinese Societies: Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as Peripheral Centres (Springer). My research has appeared in journals including Higher Education, Studies in Higher Education, Comparative Education and Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education.

Alongside my research and teaching, I contribute to the international academic community as Associate Editor of Asia Pacific Journal of Education and Higher Education Evaluation and Development, and as a member of the editorial boards of Higher Education and Comparative Education. I also engage with wider audiences through commentary and media contributions, including University World News and The Conversation.

Information for Prospective Doctoral Research Student Supervisions

I welcome enquiries from prospective doctoral researchers interested in higher education policy and university governance, particularly internationalisation, university–state relations, university leadership, institutional culture and change, and higher education in East Asia.

I am particularly interested in supervising research that takes comparative or interdisciplinary approaches to understanding higher education in its wider political, social and cultural contexts.

Research Interests

My research focuses on two closely connected areas:

Higher education policy: Internationalisation, student mobility, university rankings, education hubs, research assessment, and the relationships between globalisation and national policy priorities.

University governance: Institutional autonomy, governance structures and cultures, university leadership, and participatory governance.

My research takes a comparative and interdisciplinary approach, with a particular focus on higher education in East Asia.

• 2023: Editoral Review Board Member of Higher Education:
• 2023: Editoral Board Member of Comparative Education:
• 2020: Associate Editor of Asia Pacific Journal of Education:
• 2018: Associate Editor of Higher Education Evaluation and Development:
• 2015 - 2025: Editorial Advisory Board Member of International Journal of Comparative Education and Development:

Chapter in book

• Managing Activism, Maintaining Quality: Student Participation in Hong Kong’s Politically Charged University Governance
  
  Lo, W. Y. W. (2026). Managing Activism, Maintaining Quality: Student Participation in Hong Kong’s Politically Charged University Governance. In A. Yung-Chi Hou, J. Cheol Shin, & B. Stensaker (Eds.), Innovative Paths to Quality Higher Education in Asia (pp. 139-157). Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-95-2531-7_8
• The Ranking Game
  
  Lo, W. Y. W., & Allen, R. M. (2023). The Ranking Game. In D. Kapur, D. M. Malone, & L. Kong (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Higher Education in the Asia-Pacific Region (pp. 210-227). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192845986.013.10

Journal Article

• Unpacking the antinomy of student politics: representation, activism, and (Dis)empowerment amid political turmoil
  
  Lo, W. Y. W., & Auld, E. (2025). Unpacking the antinomy of student politics: representation, activism, and (Dis)empowerment amid political turmoil. Higher Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-025-01583-0
• Trust and tension: shared governance in higher education amid student activism
  
  Lo, W. Y. W. (2025). Trust and tension: shared governance in higher education amid student activism. Studies in Higher Education, 50(12), 3016-3031. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2024.2449243
• The emergence of multipolarity in global higher education: the Belt and Road Initiative and African students’ motivations to pursue postgraduate education in China
  
  Gao, F., Lo, W. Y. W., & Ng, F. S. K. (2024). The emergence of multipolarity in global higher education: the Belt and Road Initiative and African students’ motivations to pursue postgraduate education in China. Educational Review. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2024.2399730
• Towards governmentality with Chinese characteristics: higher education policy discourses in post-colonial Hong Kong and Macao
  
  Lo, W. Y. W. (2024). Towards governmentality with Chinese characteristics: higher education policy discourses in post-colonial Hong Kong and Macao. Comparative Education, 60(4), 626-646. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2024.2335014
• The role of university leaders in a political crisis: Students' perspectives from Hong Kong
  
  Lo, W. Y. W., & Auld, E. (2024). The role of university leaders in a political crisis: Students’ perspectives from Hong Kong. Higher Education Quarterly, 78(1), 4-19. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12418
• Unpacking the discourse surrounding the impact agenda in the Hong Kong Research Assessment Exercise 2020
  
  Li, D., Lo, W. Y. W., & Yang, R. (2024). Unpacking the discourse surrounding the impact agenda in the Hong Kong Research Assessment Exercise 2020. Research Evaluation, 33, Article rvae034. https://doi.org/10.1093/reseval/rvae034
• Reimagining the notion of Hong Kong as an education hub: National imperative for higher education policy
  
  Lo, W. Y. W., & Li, D. (2023). Reimagining the notion of Hong Kong as an education hub: National imperative for higher education policy. International Journal of Educational Development, 103, Article 102938. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2023.102938
• On the (re)move: exploring governmentality in post-colonial Macao’s higher education
  
  Vong, S. K., & Lo, W. Y. W. (2023). On the (re)move: exploring governmentality in post-colonial Macao’s higher education. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 44(3), 389-406. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2023.2200076
• Adopting neoliberal values in Taiwan’s higher education governance: a hybridisation process
  
  Chan, S., Yang, C., & Wai Lo, W. Y. (2023). Adopting neoliberal values in Taiwan’s higher education governance: a hybridisation process. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 44(3), 425-440. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2023.2200078
• Departing from hybridity: higher education development and university governance in postcolonial Hong Kong
  
  Lo, W. Y. W. (2023). Departing from hybridity: higher education development and university governance in postcolonial Hong Kong. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 44(3), 407-424. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2023.2200077
• Hybridisation and recombination: perspectives on higher education in Chinese societies
  
  Lo, W. Y. W., & Yang, R. (2023). Hybridisation and recombination: perspectives on higher education in Chinese societies. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 44(3), 337-347. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2023.2200073
• Vulnerable autonomy: university governance in the context of student activism in Hong Kong
  
  Lo, W. Y. W. (2023). Vulnerable autonomy: university governance in the context of student activism in Hong Kong. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 32(2), 293-312. https://doi.org/10.1080/09620214.2021.2007504

Newspaper/Magazine Article

• Activism doesn’t always empower students: in Hong Kong, it has silenced them too
  
  Lo, W. (2025, December 1). Activism doesn’t always empower students: in Hong Kong, it has silenced them too. The Conversation. https://doi.org/10.64628/ab.c57e9ftpv
• How to build trust, manage conflict in university governance
  
  Lo, W. Y. W. (2025, January 22). How to build trust, manage conflict in university governance. University World News.