On June 26, the International Forum on “Crossing Boundaries and Integration: Paradigm Shifts and Innovative Development in Language Disciplines” was held at Lecture Hall 102, Zhonghe Building, on the Liufang Campus of Wuhan Institute of Technology (WIT). The forum was hosted by WIT and jointly organized by the School of Foreign Languages of WIT and the School of Foreign Languages of Wuhan University of Technology. More than a dozen scholars from China, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong SAR and elsewhere attended the forum. Discussions focused on four cutting-edge themes: linguistics and language science, literature and digital humanities, translation and disciplinary knowledge production, and multilingual education and global competence.
The forum opened at 8:30 a.m. Professor Yu Faquan, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC WIT Committee and Vice President of WIT; Professor Han Gaojun, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC WIT Committee and Director of the Publicity Department; and heads of the University’s Organization Department, Talent Office, Personnel Department, Development Planning Department, Science and Technology Development Institute, Undergraduate School, Graduate School, International Exchange and Cooperation Center, and the School of Foreign Languages attended the opening ceremony. Professor Peng Shiyu of the School of Foreign Languages chaired the ceremony.
Professor Yu Faquan delivered the welcome address. On behalf of the University, he welcomed experts and scholars joining both onsite and online. He noted that rapid advances in artificial intelligence and large language models are creating unprecedented opportunities for paradigm shift in language disciplines.
He said the forum’s theme, “Crossing Boundaries and Integration,“ responds to national strategic needs and reflects the need for disciplinary innovation. As a university with distinctive strengths in engineering, WIT sees foreign languages as an important bridge between technology and the humanities, as well as between China and the world. The University will continue to strengthen its foreign language disciplines while encouraging them to remain grounded in the humanities, embrace interdisciplinary development and respond to the needs of the times.
Professor Yu Faquan delivers the welcome address.
Professor Huang Min, Dean of the School of Foreign Languages, thanked the University leadership, participating departments, experts and scholars, co-organizers and supporting organizations. Addressing the transformation of language disciplines in the age of artificial intelligence, he introduced the School’s development strategy centered on “Crossing Boundaries and Integration.“ He highlighted three major strengths: a well-established disciplinary system, a national-level “E+“ experimental programme for interdisciplinary talent development, and a bilingual dual-major education model. Building on these strengths, the School aims to develop a New Liberal Arts model that reflects WIT’s engineering profile and meets the demands of the digital-intelligence era.
Professor Huang Min introduces the School of Foreign Languages.
Professor Peng Shiyu chairs the opening ceremony.
Following the opening ceremony, the keynote presentations were organized into four thematic sessions.
Session I: Linguistics and Language (Data) Science
The first session began at 9:00 a.m. and was chaired by Professor Zhang Junfeng, Dean of the School of Foreign Languages at China University of Geosciences (Wuhan).
Professor Hu Kaibao, Assistant to the President of Shanghai International Studies University and Dean of its Institute of Language Sciences, delivered a keynote entitled “Building and Developing Language Science Programmes and the Discipline under the Guidance of National Strategies: The Case of Shanghai International Studies University.”
He discussed the interdisciplinary nature of language science and identified major challenges facing its development at Chinese universities, including unclear disciplinary positioning and insufficient interdisciplinary integration. He argued that language science should respond closely to national priorities such as artificial intelligence and healthcare. Universities, he suggested, need a systematic approach to talent development, industry–education collaboration and resource allocation.
Professor Hu Kaibao delivers a keynote address.
Professor Xu Mingwu of the School of Foreign Languages at Huazhong University of Science and Technology then spoke on “Talent Development in Language Science and Technology: The Case of Huazhong University of Science and Technology.”
He shared the university’s experience as one of the first institutions in China to pilot a Language Science programme. Its training model emphasizes strong foundations, interdisciplinary learning and practical experience. Drawing on the university’s strengths in the humanities, sciences, engineering and medicine, the programme offers courses across linguistics, mathematics and computer science. It also promotes collaboration among government, industry, universities, research institutions and application sectors.
Professor Xu Mingwu delivers a keynote address.
Professor Dechao Li of the Department of Language Science and Technology at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University gave an online presentation entitled “An Eye-Tracking Study of Student Translators’ Reading Processes in Evaluating Generative-AI Translations.”
Using eye tracking and retrospective interviews, the study examined how student translators evaluated literary and tourism translations generated by ChatGPT-4o. The results showed that combining domain-specific prompts with chain-of-thought reasoning could significantly reduce cognitive load during evaluation.
The study brings together empirical translation-process research and language data science. It also offers a methodological reference for the quantitative study of language behaviour and human–AI interaction.
Professor Dechao Li delivers his keynote address online.
Professor Zhang Junfeng chairs the session on “Linguistics and Language (Data) Science.”
Session II: Literature and Digital Humanities
The second session was chaired by Professor He Mingxia of Hubei University of Economics.
Professor Luo Lianggong, Member of the Ministry of Education’s Teaching Advisory Committee for English Majors and Dean of the School of Foreign Languages at Central China Normal University, delivered a keynote entitled “The Digital-Intelligent Transformation of Foreign Literature Studies and the Reconstruction of the Foreign Literature Research System in a Digital-Intelligent Environment.”
He noted that artificial intelligence is reshaping the study of foreign literature. Research is expanding beyond literary texts themselves to include the technological environments in which research is conducted. He called for greater use of digital knowledge bases, algorithm design and methodological innovation to reconstruct research systems and renew the contemporary relevance of foreign literature studies.
Professor Luo Lianggong delivers a keynote address.
Professor Surinderpal Kaur, Dean of the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics at Universiti Malaya, spoke on “Building Inclusive Digital Humanities for the Global South.”
She argued that digital humanities research remains strongly influenced by Anglocentrism and academic traditions of the Global North. Southeast Asia, she said, should develop approaches rooted in its own multilingual and multicultural realities rather than simply adopt Western models. She also highlighted the potential risk of cultural erosion for low-resource languages in the age of machine intelligence.
Professor Surinderpal Kaur delivers a keynote address.
Professor Zhou Hongbing, Deputy Dean of the School of Humanities at Anqing Normal University, delivered a presentation entitled “Building Digital Humanities Programmes: Explorations and Prospects.”
He reviewed the development of Digital Humanities programmes in China and discussed common challenges they face. Drawing on his university’s experience in curriculum design, faculty development and talent training, he also explored possible directions for future programme development.
Professor Zhou Hongbing delivers a keynote address.
Professor He Mingxia chairs the session on “Literature and Digital Humanities.”
Session III: Translation and Disciplinary Knowledge Production
The third session began at 2:00 p.m. and was chaired by Professor Qin Jianghua of the School of Foreign Languages at Central China Normal University.
Professor Wang Kefei, Chief Expert of the Yunshan Academic Studio at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and Chair Professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University, opened the session with a keynote entitled “Translation and the Transfer of Cultural Information.”
Using the metaphor of language as a container of culture, he argued that translation is more than linguistic transfer. It also carries ideas, culture and knowledge across time and space. The success of this process depends on the “soil” and “climate” of the receiving environment. Once transferred, information may also stimulate new forms of cultural change.
Professor Wang Kefei delivers a keynote address.
Professor Liu Junping, President of the Hubei Translators Association and Professor at the School of Foreign Languages, Wuhan University, spoke on “The ‘Knowledge Turn’ in Translation Studies.”
He outlined the theoretical foundations of Transknowletology. From a complex-systems perspective, the field draws on knowledge from the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities. It seeks to rethink the ontology, methodology and purpose of translation studies, and to bridge the divide between scientific and humanistic approaches.
Professor Liu Junping delivers a keynote address.
Professor Yang Feng, Editor-in-Chief of Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies and Professor at the School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, delivered a keynote entitled “A Transknowletological Interpretation of the Relationship between Disciplines and Translation.”
He argued that translation and academic disciplines do not have a one-way, instrumental relationship. Instead, they shape each other through knowledge production. Translation can bring locally produced disciplinary knowledge into a global context, while also helping reconstruct knowledge and shape disciplinary discourse.
Professor Yang Feng delivers a keynote address.
Professor Gary McCulloch, Brian Simon Professor of History of Education at the UCL Institute of Education, spoke on “Lost in Translation? Disciplinary Knowledge Production in Education.”
He examined how disciplines such as history, philosophy, sociology and psychology are reinterpreted within educational research. He also discussed the tensions created by this process and the complexities of disciplinary knowledge production across cultures.
Professor Gary McCulloch delivers a keynote address.
Professor Qin Jianghua chairs the session on “Translation and Disciplinary Knowledge Production.”
Session IV: Multilingual Education and Global Competence
The fourth session was chaired by Professor Dan Haijian, Deputy Dean of the School of Foreign Languages at Wuhan University of Technology.
Professor Tong King Lee, Fellow and Vice-President of the Hong Kong Academy of the Humanities and Head of the School of English at The University of Hong Kong, delivered a keynote entitled “Intercultural Communication and Global Competence: Developments and Prospects.”
He reviewed the empirical turn in intercultural communication research and questioned conventional models that define culture mainly by national or geographical boundaries. Instead, he proposed viewing culture as a network of relationships. In this view, global competence requires people to move beyond fixed categories, cross sociocultural boundaries and recognize “otherness” within themselves.
Professor Tong King Lee delivers a keynote address.
Professor Martin Ward of the University of Leeds, an Overseas Expert of the Translators Association of China, delivered a presentation entitled “Global Citizenship, Intercultural Communicative Competence, and Multilingual Competence in the New Era.”
He noted that technology is bringing people closer together at a time of continuing geopolitical instability. Educators, he argued, should help students develop a sense of responsibility toward the wider world, the ability to act for the common good and an appropriate approach to participation and engagement. He also stressed that multilingual competence and intercultural literacy are essential foundations for a peaceful future.
Professor Martin Ward delivers a keynote address.
Professor Cui Feng of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, spoke online on “Multilingual Education and the Development of Global Competence: Insights from Singapore’s Bilingual Education Policy and Linguistic Landscape.”
He examined Singapore’s bilingual education policy, in which English functions as the working language while mother tongues serve as cultural foundations. He also discussed the country’s multilingual public linguistic landscape. His presentation showed how language ability, intercultural awareness and cultural identity can work together to develop global competence. The Singapore experience, he noted, also offers useful insights for cultivating internationally oriented talent and promoting Chinese culture globally.
Professor Cui Feng delivers his keynote address online.
Professor Dan Haijian chairs the session on “Multilingual Education and Global Competence.”
At 5:45 p.m., the closing ceremony was held and chaired by Professor Chen Mingfang of the School of Foreign Languages, WIT.
Professor Yang Yuangang of Hubei University presented an academic summary. He praised the breadth and depth of the forum, noting that the presentations covered emerging interdisciplinary areas such as language science and digital humanities as well as established topics including translation philosophy and intercultural communication. Together, the discussions reflected the forum’s emphasis on “crossing boundaries” and “integration” and offered valuable perspectives on the future of language disciplines.
Professor Yang Yuangang presents the academic summary.
Professor Xue Rui, Dean of the School of Foreign Languages at Wuhan University of Technology, then delivered the closing remarks on behalf of the co-organizer.
She thanked the participating experts, session chairs, staff members and supporting organizations. She described the forum not only as an exchange of academic ideas, but also as a new starting point for collaboration across universities and national borders. She expressed the hope that participants would continue working together to promote innovation and development in language disciplines in the digital-intelligence era.
Professor Xue Rui delivers the closing remarks.
Professor Chen Mingfang chairs the closing ceremony.
The forum concluded with warm applause. It featured 13 keynote speakers from China and abroad and attracted more than 150 onsite participants.
The event received academic guidance from the Hubei Translators Association, the Transknowletology Committee of the Chinese Association for Comparative Studies of Languages and Cultures, and the Foreign Languages Committee of the China Association for Educational Technology. It was also supported by iFLYTEK, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, Higher Education Press, Dongfang Zhenglong, Transn, Shanghai Wence, Weiai Shuju, Yiguo Yimin, Shengshi Tengda, Aidi Meisen, Huaxia Shengshi and other organizations.
The forum marked not only a convergence of academic ideas, but also a defining moment in the transformation and development of the School of Foreign Languages at WIT.
Taking “Crossing Boundaries and Integration“ as a new starting point, the School will turn shared understanding into concrete plans and those plans into action, writing a solid new chapter for WIT’s foreign language community in the evolving landscape of the New Liberal Arts - one that reflects WIT’s strengths and responds to the needs of the digital-intelligence era.
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