On December 14, faculty and student delegations from the University of Surabaya, Indonesia, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and Wenzhou-Kean University visited the Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences at Zhejiang University for a forum on cross-cultural psychological research and academic collaboration. The event was chaired by Assistant Professor Xia Fang of the Department.
Yuzheng Hu, Vice Chair of the Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, attended the forum and delivered opening remarks. He warmly welcomed the visiting faculty members and students and briefly introduced the history and development of the Department. He noted that the profound transformations brought about by artificial intelligence have opened up new dimensions for psychological research while also raising many important questions that urgently require attention. He expressed the hope that the forum would serve as an opportunity to further strengthen research collaboration and academic exchange among universities in countries related to the Belt and Road Initiative, promote high-quality international exchange programs, and jointly cultivate innovative psychology professionals prepared for the future.
Professor Ananta Yudiarso from the University of Surabaya, Professor Jennifer Chavanovanich from Chulalongkorn University, Celia Lam, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Wenzhou-Kean University, and Associate Professor Alex English also delivered remarks. The speakers emphasized that the forum was not only an opportunity for academic exchange but also a platform for meaningful intercultural engagement. They noted that the event enhanced mutual understanding among faculty members and students from different countries and universities in the field of psychology, and expressed a shared hope that the participating institutions would continue to deepen collaboration and jointly address challenges in mental health and social governance in the age of artificial intelligence and digitalization.
Student representatives from Zhejiang University then presented their recent research. Ruixi Wang, Yuze Song, Zhihe Pan, Ziyu Zhang, and Shuo’an Li gave presentations on topics including the neural mechanisms of short-video addiction, the relationship between breathing and time perception, the influence of language typology on cross-cultural recognition of emotional prosody, the role of culture in shaping impression evaluation, and cross-cultural differences in dual-channel emotion perception.
Associate Professor Alex English from Wenzhou-Kean University also presented his research on cultural adaptation and social integration among Chinese returnees and international professionals in China.
During the interactive session, participating faculty members and students engaged in roundtable and small-group discussions on topics related to cross-cultural psychology and exchanged ideas on potential directions for inter-university collaboration.
As part of the visit, the delegation also toured the Department History Exhibition, the Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Neurocognitive Development and Mental Health, and the Undergraduate Psychology Experimental Teaching Center.
The China–Thailand–Indonesia Forum on Cross-Cultural Exchange in Psychology traces its origins to an initiative launched in early 2010 by the late Professor Jianhong Ma of Zhejiang University’s Department of Psychology and Professor Hora. Over the years, the forum has expanded from its original China–Indonesia collaboration into a trilateral partnership involving China, Thailand, and Indonesia, providing generations of students with valuable opportunities for cross-cultural academic exchange, learning, and personal development.
