Staff
Mr. Rhys Palmer
Director of Confucius Institute, Head of International at UNSW Sydney
Rhys Palmer has had experience as Director of Strategic Institution Relations (Greater China), Director of Confucius Institute and Associate Director of Marketing and Public Relations at the University of Newcastle Australia. He has extensive experience in establishing strategic China relations, including institutional partnerships, business development, industry and government relations, strategic projects, marketing and recruitment.
Rhys has over 30 years of experience in higher education where he worked in roles spanning marketing, creative services and international partnerships with a focus on China. He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the NSW Australia China Business Council from 2011 to 2017.
A/Prof. Xianjun Wei
Chinese Director of Confucius Institute at UNSW Sydney
Ms. Xianjun Wei is an Associate Professor of Chinese Language and is highly passionate about Chinese language education. She has had over 15 years of experience in teaching Chinese to students from all backgrounds and different skill levels at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. She also has experience working as a Chinese Teacher in the Confucius Institute at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.
In addition to her two degrees: Bachelor of English Linguistics and Literature and Master of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, she also has a Certificate for Methodology of Language Teaching from La Trobe University in Australia.
Na An
Adjunct Lecturer, Senior Education Program Officer
Na An received the Ph.D. degree in linguistics and applied linguistics from Communication University of China, China, in 2008. She then joined the School of International Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. She is now a lecturer at School of Humanities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Her research interests include corpus linguistics and teaching Chinese as a second language.
Jinyong Zhang (Jared)
Adjunct Associate Lecturer, Senior Student Affairs Officer
With a Bachelor's degree in Chinese Language and Literature and a Master of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages in Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, Jared is highly dedicated to teaching and bringing Chinese culture to all corners of the world. He has been teaching Chinese at various levels in the School of Humanities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and is always enthusiastic about providing guidance for students in all aspects of their studies.
Board of Directors
Laurie Pearcey
Pro-Vice Chancellor (International), Chairman, UNSW Sydney
Professor XU Xuemin
Vice-President, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Professor Marc Williams
Associate Dean (International), Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, UNSW Australia
Dr Jim Harrowell AM
President, Australia China Business Council (NSW Branch)
Ms GUO Liang
Deputy Director, Division of International Co-operation & Exchange, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Ms QI Hong
School of Humanities, Chairperson of the School Council, Shanghai Jiao Tong University