Staff

Angus Phillips, Director

Professor Angus Phillips is Director of the Confucius Institute and the Oxford International Centre for Publishing. He has degrees from Oxford and Warwick universities, and before joining Oxford Brookes he ran a trade and reference list at Oxford University Press. He works as a consultant to the publishing industry and is often invited to speak at international conferences and events. His recent books include Inside Book Publishing (with Giles Clark), The Oxford Handbook of Publishing (with Michael Bhaskar), and Turning the Page – all three are being translated into Chinese. He is on the European Advisory Board of Princeton University Press and was a judge for the Bookseller industry awards for four years in a row. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the premier publishing journal Logos.

Angus Phillips

Xi Chen, Co-Director

Xi Chen has been working for FLTRP and BFSU for more than 10 years. She holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies. She has previous experience engaging in intercultural communication via her work in Germany and Switzerland. Since 2022 Xi has held the co-directorate position at the Confucius Institute at Oxford Brookes University.

Xi Chen

Spring Zhang, Deputy Director

Spring Zhang obtained an MSc in E-Business and Innovation Management from Lancaster University and an MSc in Educational Research from the University of Manchester. Prior to joining Oxford Brookes University, she was the office manager and Chinese Language tutor at the Confucius Institute at the University of Manchester for seven years. She has developed innovative learning methods and teaching materials during her teaching experience.

Spring Zhang

Francesca Leiper, Business Development Manager

Francesca holds an MA in Chinese Art History from Nanjing University of the Arts and a BA in Chinese and Art History from SOAS. Before joining Oxford Brookes University, she lived in China for seven years where she worked at Guangxi Normal University Press and Zhu Yingchun Book Design Studio, as well as developed and led history and architecture walking tours in Nanjing.

Francesca Leiper

Katie Nicoll, Administrator and Marketing Assistant 

Katie Nicoll is the Confucius Institute's administrator and marketing assistant. Katie believes that learning and enjoying languages and other cultures are not only beneficial in academia but also believes they are fundamental for connecting to new people and engaging in new opportunities. In addition to this, Katie currently runs an award nominated Bookstagram account with over 78,000 followers that reviews and discusses a whole range of books and titles. Katie holds a BA (Hons) in English and Creative Writing from Plymouth University, a PGCE in Secondary English from Exeter University and a MA in Digital Publishing from Oxford Brookes University.

Katie Nicoll

Our Teachers

Xiaoer Dong 董小珥 (Erin)


Erin joined the Confucius Institute at Oxford Brookes in September 2023. In March 2024 she won first place in the 3rd Chinese Teaching Championship for English Speaking - Adult category. 

Erin graduated with a Master's Degree in Teaching Chinese as A Second Language in 2016. With a strong interest in different cultures, she is committed to fostering intercultural understanding and communication. 

Erin teaches Advanced Chinese, HSK 3, one-to-one classes and a range of Beginner classes. If you are interested in taking classes with Erin please do get in touch. 

Haonan Guo 郭浩楠 - (Valeria)


Valeria joined the Confucius Institue at Oxford Brookes in September 2024 and is pursuing a Master's Degree in Teaching Chinese to Speaker of Other Languages (TCSOL) at Beijing Foreign Studies University. 

'I believe that language are the key to unlocking the door to understanding, and my passion for teaching is rooted in the joy of seeing my students' “lightbulb moments” as they grasp new concepts.' 

Valeria teaches Beginner classes, one-to-one classes and children's classes for Ethnic Chinese students. If you are interested in taking classes with Valeria do get in touch.

 

Shanchi Ye 叶珊池 - (April)


Shanchi joined the Confucius Institute at Oxford Brookes University in September 2024 and is pursuing a Master's Degree in Teaching Chinese to Speaker of Other Languages (TCSOL) at Beijing Foreign Studies University. 

'Chinese culture is akin to a book and I aspire to be the narrator of it's tales.'

April teaches our calligraphy course, Intermediate Chinese, HSK 4 and one-to-one classes. If you are interested in taking classes with April do get in touch. 

Yufan Ding 丁宇帆


Yufan joined the Confucius Institute at Oxford Brookes University in September and is majoring in International Chinese language at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

'I love meeting people from different cultures and I think Chinese is a very beautiful and attractive language which is why I want to be a Chinese teacher!'.

Yufan teaches are Beginner classes, including our online Beginner class and one-to-one classes. If you are interested in taking classes with Yufan do get in touch.